Following on the heels of the Rainbow Writers Cruise, Rory Maxwell and I stayed on the Celebrity Reflection for a back-to-back sailing. Time for the Rainbow Readers Cruise, the biggest year yet with about 50 authors and nearly 200 readers!

---

Monday

The mood gets set right away with the “Rainbow Regalia” theme for the first night. I arrived at the opening reception about 10 minutes before Rory Maxwell finished getting ready, which prompted multiple hilarious moments of people asking where “my other half” was! I assured everyone that I am allowed in public unsupervised. Not sure how many I convinced, though.

Tuesday

Back in Key West! Rory led a group of readers (and me, the sneaky photo taker) to a group stretch class first thing in the morning (yes, the Reflection has an area literally called the Lawn Club). Instead of going on shore, we spent the rest of the day lounging in a fabulous cabana aboard the ship.

That night’s theme, for the ship’s formal night, was “Shine the Night.” I think we followed the brief quite well! (Clearly, we are back in the martini bar.)

Wednesday

Mass signing day! I had the pleasure of assisting Lucy Lennox at her table in the morning (cue “how is this my life” shock again). My signing slot was later in the afternoon. The coolest thing I have ever signed to date is this amazing handcrafted version of the Earth and Water cover made by a reader!

I struggled for a long time with that night’s “fairy tale” theme, because I didn’t want to default to Disney princess. I finally settled on Calliope, the Greek muse of writing! Rory’s cool ears, from her anime cosplay days, wowed everyone as part of her Woodland Fae costume.

Thursday

For various reasons that certainly don’t help us beat the allegations that we’re attached at the hip, Rory joined my family on our holiday cruise last winter. As part of celebrating my birthday on that trip, my parents treated us to a rum-tasting tour in Nassau. Though it wasn’t actually part of the tour, our favorite stop was a shop that served boozy ice cream. So, for our official “author excursion” this year, we led a great group of readers on an expedition to return!

Back on board that afternoon, Rory participated in a panel on writing spicy scenes. She did an amazing job answering questions about getting her creative start in fanfiction and the type of academic research that can go into every part of writing (even the sexy bits). The timing meant we were already dressed for dinner. That night’s theme: 1950s! Clearly, I had to channel Mrs. Maisel with my choice of dress.

Friday

Time to depart the ship again…for real this time. But I’ll be back in March for Rory’s birthday cruise on board the Reflection immediately after it gets some shiny upgrades in dry dock! (Seriously, we’re never beating those allegations…) After a long stint of killing time in the Fort Lauderdale airport, we made it home safely. I spent the rest of the weekend on my couch, but I’m already counting down the days to my next cruise! (This year’s holiday sailing with my family, we’re hitting the West Coast for the first time!)

---

Selfie Dump!

Final Haul

What’s next?

• Capclave (October 2-4, 2026; Rockville, Maryland)
• Farpoint (February 5-7, 2027; Towson, Maryland)
• Read the Rainbow (April 17, 2027; Havre de Grace, Maryland)

Attending any of these events? My books are available for preorder!