It’s been an amazing summer here in the top right corner of Switzerland (once we got past June…) Here on our glorious lake, we’re able to enjoy all the summer advantages of this very international – I can see both Germany and Austria from my flat – region.

Here’s a two-minute video showing the area – the lake, the Rhine Falls, and our local mountain, the Säntis.

Ten minutes up-lake from here is a little town called Rorschach.  Every summer, they hold an international sand sculpture competition in the lake park there. It’s fascinating to watch as heaps of sand are transformed into intricate and clever sculptures. The subjects are many and varied, and there are literally hundreds if not thousands of amazing photos around.

One of the first sand sculptures, in 1999, depicts four people watching the big solar eclipse, also in 1999. This sculpture was later remade in stone and sits in the park today.
(1999 was a big year here on the lake. Not only did we have the eclipse and the first sand sculpture competition, we also had the worst flooding in living memory. A more-than-usually snowy winter was followed by a wet spring, and when the snow melted and ‘came down’, which happens every year around May, our lake burst its banks and remained larger than life for some six weeks. Welly boots and plastic sandals sold out in days…)

Today and tomorrow are set to be our last 30°C+ days for this year. It’s time to leave the summer and plan for the next few months. I’m happy with my books – six weeks after publication, The Attic Room is still in the top ten in its three categories, and the others are selling well too. I’m working on two suspense novels with my editor at the moment, and hope to have one out next spring. This one was inspired by a chance conversation at a wedding last autumn…

Merken