A Writer Afoot

Long walk day #2

I am training for the Avon Walk for breast cancer.   I'll be posting weekly updates on my progress.

Last week, total miles: 21

Today's walk:

Miles:  10 and a bit, at the Santa Fe Trail, which is a very long trail that runs from Wyoming to New Mexico. Very pretty. 

On the Ipod:  Exercise mix #1, which consists of some Laura Love and Mellencamp and other things for the first half.  Then switched to Letting God of God, by Julia Sweeney, which is so funny I was praying that none of the runners on the trail thought I was off my meds or something.

Snacks: Peanut butter, apple, Luna bar.

No real aches and pains, though my neck is a little stiff from carrying the heavier pack.  (It's challenging to get the clothing correct for a long walk on a February afternoon in Colorado.)

The pitch: I have committed to raising $2500 by June.  It isn't a sponsorship, but direct donations to each walker's tally.  The money goes to helping provide screening and care for women who are under- or uninsured, a cause about which I am passionate.   If you feel moved to donate, you can do so, here.

New Passport

My passport is going to expire in a couple of months, and I have to mail it away to get a new one. It's been feeling a little like retiring my battered hiking boots.  So many adventures we had together!

When I first applied for this passport, I had never been anywhere out of the country.  I had traveled a fair amount around the US, which is a very big and varied land, but never even as far as Canada.   It seems impossible that was only ten years ago, and slightly astonishing to realize that once I got that passport in my hand, baby, I was gone, gone, gone!   

As a young girl, my only desires were to write books, see the world, and be happy.  It's hard to grasp now how impossible it seemed to say those things--write books! See the world (the world?!) because we're a much more sophisticated population these days.  At the time, at 14 or 15, I didn't know anyone who wrote anything, and the only person I knew who had traveled anywhere was my uncle, who had lived in Spain when I was a child. 

By the time I finally got the passport, I'd sold a lot of books, and was fairly on fire to start travel, but I still had young teens in my house.   So when I won a literary prize and knew I was going to spend it on travel, I took the boys with me.  Ian was 15, I think, and Miles a couple of years younger.  My mother went with us, too, also her first trip abroad, and we traipsed around England and Ireland for two weeks, a trip I planned entirely on my own with the nascent Internet, emailing with the owner of the flat we rented in Ealing, not far from the train which took us into London proper.  We visited Bath and Ightham Mote, site of my beloved Green Darkness, and crossed the Irish sea to visit Cork and Dingle.  Miles, a very picky eater, practically starved to death and lived on pastries, but his innate sense of direction kept us from getting lost countless times.  Ian charmed the old men in Ireland, who spoke to him in Gaelic, and he kissed the Blarney Stone, which might have had something to do with all those debate wins, but maybe he was just born a clever Irish talker.

From there, it was a leap to hike in France with my buddy Sonia, right before 9/11.  A trip that changed my life in profound ways, ways that I'm still uncovering, years later.  It was the trip that turned me into my fully hiking self and shook me loose of my old life and dumped me, unceremoniously, into the new one. 

Which has actually turned out to be quite fine, and full of wanderings.  Scotland and New Zealand one year (the lochs and mists and Wallace's sword, his very, very sword that he held once in his own hand; the Bay of Islands and that long, empty, spectacular beach in NZ, where a gang of wild horses trotted up to a ridge and scornfully looked down upon us, their wild manes blowing in the breeze).  Canada, Vancouver and Victoria.  And then England again, and Scotland, and Normandy's beaches and Paris.   And then, the last one on this passport, Naples and Matera and Bari and Kent again last year.   

So much! Such a blessing to have the freedom to travel. 

What new stamps do I want to see in the new one?  Australia will be there, and New Zealand.   But also, I want to see those India stamps and perhaps Morrocco and Ireland again.  Spain would be very nice, and Mexico. No doubt there will be plenty of England, to see CR's mother.   And...I'll leave some surprises up to the Universe.  It seems to sometimes have the most delightful things up its sleeves!

What stamps do you want to add to your passport?

Soul Mates at RTB

I'm blogging about Soul Mates at Romancing the Blog today.   This should be a little less controversial than my last post there. 

Do you believe in soul mates? Come on over and chat.

A Writer Afoot....for the cure

I've been trying to figure out all week how to set up a little icon for this, but programing is not my strong point, so let me just make my announcement:

I'm walking in the Avon Breast Cancer Walk this year.  It is 39 miles--26 on Saturday, and 13 on Sunday.  I wouldn't be nervous about the first half, since I've walked that far in the past, but the second day is a teeny bit daunting. 

Still.  Walking is what I can do, and I've wanted to participate for several years.   This year, I made the leap and sent in my registration.   Every walker must make a commitment to raise a substantial sum, and that's why I'm announcing it here.  I hope some of you will be game to donate, and maybe together we can raise a really juicy sum, in the name of our friends and siblings and relatives, and most especially, our daughters, granddaughters and all the others in the future who WON'T get this disease if we can figure out a way to get rid of it forever.

Once a week or so, I'll post a note about my progress and the sum we've raised together.   I will be offering some prizes (yet to be decided).  Perhaps you work in an office or have a book group and can take up a one-time collection and I can send a set of autographed books to you to distribute.

I also know that it isn't always possible to donate anything, so cheerleading will be much appreciated, too.

There are walks in many cities around the country.   For more information, go to Avon Walk.

To make a donation to my walk click here

Questions?

PS  If anyone can help me figure out how to make an icon with a link to the donation site, I would be very grateful. 

Writing conference possiblities to consider 2008

For the past few days, I've been hammering out the details of my travels this year.   I'll be teaching at The Santa Barbara Writer's Conference again in June, and Australia in August, and San Diego in October.   I'm also going to play in New Zealand with CR's brother & family, and in NYC with my boy who is (seriously, I'm so not as old as this makes me sound) graduating from law school.   

I promised to post great conference links for you and never got to it, but here are some to think about for this year.  It's not cheap to attend conferences, but once in awhile, it's worth it to splurge.

First up, the Magazine Conference in Boulder, which I attended last fall and enjoyed very much.  This is the least expensive of the lot, and they're going to offer several focused versions this year, from travel writing to the nuts and bolts of magazines.  At $350 and in the stunningly beautiful city of Boulder, it's hard to go wrong with this. 

I love the Santa Barbara Writer's Conference, June 21-26 this year.  I'll be teaching a lot of voice and creativity along with the usual Iowa-style readings that feature so prominently at this conference.  This one is pricier, but it is set right on the beach in a stunning hotel, and Ray Bradbury will be speaking Saturday night.  Enormous variety in faculty and speakers.

The Women's Fiction Festival in Matera, Italy.  One of the most delightful experiences I've had.  The conference is intriguing, the parties delightful (Romeo and Juliet's balcony scene acted out on the square while we drank wine in the soft evening breeze), and the company varied and intriguing.  You will never be sorry you went to this one.  But yes, the price tag is...a teeny bit painful.

And of course, there is the big Romance Writers of America bash in San Francisco this year.  I'm quite torn over whether to attend this year, and doubt very much I can squeeze it in, but I am mourning the possibilities (French Laundry!  Chez Panisse!).  This is one of the most complete, most intense, most vivid writing conference experiences out there, so if you have never attended, even if you are not strictly a romance writer, I guarantee you will learn a lot. 

There are hundreds of others, of course.  I've heard the Surrey Conference is a treat.  There are some retreats in Barcelona I wouldn't mind attending someday, and really, I just think I must find one in Ireland one of these days.  I could visit my friends Tom and Emer and explore Ireland for real.   

What are some of the conferences you know about that we should consider? What's the best conference you've ever attended and why?

Apples and walks

This morning on my walk, in heavy coat and shredding gloves and a hat that always gets too hot, what I thought about was how much I love walking.  It's so simple.  So clean.  So unassuming.  You don't need special equipment. Almost anyone can do it, and over and over and over again, they show that it is one of the single best things you can do for your health.  Walk a half hour a day, eat an apple, and love somebody a lot, and you've got it covered. 

I also bought some very beautiful apples today.  Ambrosias.  Very crisp and sweet and pretty to look at it.

What simple things do you love?

Friday artist date

Fridays, on the new, improved schedule, are for artist dates.   This gloomy, crackling cold morning (it has been well below zero at night), I am going to go to yoga class, even though my muscles are still sore from Tuesday.  Then out to find some new cooking tools: a zester, which I do not have and really want; a heavy, midsize saucepan, which I do have but want a better one; and a new grater.  I gave one away in a fit of generosity, and it was the wrong. 

Then Whole Foods.   There were alluring recipes in Oprah this month--I want to try the clear broth with kaffir lime leaves and chiles, and some gingerbread cookies that look plainly sinful. I had to scrap the developing book (a blog for another day--trust me, it was the right decision) and am puttering around while the right one brews.  Cooking seems to be absolutely required for that process somehow.

I might go see Juno, but honestly, I'm not much in the mood for passive watching. I want to DO something.

Any cooking going on in your world? Cooking up books? Artist date planned any time soon?

The REAL Scent of Hours shop!

While watching television recently with Christopher Robin, we saw a commercial for a Manitou Springs perfume shop called Salus.  It looked clean and elegant, and most surprising of all, it offered patrons the chance to make their own perfumes and add the fragrances to a wide variety of bath and body products. 

CR and I looked at each other with our mouths open.  "It's The Scent of Hours!"

Which is, for those in the know, the name of the perfumery in Madame Mirabou's School of Love (now also available for the Kindle, I just noticed!)  which is the story of a woman who is searching for her place in life after a divorce. Her way of relating to the world has always been through scent, and each chapter begins with a recipe from her perfume journal. The shop she eventually opens is in Manitou Springs called the Scent of Hours. 

Last Saturday, CR and I wandered over to Adam's Cafe for lunch, and I remembered the ad. We stopped in, and it is gorgeous, well appointed and clean.  A lovely place to go play, if you are in the area (or visiting), especially with a friend or sister or mother. I think I could spend a couple of days mixing scents and creating my own signature scent! 

What's funny is that I had never heard of such a shop, and it did not exist when I wrote the book.  Now there is.  You can visit in person, or on the Internet.  Tell her I sent you. 

PS.  I'll be talking about the book with Eloisa James at the Barnes and Noble Review site one week from today, January 24.  Please stop by if you can.  This is a great new thing they're doing, and wouldn't we all love to see it be successful? 

Meeting coyote, or why I live in Colorado

Look at him!

CR and I were hiking in the fresh new snow this morning and saw this coyote walking through the trees.  He wasn't particularly worried about us, though a bit disgruntled that we might have cost him a squirrel for lunch.  He posed very regally for this shot.

(Click on any picture to get a bigger view.)

I'm still fizzing a little from it.  The hike, the coyote, the astonishing pleasure of the crisp, cold air, fresh powder, and views like this one:

And this one, a little later as the sun started to come out.  An old quarry on the ranch now made into a popular hiking area:

Finally, this one, just because the colors are so eye-splitting.

Will have to mull over what the universe has to say, since Fox, Coyote, and Dog have all been right in my face the past couple of weeks.   Loyalty, cleverness,  adaptability?   Hmmm.   

All the routines of home

I spent the weekend at the most mundane of tasks.   Drank wine with my friends on Friday night and hiked a little while on Saturday afternoon and swept long fronds of glittery red dog hair off my sofa.  Sunday was breakfast out with CR and I took my notebook to the new Starbucks to write by hand looking at my home mountain, then shopped for groceries and put them all neatly away, taking comfort in a blue glass bowl of lemons and the crisper full of watercress and lettuces, and a basket of tiny red tomatoes.  I went to a movie (Martian Child--I do so love John Cusak) and remembered that it's more interesting to write about men who are smart than perfectly good-looking.

It's good to travel. It's equally good to come home and take up the threads of ordinary life again.