Ah, Summer days, at last!

Easy enough for those sun worshippers to wax poetic, but this fair-skinned woman (translation: five minutes without sunscreen and this lobster is COOKED and ready to serve.) is a little more hesitant to get excited—usually. For me, summer coming is more like a countdown to an opportunity to burst into flames (whee!) But for some reason, this particular season has me “getting it” for the first time.

Maybe it was the endless icy cold of winter that decided to skip spring this year. Maybe it was that snow storm on Memorial Weekend that had my husband grilling with his wool cap and coat on. Or maybe it was that offhand joke a friend made asking when I was getting off of house arrest (My social life has been non-existent for a long stretch to the point that I’m pretty sure people wearing ankle-bracelets are seeing more action).

But this is it! I opened the windows and aired out the house, dusted off the ol’ attitude, grabbed my SPF 100 and seized the day! (Yup! That’s me! Weird woman with parasol!) The heat has arrived and the battle to keep my daughter clothed begins. (She is four. When you are four, clothing is apparently optional at almost every occasion.) And instead of complaining, I’m just going to embrace it. I’m going to get out for picnics and swims and even, dare I hope, the county fair this year. I’m going to rejoin humanity and just hope that my white skin doesn’t blind my fellow citizens (or inspire them to drive me back into my writing cave.) I just need to find my “I swear I’m not a Vampire” t-shirt. Where did I put that thing?

Which leads me to one of the number one benefits of hosting “Canned Laughter and Coffee” every Tuesday night on the radio. I can pretend to be a tanned lithe beauty who practically exudes summer magic and no one can argue differently. (Well, now they can because I’ve admitted my light allergy in the paragraphs above…)

Guest spots for the show have booked out for the entire summer and I confess, it’s like a vacation that comes to my doorstep every week. Who needs an RV? All my favorite authors (and future favorite authors) come to me and we get to laugh, chat and just share our passion for books and writing. My summer is action-packed, she said defensively… ;--)

No really. It is. I’ve got my new laptop and I’m writing al fresco. (Did I spell that right? We non fresh-air breathers aren’t as familiar with these terms.) I’m actually writing like a maniac since I’ve opened up to the idea that heat might not necessarily kill me. Though I do have to limit my exposure. (Think Spock when he went in that chamber with all the radiation.) I mean, limit my exposure to the elements, not to the laptop.

At the moment, I’m working on “Passion Wears Pearls”, the next installment in the Jaded series, “The Concubine’s Daughter, a historical romance set in Meiji Restoration Japan and Victorian London, and (seriously people), a new contemporary romantic comedy called “The Master of Disaster” as well as an erotic paranormal, “The Devil in Chains”. That’s an incomplete list. (Did I mention the maniac thing? I sure hope my new agent doesn’t mind the maniac thing.)

So that’s it. Summer is heating up. It’s official. Let the craziness that is camping, cookouts and third-degree sunburns begin. This redhead is ready! (Okay, maybe not ready in the technical sense but I’m willing to consider buying a bathing suit. That counts, right?)

Renee Bernard is an ex-comedian, women's fiction author, and radio host for Canned Laughter and Coffee. Check out her website to find out what she's been up to!