Today marks another transition in our life and travel: Our tourist visa has run out and we are forced to leave the Schengen Zone.

For those of you who aren’t familiar with the term, the Schengen Zone refers to 26 countries in Europe that have agreed to certain security standards (among other things) that make it possible cross the borders without showing your passport. These 26 countries are all of the “major” tourist destinations, such as Spain, France, Italy, Switzerland, Germany, the Netherlands, Sweden, and Poland – where we have spent the last few weeks.

As U.S. citizens, we are granted a “tourist visa” upon arrival in the Schengen Zone that allows us to stay 90 days out of a 180 day period – or, 3 months out of 6 months. The 90 days are not consecutive, but cumulative.

Put simply, we have been in the Schengen Zone for 90 days and now we have to leave for 90 days before we can come back.

Many Eastern European countries are not part of the Schengen Zone, so we are headed there (first stop: Ukraine) for the next three weeks before going to the Middle East for a four week house sit.

Such is the life of a nomad.

I like to do about twelve things at once. Not in multi-tasking, but in giving my mind several different stimulating tasks to choose from. Studies have shown that working on multiple projects increases creativity in each project, allowing yourself a different creative outlet if you get stuck on one. This is why some authors write more than one book at a time.

I wrote last week about my desire to be working on a new project. Well, I started several and they all stuck. In the last week I’ve worked on three different manuscripts, all in different genres, and a fourth manuscript is also calling my name.

Combined with blogging, constant travel, photography, making friends, and writing for Patreon, I haven’t had a dull moment, and am looking forward to the longer house sit to get in some quality work time.

Speaking of Patreon, today is the last day to join me on Patreon and still have a chance to read this month’s writing project. Every month I will be releasing a writing project to my supporters on Patreon. Make sure you can read them by signing up to be a Patreon supporter for as little as $1/month. Here’s a sample from this month’s project:

“It felt like trouble when the bus driver rushed us on board and sped wildly from the bus station forty-five minutes before our ticketed departure time. Were we even on the right bus? He had charged us extra for our backpacks. That didn’t seem right but we couldn’t contest it as the ticket was written in Montenegrin. Or Bosnian. I don’t know the difference.

My nerves were not calmed by the bus ride. We were the only people on the bus for half the night. I tried not to think about the fact that they could literally be driving us anywhere and we had no way of knowing if it was indeed to our intended destination until we arrived. The perk of being alone on the bus was that I was able to stretch out on the back row. The downside was that I was nearly thrown off it, rolling forward like a log, with every jerky pump of the brakes.”

The rest will be sent directly to my Patreon supporters tomorrow.

Thank you to everyone who has purchased a copy of “Shattering the Mirror”! The book has just turned one month old and the response to it has been great! If you’ve read the book, don’t forget to leave a review on Amazon.