Go ahead, ask me anything...

I’ll be trading mountains for beach in about nine days and six hours. Not that I’m counting or anything. But I am.

Though a country boy at heart, going for very long without seeing the ocean puts me in a mental and emotional funk. I need the salty air and the warm breezes. I need the sun and the sand and the don’t-worry-it-can-wait attitude. Word has it that I come from a long line of sailors, and I guess it’s still in my blood. I would have made a really good pirate.

Planning for the beach is a delicate process that involves precision planning. What books should I take? And how many notebooks? Should I pack a nice pair of khakis, or am I just going to be a shorts/flip-flops bum all week? And does the hotel have wireless? Spending a week without an internet connection is something I’m not willing to do anymore.

All that packing and gathering of essentials, coupled with a column to write and a book proposal to finish, will make a busy week even busier. I flirted with the idea of taking a week off from blogging, kind of a pre-vactation vacation, but I realized that would drive me nuts.

The answer to my problem came from April, who blogs over at Straight From The Heart. She’s asked her readers for some things they’d like to know about her and taken a few posts to answer their questions.

Perfect.

Because I figure that by now most of you know plenty about my family, my friends, and the people who share my small corner of the world. But you don’t know much about me. Part of the reason why so many editors and agents tell fledgling writers to do the whole Facebook and Twitter thing is so potential readers can see the real person behind all of the writing. I’ve taken their advice and try to do update as much as I can, but there’s only so much of a glimpse someone can take into your life in 140 characters or less.

So here’s the deal. Leave me a comment or shoot me an email, and ask some questions (just mind the manners your momma taught you, please). I’ll be the proverbial open book, and I’ll start answering them here later this weekend. You’ll get to know me a little better, and I’ll be able to take a break from what I usually write.

It’s win-win. That always works for me.