So…this weekend, I had my first glorious, no-deadlines, no-edits, no-one-needs-anything Saturday. And how do I spend it?
With Gators. 
We had friends in town, so we hunted down an Airboat tour! I strapped into an airboat in the Florida swamp, hair whipping around my head, heading out into the swampy murk to hunt down gators.
Anyone remember the TV series Gentle Ben? I know I’m dating myself, but I loved that series as a kid (to be fair, I saw it reruns, but they were very early reruns!) It was my only experience with an airboat. (I never understood what a bear was doing in the Florida Everglades, but evidently, although the source book was set in Alaska, the producer of the TV series lived in Florida!)
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It was SO FUN. First, the boat can go over anything! Like tree stumps and lilypads and mud…and of course my brain said…um, what if we flip over? WHO WILL RESCUE ME FROM THE GATORS? (And yes, there were survival stories forming in my head!)
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But then I forgot about the what-ifs and just enjoyed. When the boat wasn’t roaring across the water like some kind of swamp rocket, everything got so still and quiet and beautiful—just the water and the sky and the lily pads and, yes, gators.
We saw about twenty of them, just hanging out like they owned the place. Which, fair. They do.
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I’m attaching a photo—see if you can spot the gator hiding in there. (Hint: they’re sneakier than you think. Kind of like a certain hockey player I know who pretends he doesn’t have feelings…)
Speaking of Brody “Candy” Kane! 
(Okay, bad segue, I know, but…)
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THE NOT-SO NEUTRAL ZONE is part of a Goodreads Giveaway! If you haven’t grabbed your copy yet—or if you want to gift one to a friend who needs a swoony fake-dating, second-chance hockey romance in her life—head over to Goodreads and enter to win! It’s free to enter and I would LOVE to get this book into more readers’ hands. Brody and Chloe’s story is so close to my heart, and every time someone messages me about staying up too late reading it, I do a little happy dance. (Ask Sarah. She’s witnessed it. It’s not pretty, but it is enthusiastic.)
And finally—to everyone who has read North, THANK YOU.
From the bottom of my heart. Your messages, your reviews, your kind words—they mean more than you know. Reviews are like oxygen for authors—they help other readers find our books, and honestly, they keep us going on the hard writing days. The book drops across all retailers (except Amazon) on Friday. And then in 2 more weeks at Amazon (preorder here!)
You guys are the best readers in the world and I don’t say that lightly. (Okay, maybe I’m a little biased. But still.)
Happy reading, friends!
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P.S. Haven’t picked up North yet? Grab him now at the preorder price on the Susan May Warren store!
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