It’s always a pleasure to discover the work of another naturist writer, and Scott Lunt is a great one to discover. He’s a professional advertising copywriter who began writing for NUSA SUN magazine about traveling with his wife Julie to nudist destinations around the country – all while decidedly *not* retired! His new book, Sun Blocked: Traveling by RV in the states of undress, contains all 39 of his NUSA SUN columns spanning 2014-2019, plus one extra.
If you’re a nudist and/or an RV owner, this book is definitely for you. As an avowed naturist, I found out a lot more about nudist parks I haven’t had the opportunity to visit yet. And having no experience with RVs, I appreciated the many tips and tricks, trials and travails of RV operating that Scott describes.
With titles like “Naked, and Sometimes Afraid” and “Flight of the Snowbirds,” these three-page chronicles are just plain fun to read. Scott has a sense of humor that comes through very clearly in his writing. He would not write, for example, that there was a horse walking down the lane toward the school. Through his lens of humorous hyperbole, it would probably be expressed something like, “There was a large mammal stomping down the road toward the unsuspecting children.” Here’s an example:
Apparently, one of my favorite hobbies is smacking various body parts (usually my head) against cupboards, door frames, and whatever part of the motorhome is handy at the time. Thankfully evolution had me in mind when human skulls developed to their current protective state, and nothing serious has happened yet.
Sun Blocked p. 45
This self-deprecating description comes from a how-to section on medical care, something that can be difficult to find or afford when traveling around the country. It’s an example of taking something serious and adding a good dose of humor.
Here’s another tragicomic passage that makes for very engaging reading. Our intrepid naturists Scott and Julie are getting settled in at Sun Meadow, a nudist resort in Idaho:
Lost in thought, I didn’t realize that at that very moment Julie was having an intimate encounter with a sociopathic yellow jacket wasp.
“Quit dancing and come check out this view,” I said, a bit put out.
“I just got stung!”
“Oh no. Well, careful dear,” I cautioned, expecting a cascade of profanities. “This is a family resort. Think of the children!”
OK maybe I wasn’t that callous, and in fact I was impressed with how stoically she quietly rubbed her arm.
Sun Blocked p. 66
See what he did there? Not only did he thwart your expectations as to how a husband might react to his spouse’s dilemma, but also he threw in that line that is so often used against naturists–Think of the children!–in an unexpected way: not because a nude woman is hopping around in pain in an open-air setting, but because she might utter (or holler!) a few unpleasantries. Very clever writing indeed!
I wouldn’t be able to pick a favorite chapter out of so much great prose, but the one I found most interesting is “Trail Ride,” about the park where I’m currently a member and have frequented over the past twenty years: Oaklake Trails in central Oklahoma. Thing is, I haven’t yet had the pleasure of participating in a midnight trail ride (golf cart caravan through the woods) at Oaklake… and wow, is it on my bucket list now!
11 p.m. [of Friday night, June 16, 2017]
We pass through a corridor of trees by a lake, and a naked woman wearing a furry animal head lunges out at me. It’s Kathy, and I thought she had been behind us. I’m pretty lost and it’s a good thing I’m not driving.
The convoy parks in circle on the shore. There’s a flag pole here and a naked guy is inching his way to the top. “Your turn,” he says, but I like my goolies too much to shimmy up the cold steel. The lake shimmers in the starlight, lightening bugs flicker in the brush and we listen to the cicadas serenade us.
Sun Blocked p. 135
Another highlight of this book is its title – there is a meaning to it beyond skincare products, and I refuse to spoil it for you! You’ll just have to find out for yourself, in the chapter of the same name, “Sun Blocked.” It’ll afford you a new appreciation of the stellar book cover image!
It takes a lot of work to get a book written, full stop. Then after that there is still more work: getting it laid out properly, copy-edited, paginated (*this is much, much harder than you would think*) designed and marketed and distributed to the various formats, and–hopefully–actually read by real live readers. I know all this from experience, and in my estimation, Sun Blocked is very handsomely produced. Between amusing anecdotes and tips for nudist travel–on a sliding scale from facetious to earnest–the book also includes several destination photos, and a couple of images of Julie’s attractive art. It’s an all-around terrific read, and you can find it on Amazon and Kobo, as well as Nook, Scribd and other formats here.
Are the Nomadic Nudists still out there somewhere in the world, doing their thing? Find out the latest at nomadicnudists.com!
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