Summer Heat
Cause, baby, it is HOT outside. The craziest temperatures are breaking records and not in a good way. It’s dangerous. People die.
But, it’s been hotter. In 1936 there was a record-breaking temperate of 121 degrees in Steele ND. That July was the hottest on record in the US.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/history/2022/07/20/heat-wave-1936/

Children on Mulberry Street in New York City turned a WPA street excavation site into a temporary swimming hole using water from a fire hydrant as temperatures rose to the highest point in city history on July 9, 1936.
UNTIL: July 2023
There are places in the US—Arizona—117 degrees. Las Vegas, Nevada—116!! And if you can help it, avoid Furnace Creek, California. 129 degrees!! How do people survive?
In 1936 most homes didn’t have air conditioning. Folks had to use fans, if they were lucky. This was during the Dust Bowl and the Great Depression. There wasn’t food available because crops had been ruined. I read one report that said 5000 people died due to the extreme heat.
In 2023, people are dying because they are—get this—HIKING. Yep, it’s summer, so they are heading out to the trails even though it is so hot. I read that it only takes twenty to thirty minutes for your body to be affected by such heat. It just shuts down. The National Park Service can’t stop a person from going out. If it’s too hot, they won’t risk their lives to rescue someone out tempting fate.
Please, be careful. Find shaded areas to be cool if you want to be outdoors. Drink water! Be smart. I’ve been getting up at 7 in the morning to walk rather than wait until the afternoon. It’s still in the eighties but the walk is shaded which makes a difference.
Okay—time for a lighter subject.
Back when I was focused more on romance in my writing, Summer Heat would bring to mind an image of a sexy guy: tan, buff, possibly dripping wet from the ocean in low-riding swim trunks over sculpted muscles. My heroine would be equally sexy and ready to rock the waves. In my By the Sea contemporary romances my protagonists ran the gamut of dive shop owners to florists to a bait market at the marina.
I’m super excited because I will be writing (at long last) book 3 in the Billionaire by the Sea trilogy. There world was so fun and I’m looking forward to continuing the mystery with the triplets. It’s Mindy Kohl’s turn to find love—and, wrap up the whole Moriaki debacle. The bad guys will pay bwahahaha. It will be titled Billionaire’s Baby by the Sea.
Another cool thing to do inside is READ. I’ve been tackling my TBR pile like a champ. I’m thirty-five books in since January. And you won’t find a better deal for books than those here on the ABB page. The ladies are talented!
Warning—grab an icy beverage before you begin.
Thank you for reading!
Traci

From cozy mysteries to seaside romance, USA Today bestselling author Traci Hall writes stories that captivate her readers. As a hybrid author with over sixty published works, Ms. Hall has a favorite tale for everyone.
Mystery lovers, check out her Scottish Shire series, set in the seaside town of Nairn, or the Salem B&B Mystery series, co-written as Traci Wilton. Her latest project is an Irish Castle cozy as Ellie Brannigan. Whether it’s her ever-popular By the Sea romances, an Appletree Cove sweet romance, or a fun who-done-it, Traci finds her inspiration in sunny South Florida, living right near the ocean.
Traci wants to hear from you!
Traci@TraciHall.com