25 Authors and Their Favorite Thing About Spring
25 Authors and Their Favorite Thing About Spring
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Winter is not my season, I counted down the days until Spring. So I asked 25 authors about their favorite thing about the season. Do they take an annual vacation this time of year? Are they an avid gardener preparing for this season's blooms? Do they look forward to that first day when restaurants re-open their outdoor seating? Find out in this post.
Amy Tector
Winters are long in Ottawa, and spring is less of a season than one day of mild weather before summer humidity descends. Nonetheless, there is a moment in mid-March when you realise the days are longer. The sun is still shining strongly at 5pm, with no thought of setting; the snow is still there, but it's soft and melting; the cardinals and robins are back and they are singing desperately from leafless trees, looking for a date. That moment, still wintery, but filled with possibility, is my favourite thing about spring.
Gillian Harvey
Try as I might, I always succumb to a little bit of winter gloom. By the end of February, I'm tired of the grey skies, endless drizzle and general lethargy that seems to come at the end of this season.
Then there'll be a day, usually early March, when I wake up to a slightly lighter morning. The curtains will filter warmer light into my room, and I'll hear my favourite sound - the chirping and calling of birds as they chatter excitedly in the trees and hedgerows close to my house.
The sound is a promise that lighter, warmer days are coming; that nature will begin to pepper fields and meadows with colour and that the worst of the winter gloom has dissipated.
It always makes me smile when the season turns.
Renee Rosen
Springtime for me is all about hope and renewal. Here in Chicago, people seem to flood the streets and you run into friends you haven't seen in months.The sidewalk cafes are open, the parks are lush and green once more, Lake Michigan turns blue again and I'm reminded that I live in one of the most beautiful cities in the world.
We moved last year and now have outdoor space. So for us, this spring is all about grilling and planting flowers and the world's smallest vegetable garden.
Jenn Bouchard
Spring means it's finally baseball season. My family has ten games at Fenway Park every year, and cheering on the Red Sox is one of the things that brings us together. It's been a great part of growing up for my kids, who are now 15 and 11. My son plays baseball and my daughter plays softball, and being a part of those youth sports communities has been a major part of our lives. I love spending time with the parents and supporting our kids. I also wrote about a retired relief pitcher in the book I'm querying right now, PALMS ON THE CAPE. It's been a blast to write about something that I love!
A.D. Anderson
When you're named after a quintessentially spring month (April), you HAVE to love spring! From warmer days to earthy rain scents, spring is a revelation of color and beauty that beckons us to join the celebration.
Evelyn Kohl LaTorre
Spring signifies fresh new growth--including mine. There is more daylight--more time to be outdoors. More birds, mostly Night Blue Herons, at my nearby lake to photograph. I rejoice when the daffodils in my yard and on my camellia bush surprise me with their blooms. The greenery of our hills surround me signifying new life. I too am filled with newness. New hope-- that maybe this year I can safely travel to New Mexico and New York to visit loved ones. If COVID doesn't allow that, I'll have to be content with finding newness in writing a new book.
Barbara Linn Probst
When we think about spring, the first things that come to mind, for most of us, are visual images. That special luminous green of the first buds. Bright yellow daffodils, and the soft pink-and-white of the apple blossoms. I have those images too, but they're not my favorite part of the season. For me, spring is about the sensation of going coatless after months of being bundled in layers of wool and down—the feeling of direct contact, once again, between my body and the surrounding air, between me and the world. Like others, I experience spring through its sights and sounds and smells, but what I treasure most is the sensation, the embodied experience. It's a sensation I forget during the winter, and then remember anew each spring. It brings a sweetness, and a hope.
Elisa A. Bonnin
Flowers! I love the way the world blooms in spring. Winter is so gray that it's easy to forget just how colorful nature can be. I grew up in the tropics, so living somewhere with four seasons is still a bit of a new experience for me, and I'm always startled by how vibrant the world becomes in spring.
Joy Castro
I love the soft wind and scent of fresh flowers in the air—& being able to breeze out the door without pausing to don a coat, hat, scarf…the lightness of everything.
Cathy A. Lewis
Spring time for me, is what I call the season of hope. With all things renewing, the earth and all that's in it, as a human walking this ancient road of life, I too, feel renewed. The season of hope offers new beginnings, and with it a revitalized spirit forging ahead with fresh ideas and creations. By trade and training, I'm a classically trained chef-springtime offers a bounty not found in other seasons, think morels, fiddlehead ferns. These items of course are now available all year round, but there was a time when only springtime brought those delights. As a newly minted author, I feel a compelling sense of urgency to finish projects so that I have the free space to create new ones. The creative sense of springtime moves me every time I see a fresh flush of daffodils, or a mother robin gathering elements for her nest. Spring is everywhere, on display for all who adjust their vision to see the small details, for in those small details, I think, you find the greatest beauty.
Jill Shalvis
My absolute favorite thing about spring is that after months of snowy, blizzardy winter, after all the white ... things start to turn green again. And colorful. I do love winter, but spring ... spring is my favorite. :)
Lisa Braxton
I love to take walks at a park near where I live called Pond Meadow Park. I take Regina along with me, my Pembroke Welsh Corgi. The foliage is spectacular, flowers are blooming and we walk around a very large pond and are sometimes met by turtles, geese, ducks, and deer. I put in my earbuds, put on my playlist, and jam to the music while we're walking.
Paulette Stout
I live in the northeast of the United States, so I love seeing the landscape transformation from bare to lush green. Flowers pop their heads out of the ground and begin to bloom. Tree branches sprout buds, then one day--surprise! Bright green leaves unfurl. Before I know it, we're driving and walking along shady lanes with sun filtering through swaying leaves.
Sarah McCraw Crow
Spring is really slow in coming to northern New England. And while I love seeing all my early perennials poke through the soil—they remembered to come back to life! Yay!—what I really love is seeing the first gorgeous tiny leaves of the baby lettuces, spinach, arugula, and kale in the vegetable garden. They are tiny and perfect and hopeful.
Susan J. Farese
I love Spring for so many reasons! I am a birdwatcher and Spring is such a delightful time for birdwatching (especially the shorebirds and hummingbirds). I am also a nature photographer and seek to capture the essences of Spring in my shots, whether it is the beach, the mountains, flowers, birds, animals and benches (yes, benches)! Of course, having a Spring birthday (April) doesn't hurt! Finally just being outdoors and taking in the sights, scents and wonder of the foliage symbolizing new growth makes me have a smile (and energy) packed with inspiration for writing, especially Haiku during Spring!
Judith F. Brenner
Tulips popping through thawed gardens are my favorite springtime event besides celebrating my birthday March 22. Spring is a marker for me to check in on my writing goals, and check in with my characters in my works in progress. My upcoming novel, The Moments Between Dreams, (releases May 3), includes chapter subheads Spring 1944 up to Spring 1955. The protagonist Carol, like me, looks for cues in her world that she is making progress, like a tulip bulb which sprouts, leafs out, produces a bloom. Some days, a rabbit bites off the tasty head of our efforts, and we must try again next year to last until our petals whither and we grow strong at the root. My protagonist and I love walking by front yards to see tulips boasting of colorful displays, some delicate pink and white, others robust arrangements of reds and oranges in groupings or lined up like soldiers saluting us. Gardeners, like writers, are artists using God's gift of the creative process in arranging bulbs as we arrange words to form the most provocative or even subtle impact. The displays can whisper or shout. They speak of new beginnings, defying any lingering frozen ground or writer's block. Spring tickles the imagination of any passer-by, viewing writers' display of words on a page or gardeners' tulip petals in a park.
Ellen Alpsten
I love how worlds and dimensions blend in Spring. Christianity's most important celebration - Easter - actually picks up on a much older, more heathen trend: the sheer joy in life returning; a burst of blossom and a frenzy of festivities and fertility. The joy in life is for everyone, every year again. That same merging of worlds and beliefs I try to filter into me work - 'The Tsarina's Daughter' is published on the 15th of March 2022 by St. Martin's Press. That's Spring time reading sorted!
Audrey Wick
In spring, I love being able to ride my bicycle outdoors. Seeing pretty wildflowers in bloom along Texas county roads where I ride is a highlight. When I get tired, I come back inside--and relax by reading, of course!
Debbie Baldwin
I love opening the doors and windows. I live in a very old, (possibly haunted) very drafty house. I spend all winter trying to keep the weather out. It’s so great to throw open a window and breathe the fresh air. And (drumroll) if all goes according to plan (which it rarely does), I will be releasing the 4th book in the Bishop Security romantic suspense series, Past Purgatory. Oh, and also baseball! Oh, and baby bunnies! Wow, I am so ready for spring!!!
Kristan Higgins
Picking daffodils! We planted hundreds and hundreds of bulbs a few years ago, and after mud season fades away, there they are, little clumps of sunshine all through the woods and in the field. I pick dozens of them and put them in vases and jars and bottles throughout the house. Flower arranging is a hobby of mine, and the daffodils kick off the season of bringing happiness inside.
Susan Mallery
My favorite thing about spring is the return of color. I live in Washington state, where winter is a long, dreary, gray affair. Gray days, dark neutrals in our wardrobes. In spring, flowers begin to bloom, little bursts of color everywhere you look--our reward for making it through all those rainy days--and it inspires us to reach for the bright colored clothes in our closet, too. I've noticed that book covers start to brighten this time of year, as well, lifting spirits even more. The cover of my new book, The Summer Getaway, is teal and white and pink--the happiest possible color story.
Christina Consolino
Spring is a promise of new growth and new life, when the land begins to thaw and burst with energy, brown turns to green, darkness turns to light. That blooming of nature is my favorite because it lends me energy and rejuvenates my soul. Witnessing that change allows more energy, more confidence, and more courage to surge within me, and I find myself better equipped to deal with anything life decides to throw my way.
Rachel Abugov
For me, the most wonderful thing about spring is the feeling of liberation. Freedom from heavy coats, scarves, mittens, and especially boots. I live in Montreal, where we have snow until mid-April, sometimes even longer. Just being able to run to the store without piling on layer after layer of clothing is my definition of spontaneity and, yes, freedom!
Denise Larson
On March 20th 1984 I went on a blind date. I didn't know I would fall in love with the guy, get married, and have a child. But, that spring day made my fairytale come true. Not that I understood that fate was knocking on my door. In fact, I vowed never to see him again after our first lunch date. He called the next day and invited me to see the movie "This is Spinal Tap" and I thought why not? The movie was hilarious and we began to bond over this shared sense of humor. This March 20th I will think of that day 38 years ago and reflect on how it changed my life. The metaphor of Spring and a blooming awakening in this memory is a treasure to me. I lost my husband last year so this year's remembrance will be bittersweet. Still, better have loved and lost than to never have loved at all. Cheers to Spring!
Feyisayo Anjorin
Caribbean Islands...only because I love tropical locales and I haven't been there yet. I'd also like to visit more of Asia (Japan, Singapore, Vietnam...). Of course, that's assuming it's ever safe to travel again :-)
