Susan and John Ruff, Fantasy Authors

What is better than travel or writing? Doing both at the same time!

My recent trip to Cambodia and Vietnam included a cruise down the Mekong River. The members of our tour group were the only passengers on the ship, which was a wonderful way to travel. One morning, when the group went on a shore excursion that did not interest me, I stayed on board ship to relax. The crewmembers were busy with their daily activities downstairs, and I had the top deck all to myself.

I poured a cup of tea, grabbed some snacks, pulled out my tablet and mini-keyboard, and sat down for some uninterrupted writing time. The weather stayed perfect — warm, but not too hot — and the deck shading kept the sun off my table. In between snacking, enjoying the view, and just relaxing, I managed to finish half of a chapter of the 4th book in the Post Host cozy fantasy series.

It was not the first time I wrote fiction on the deck of a cruise ship. Portions of our epic fantasy novel 60th Hour came to life while John and I sailed through the Panama Canal. Planes, trains, and ships often provide good writing time for me.

But this was the first time I had the entire deck to myself while I wrote. It felt like author Heaven.

-Susan 3/6/2026

P.S In case you’re wondering why I was working on the 4th book in the series when the third is not yet published, I have a writing update. The third book is with our copy editor for final editing right now and should be published by mid-April. Our newsletter subscribers will get a peek at the new cover in our monthly author newsletter next Friday, and we plan to have the book up for pre-order very soon.

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