Category Archive

Here’s a rainbow over Blake Island, which I can see from my beach: 

Here it is, zoomed in:

And finally, here it is, reflected in the water. I love Rainbow Season, which also happens to be the name of one of my favorite romance novels.

YO! Barkis is one year old today! Happy birthday to my shiny boy! Here are a few highlights of the Year of the Dog:

Here he is a year ago …

…getting more handsome every day…

(sometimes I’m naughty)

…. I’m in Canine Good Citizen Class…

.

 … I love the beach!

…and I climb trees so I can look out to sea…

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO MEEEEE! Woof, from Barkis.

Today’s guest blog is by my friend and fellow writer/editor, Lori. You can meet her, Aubrey and Pam, and many other literary luminaries at the upcoming conference.

The last weekend in April used to signify my daughter’s birthday was approaching. Now it means the annual Field’s End Writers’ Conference. Aubrey’s birthday is still at the tail end of April; we just have a new way of celebrating it. Last year was our first Field’s End experience. We stayed the night at the Clearwater Casino Resort – a treat for us. Not only did we get meaningful girl time, but Aubrey was especially delighted with the hotel’s accoutrements. We still have the fun cell phone video clips of Aubrey showing off the hotel room. The spinning chair in front of the vanity was particularly exciting.

At the actual conference, Aubrey was initially cowed at being the only young person in a roomful of adults. But the Field’s End participants are a very friendly lot, so Aubrey soon relaxed. We were lucky enough to land at tables with speakers Garth Stein and Robert Dugoni. They helped draw out Aubrey – and everyone else. Bob Dugoni “escorted” Aubrey to the first break-out session. Her workshop tastes ran differently than mine, and she evidently didn’t feel the need to cling to my side the entire day. When we did get together, I was impressed with how well she sat still. An entire day is a long time – thank goodness for Malachy McCourt! Even though she couldn’t remember how to pronounce his name, she asked me recently if he would be there again. Aubrey took away ideas from each speaker, but it was Mr. McCourt’s presentation she found most enthralling. No surprise! Later we had a grand time purchasing books and getting authors’ autographs and personalized messages. What a delight to see Aubrey bloom into a young woman and a creative presence. There are many, many things we learned that day and which remain part of who we are a year later. This year Aubrey told me that she would like to go back to Field’s End for her birthday (and she gets that this means not much else in the way of birthday presents!). So register, we did.

Aubrey’s writing interests are strong and deep, although she’s still not sure she wants to be a writer. But as some of the Field’s End participants reminded us, a writer is not something you become, it’s something you are. Thus, Aubrey is a writer, and a good one. She’s taking honors classes this year (sixth grade) and scored 100 percent on her most recent Reading WASL. Her Writing WASL score was close behind. She counts attending the Young Authors Conference at Skagit Valley College nearly every year during elementary school as one of her writing-related accomplishments. Children’s book author George Shannon is a frequent presenter, so she was excited to “know somebody” at Field’s End last year!My mom, Pam, has never thought of herself as a writer, but she is certainly skilled. She chose (was there much of a choice in those days?!) to be a mom, wife and homemaker. While I was at the UW, she earned her A.A. from Everett Community College. I always knew she was an excellent proofreader and organizer, if you will, of written materials, but I recently realized that she’s also a talented writer. She can deftly describe her own and other people’s feelings and motivations. Mom would disagree (LOL). Once she decides to believe in her skill and channel it to a specific project of her own, look out! For now, she is helping to research and write a book with her brother.

I’m actually writing the children’s chapter-book version of the same story. Although I’m an on-again, off-again kind of fiction writer, I’m still very committed to this story. My preference is to fix and organize words rather than to originate them. That’s the editor in me. My mom recently showed me a progress report from my first-grade teacher. I wanted to be a nurse, teacher, hairstylist and editor. How crazy is that? What six-year-old kid knows what an editor is? I evidently figured it out, and it has stuck with me. My mom plans to join us this year. Aubrey’s okay with sharing a bed with me, although I offered to have her and Grandma bunk together because Grandma’s skinnier than I am and will take up less room. We’ll see what happens.

In 1977 the British newspaper The Guardian published a special seven-page supplement devoted to San Serriffe, a small republic located in the Indian Ocean consisting of several semi-colon-shaped islands. A series of articles affectionately described the geography and culture of this obscure nation. Its two main islands were named Upper Caisse and Lower Caisse. Its capital was Bodoni, and its leader was General Pica. The Guardian’s phones rang all day as readers sought more information about the idyllic holiday spot. Few noticed that everything about the island was named after printer’s terminology. The success of this hoax is widely credited with launching the enthusiasm for April Foolery that gripped the British tabloids in subsequent decades.

• Read the full article about San Serriffe.

Source: www.museumofhoaxes.com

“…having little or no money in my purse, and nothing particular to interest me on shore, I thought I would sail about a little and see the watery part of the world.”

—Hermann Melville, Moby-Dick or, The Whale

A carrier passed by our house this week.

I wonder where they’re off to…I hope they all come back safe and sound.

My kitchen was boring. This house is all about the view outside, but still. Off-white formica and linoleum squares were starting to get really depressing.

Then the garbage disposal broke and I thought…I never liked that sink. And while I was at it, I hated the countertops, the cooktop, the backsplash and the floor. Time for a makeover! Time to go green!

My habit of watching “Living with Ed,” the Ed Begley show about going green, finally made sense. I ordered bamboo floors, Vetrazzo countertops (in Hollywood sage, just like the ones in Ed’s house; they’re made of recycled Coke bottles) and stainless steel tile. Oh, and something called a magnetic induction cooktop which looks like a flat sheet of black glass. Check it out! NOW we’re cooking!

 Here’s a wider shot of the space:

…and a close-up of the cooktop:

But still, I spend most of my time looking out the window….

So…..On our beach walk today, Barkis homed right in on these skeletons. They’re 3-4 feet long. NO CLUE what they are. I call them Thing One and Thing Two. Anyone?

*** CALENDAR ALERT ***SAVE THE DATE

WRITING IN THE GARDEN OF THE GODS
Field’s End Writers’ Conference 2008

WHO: This year’s line-up of authors and speakers includes: Roy Blount, Jr. (keynote speaker), Stephanie Kallos (opening speaker), Knute Berger, Alice Acheson, Lyall Bush, Laura Kalpakian, Thomas Kohnstamm, Rosina Lippi aka Sara Donati, Jennifer Louden, Nancy Pagh, George Shannon, Charley Pavlosky, Sheila Rabe aka Sheila Roberts, Suzanne Selfors, David Wagoner, and Timothy Egan (closing speaker). Professional actor Ron Milton will be on hand for the Page One sessions.

WHAT: Third annual Field’s End Writers’ Conference, “Writing in the Garden of the Gods.”

WHEN: Saturday, April 26, 2008
9:30 a.m. to 6 p.m.

WHERE: Kiana Lodge
14976 Sandy Hook Rd. NE
Poulsbo, WA 98370

DETAILS: This one-day conference, held at the spectacularly beautiful Kiana Lodge near Bainbridge Island, is a combination of lectures and breakout sessions presented by an eclectic group of people in the literary world.

The day offers three groupings of breakout sessions. Guests will select three workshops to attend according to their interest (literary fiction, poetry, nonfiction, screen writing, dialogue, genre, travel writing, editing, journalism, historical fiction, and commercial fiction). Each breakout session will also offer a Page One workshop, where conference guests can anonymously submit the first page of something they’ve written for possible live reading and critique by the guest authors.

Lunch is provided and there will be an early evening wine and cheese reception and book signing providing conference guests, authors, and speakers a chance to mingle. Shuttle buses will be available to carry walk-on ferry passengers to and from Kiana Lodge.

Registration begins February 1, 2008. Early registration is recommended as the conference is limited to 250 guests and has sold out in the past. Cost to attend is $135 if you register before February 28, 2008 and $150 after March 1, 2008. Groups of 5 or more can register for $130/person. To register for the 2008 Field’s End Writers’ Conference, visit www.fieldsend.org.

Founded in 2002, Field’s End is a writers’ community whose mission is to inspire writers and nurture the written word through lectures, workshops, and instruction in the art and craft of writing. Located across the Puget Sound from Seattle on beautiful Bainbridge Island, Field’s End is an affiliate of the nonprofit Bainbridge Public Library, which is located at 1270 Madison Avenue on Bainbridge Island. For more information, call (206) 842-4162 or visit www.fieldsend.org.

###

MEDIA CONTACT:
Kirsten Graham
Concept 2 Launch
(206) 890-3435
kirsten@concept2launch.net

kirsten graham
c o n c e p t 2 l a u n c h, LLC
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innovation.connections.results
t.206.890.3435
e:kirsten@concept2launch.net
www.concept2launch.net

Happy New Year to all. Here’s a calm shot, taken from my beach.  

For a long time now I have tried simply to write the best I can. Sometimes I have good luck and write better than I can.

–Ernest Hemingway

I nearly forgot a career milestone this month. It’s the tenth anniversary of my first book with Mira Books, my current publisher. The Lightkeeper was a seaswept, Beauty-and-the-Beast-style romantic epic that takes place on the Washington coast in the 1870s. The setting is literally the ends of the earth, on the Long Beach peninsula at the mouth of the Columbia River, an area notorious for raging seas and terrible shipwrecks. The original title of this book was The Edge of Forever, a title I still love (and a tribute to the Star Trek episode “City on the Edge of Forever”), but The Lightkeeper is probably stronger and definitely more straightforward.

The Cape Disappointment lighthouse still stands. When we visit this area, we love to stay at the dog-friendly Lighthouse (where else?) or the Klipsan Beach Cottages. A walk through Oysterville is a trip back through time. Every time I go there, I feel like writing stories misted in spindrift. It’s a place where I find myself writing better than I can.

This book has one blooper that I know of–there’s no way the characters can be drinking marionberry cordial, since marionberries weren’t introduced until the 1950s. Thanks to alert readers, that will be corrected in future reprints.

Happy 10-year anniversary to me and Mira Books!

Would you please check out the baby sea lion that came to my beach today?

See my previous post about protecting seals. Safe travels, little guy.

Here’s something you don’t see every day. A yard barge. They moved my neighbors’ house away on a barge. Gorgeous day. There’s a slide show here.

“We get to think of life as an inexhaustible well. Yet everything happens only a certain number of times, and a very small number, really. How many more times will you remember a certain afternoon of your childhood, some afternoon that’s so deeply a part of your being that you can’t even conceive of your life without it? Perhaps four or five times more. Perhaps not even that. How many more times will you watch the full moon rise? Perhaps twenty. And yet it all seems limitless.”
- Paul Bowles (American Author)

I made some new friends last week when an online writers’ group stayed in my guest house. It was their first time to meet face to face, after getting to know each other so well through e-mail and reading each other’s manuscripts. I really admire these people–who convened here from far away–for giving themselves this experience. It’s a great reminder that we’re never too old to try new things.

And–bonus–Ginny is an amazing photographer. Stay tuned for a few more of her shots.

My friend Pete took this stunning picture one morning.

He’s a key organizer of Arms Around Bainbridge, an athletic event and benefit for Olivia Carey, a beloved islander suffering from ovarian cancer. I feel so lucky to live in a place where people take care of each other in creative ways. It’s a perfect example of how a person can use his gift and his passion. to help someone.

Last year I wrote a story to benefit Cottage Dreams, an organization that gives cancer victims a week in a rustic lakeside cottage. The topic was tailor made for me–a lakeside cottage? I am so there. I’m proud to have a publisher that gives authors an opportunity to use their gifts and passions to help others.

So there I was, putting the finishing touches on my revisions, when the carrier John Stennis came steaming home.

Welcome home, Navy guys! This closeup gives you a perspective of its size. Note the 200-car Washington  State Ferry in the background:

In fact, seeing how tiny and vulnerable the people on deck look was the inspiration for the mishap in one of my books.

Barkis took it in stride…

But the show wasn’t over. Along came a shiny new yacht, with a helocopter hovering overhead, apparently filming or photographing it.

I put up a slide show of the whole business. And here I thought living on the water was supposed to impart a zen-like calm….

Today’s the day! The wonderful folks at Bookreporter.com are giving away another crop of brand new, hot-off-the-presses books, and Dockside is one of them. You can’t beat that!

Some of my favorite authors are featured in this contest–Lisa Tucker, Lisa Jackson, Marian Keyes, Meg Cabot–and others that look fantastic, and I’ll surely be trying them. This week, Dockside is the featured title. Enter to win this book and a sack full of other great reads by submitting your name here. Good luck!

Real quick–there’s an excerpt of Dockside online here. Let’s just say we all have a Shane Gilmore somewhere in the past. Here’s hoping he stays there. Enjoy!

It’s a dangerous business going out your front door.
–JRR Tolkien

You never know what you’re going to wake up to around here:

It’s a submarine in tow, so close to my house I could hear people talking on board. More shots of this can be found here.

Peace,

Susan

I wish I had more time to work in my garden. But–come to think of it–things are coming along quite nicely without me. Here are some scenes from my yard in the springtime.

 Gardening is good for writers because it doesn’t occupy the same channel in the brain as writing does. I should do more of it. There is more power in the plotting done while pruning the box hedge than in staring at a blank page for hours.

I’m not a very technical gardener. In this climate, you don’t need to be. Things tend to grow on their own. However, there are two things I always wear while gardening–my Chooka Rockabilly gumboots–because trust me, there is nothing grosser than stepping barefoot on a slug. I also wear those stretchy gloves that look as though they’ve been dipped in rubber–again, it’s the slug thing.

On the other hand, here is a tidbit of writerly wisdom for the day: If you step on a slug with your bare foot first thing in the morning, then you can be pretty sure nothing worse will happen to you the rest of the day.

So I promised the folks on my message board that when the registered members there reached 300, I would post something special, just for them. We hit the magic number on my birthday, so here it is–everything you need to have a fabulous summer: a beach (or a lawn chair will do), a drink, a snack, and my can’t-miss, something-for-everyone list of suggested beach reads, old and new, fiction, nonfiction and food. Enjoy!  

Greetings from the Island

 If once you have slept on an island, you’ll never be quite the same;

You may look as you looked and go by the same old nameYou may hustle about in street and shop you may sit at home and sew,But you’ll see blue water and wheeling gulls wherever your feet may go,You may chat with neighbors of this and that and close to the fire keep,

But you’ll hear ship whistle and lighthouse bell and tides beat through your sleep,

And you won’t know why and you can’t say how such a change upon you came,

But once you have slept on an island you’ll never be quite the same!

–Rachel Field

www.susanwiggs.com

I made a donation to Brenda’s auction. The winning bidder gets a weekend stay in my guest house, where you’ll see I’m not exaggerating about “The View From Here.” I’ll even make you cranberry-orange muffins for breakfast and take you for a boat ride, weather permitting. You can hide away and work on your novel, take a walk on the beach to the day spa or just hang out and do nothing, which is way underrated, if you ask me. So take a look at Brenda’s auction and make a bid on this or other fabulous items. Why? Because she’s raising money to find a cure for juvenile diabetes. I learned quite a bit about Type 2 diabetes (the auction is for Type 1 but everyone can benefit) while writing Lakeside Cottage; the disease touches so many lives. I can’t begin to tell you how important this is, so I’ll let Brenda tell you herself:

Help Brenda Novak make a difference to her son and others suffering from diabetes—shop at her 3^rd Annual On-line Auction, May 1 – May 31^st at www.brendanovak.com where you can bid on over 600 items, many of which can’t be found anywhere else. It’s easy (works like E-Bay), it’s fun, and all the money goes to research. As an added incentive, the person who places the most bids over all will win a $1500 prize package that includes a brand new laptop computer and a digital camera. So bid early and bid often! Here’s just a sample of what you’ll find:

*R/T Airfare for two to Seattle (from any city Alaska Air flies), hotel stay in downtown Bellevue, $100 to spend at the mall, a trip to the day spa and an invitation to Jane Porter’s launch party for her new book, ODD MOM OUT

*Trips and stays to many places, including a two-night stay in NYTimes Bestselling Author Susan Wiggs’s Guest Cottage in the beautiful Pacific Northwest

*Lunch in NYC at the posh Five Points Restaurant with historical romance author Kristina Cook and her agent, Marcy Posner of Sterling Lord Literistic

*The opportunity to be swept away in a limo at the RWA National Conference in Dallas this summer to have dinner at an elegant restaurant with Brava Author Diane Whiteside

*A handmade quilt featuring the autographs of many NYTimes Bestselling authors, including, Meg Cabot, Susan Elizabeth Phillips, Janet Evanovich, Julie Garwood, Jayne Ann Krentz, and Suzanne Brockmann

*Elegant High Tea for Six with NYTimes Bestselling Author Debbie Macomber at the landmark Victorian Rose Tea Room in Port Orchard, WA

*A gourmet dinner with NYTimes Bestselling Author Christine Feehan served in the home of Brenda Novak.

*A Web Site design of up to five pages, including a Flash header element from Stonecreek Media

*A Month’s Worth of Mentoring for any aspiring writer from Bestselling Author Roxanne St. Claire*A Limo Wine Tour for Five with NYTimes Bestselling Romantic Suspense Author Allison Brennan (Napa Valley)

*A designer bookbag stuffed with so many goodies it’s worth nearly $400 from talented author Dianna Love Snell

*Hundreds of gift baskets

*Hundreds of Autographed books

*Critiques and/or lunch/breakfast/tea with agents, editors and multi-published authors

 

*Much, much more!

‘Tis done. We talked, sang, laughed, cried, created, learned, ate and had an incredible day at the Field’s End conference. Thanks to all the amazing speakers and writers who participated. Special thanks to the Bainbridge Island Beach Cottage for providing accommodations. There’s a slide show of the event here. Happy writing to all!

Authors Carol Cassella, Michael Donnelly, Mickey Molnaire at Kiana Lodge.

I inhaled this book. My copy of The Penny Tree came in the mail last week, and I took a peek, thinking I’d just sample it and then put it on my TBR pile. Many hours later, in the middle of the night, I was still curled up in my favorite chair, still reading. And when I got to the end, I felt like flipping back to the beginning and reading it all over again. It’s that good. So good that it made me want to take my daughter out into the garden and nail a penny to a tree. So please, treat yourself. Do it now. You’ll thank me.

I first met Holly at the Maui Writers Conference, in the intensive pre-conference retreat. Picture ten writers in a room at a tropical resort, madly reading, critiquing and revising each other’s novels. Okay, don’t picture it. Not a pretty sight, especially because they put me in charge of a group, and I am notoriously messy.

The students in my group that year were talented, intense and driven, but none moreso than Holly. The first thing that struck me was how very generous she was with her fellow writers in the group. But what I remember most of all is reading the draft of her manuscript, a novel called The Tin Box, and getting that twisty feeling in the gut that you get when you realize you’ve discovered something. I was thrilled for Holly, but not at all surprised, when the book was picked up by publishers worldwide and released to great acclaim. Attending the right writers’ conference can be invaluable–believe it.

Now Holly’s third novel, The Penny Tree, is about to be published, yet again to great acclaim. It’s been picked up by foreign publishers and book clubs. If you like really delicious, emotional women’s fiction, this one’s for you. Here’s a brief interview with the always-entertaining Holly Kennedy. She is a kindred spirit, a woman with a great heart, a busy life and a first-class blog. Enjoy!

Q. Okay, tell us what The Penny Tree is all about.

It’s a story about a woman (Annie Hillman) who’s offered a second shot at happiness while coping with the fall-out from her failed marriage. It involves a determined anonymous admirer, a handful of anonymous ads, and the complicated emotional terrain of a family slowly torn apart by their child’s life threatening illness. 

Q.  Do you have a Penny Tree of your own?

A.  No, but I wish I’d been given one when I was growing up, because there were times when I sure could have used one!

Q.  Are parts of the story based on real-life events?

A.  Yes, there are a few that were borrowed from my life. For example, at a recent family reunion, one of my nieces walked into a plate glass window at a restaurant, followed later by my husband, who was followed by his father moments after that. To me, it was hilarious, because they were from the same family, and I knew I wanted to use this in The Penny Tree. There are more, but any smatterings of fact have been carefully blended into the story. However, to clarify, I’ve never seen a drive-in movie theater burn down, I’ve never met a crazy woman with a feather duster in her back pocket, and my boys have never shaved their heads (yet).

Q.  Are any of the characters based on people you know?

A.  None of them, although there are coincidences that have been ‘borrowed’ from my life here, too. Unlike Annie, I wasn’t adopted. I’ve never been fired. And I can say with confidence that I’d make a horrible physical therapist. Sadly, though, my nephew was diagnosed with Hystiocytosis when he was three, although he did survive and is now a healthy young man. I have a Newfoundland dog (Sully) and like Annie, I bought my boys goldfish that refused to die, the same goldfish my husband revived with a turkey baster four years later when our air stone tanked.

Q.  Your main character often lacks confidence in her role as a mother. Was this intentional? 

A.  Yes, mostly because this reflects how I feel as a mother. No matter how old we get, we never stop growing or changing, and being a mother is a delicate balancing act as you guide these little minds through life, even though yours often needs guidance as well. So to me, making Annie appear wholly confident in her role as a mother wouldn’t make her real. 

Q. In the book, it says, ‘Some people meditated or did yoga before they started their day. Others jogged. Annie paddled with her eyes closed.’ What do you do to unwind?

A. I make a double shot of espresso and I write. For me, nothing else comes close.  

[Special note to writers: Registration for the Field's End Writers Conference ends April 24! And to readers: Come see me at the Everett Library on Sunday, April 22, at 2pm.]

This week, I’m a foster mom. Sonny the lab-mix has come to stay while his people are on vacation. He loves the beach! Who doesn’t love the beach? Gorgeous morning and a good writing day to boot.

I’m starting something new (the novel formerly known as Untitled), had a wacky brainstorming meeting with my writers’ group (aka the Brain Trust) and researched* a whiz-bang opening sequence, complete with flying bullets and catering vans careening off into the North Sea. Sophie Bellamy is in for a bumpy ride.

*If you live anywhere near The Hague, Holland, I would love to hear from you! I have some questions….

I went away for the weekend–to Klipsan Beach–to find a title for my new book. My ever-wise editor wants it to reflect a) a sense of place and b) a feeling of escape. So I escaped to a place with a strong sense of place and I’m waiting for a lightning bolt of inspiration. You’d think after 30 books, I’d know better.

 The book will be published in February 2008. It’s another of the “Lakeshore Chronicles” books about the made-up Catskills town of Avalon.

How do you find the right title for a book?

Pardon me, I have to insert a quick kvell. Just had the nicest 3-way. On the phone, you guys, on the phone. My editor and agent called to let me know The Winter Lodge made it for a third week on the New York Times list and has even climbed several notches. Plus while we were on the phone, my agent (in Manhattan) spied a naked man out her window. Life is good.

I want to go to Istria.

Also Puerto Escondido and someplace in the Bohemian forest where there are castles. And Nantucket. I’m afraid my literary agent will divorce me if I don’t get to Nantucket one of these days. Decisions, decisions.

But here’s the thing. I live in the best place on earth. It’s easy to settle into a comfy inertia and not go anywhere.

Then I remind myself of what happens when you travel–the things you see and the things that happen to you, the surprises you can’t plan for and the experiences you’ll never forget–when you step out into the world.  So okay. I’m up for it.

 How do you choose where you want to travel?

So until I plan that trip to Istria, here’s a recipe for a cake from the region:

Okrugli Vrsak
      Yield: 1 cake

1 1/2 c  butter
      1 lb confectioner’s sugar
      6    eggs
    1/8 tsp salt
      1 tsp vanilla
      1 tsp almond flavor
      1    lemon peel, grated
      4 c  flour
      1 tsp baking powder
           a handful of dried fruits and nuts
 
  Cream butter and sugar; add eggs, one at a time.  Add all  the flavorings and salt.  Add flour and baking powder. Mix only long enough to make it creamy. Add the dried fruits and nuts.  Bake in greased and floured tube pan or loaf pan for 1 hour and 15-25 minutes, or until done, at 325 F.
 
  Source: Mary Aziz
  “Our Favorite Recipes” St. Anthony Croatian Catholic Church
  Typed for you by Karen Mintzias

A quick reminder - Booklovers’ weekend at the Ocean Lodge is coming up! There’s an article about it here.

News flash and a huge, huge thank you to readers–The Winter Lodge is on the New York Times Bestseller list , Publishers Weekly and the USA Today list. On to our regularly-scheduled program….

I write the first drafts of my novels by hand. I’m just as particular about the paper as I am about the ink. I use only a Clairefontaine notebook–wire-bound, graph ruled–and peacock blue ink, which has lamentably been replaced by “turquoise.” The pastel-tinted paper is thick, with a silky writing surface, and putting the words down is a meditation and a pleasure for whole minutes at a time (I’m not one of those writers blessed with effortless first drafts). In French, the notebooks are called “velin veloute,” a reference to the smooth texture of the paper.

 When I’m working on a book, I tend to drag this notebook around with me everywhere. When it’s not with me, I try to keep it in a safe place, like in the freezer. So if there’s a fire, it’ll survive.

 The U.S. distributor put up a list of writers who use Clairefontaine notebooks, including yours truly, as well as the main character of Passing Through Paradise:

“Best selling author Susan Wiggs, in her recent novel, Passing through Paradise, devised a heroine who uses Clairefontaine tablets and peacock-blue ink. This is no surprise, since the author herself always writes her first drafts with a special fountain pen, peacock-blue ink, and, yes, Clairefontaine notebooks.”

 Author Anne Tyler once said that writing a book in longhand is like “knitting a book.” Maybe, but I don’t think that hard when I knit.

News Flash! We’ll be talking about this event live or on the Web on KINK-FM on Thursday, February 8, at 9:00a.m. Tune in to 102FM in Portland, or listen on the Web. See you on the airwaves.

Sometimes, serendipity is the best travel guide. I had never heard of The Ocean Lodge  in Cannon Beach, Oregon before the manager, Wendy, contacted me several years ago. She had read The Lightkeeper which takes place in the vicinity, and was inspired to create a theme weekend for guests, called “Romance and a Storm.” My job was to be author-in-residence for a long weekend, chief Eater of Chocolate Waffles and head letter-writing guru. Since Valentine’s Day was approaching, I decided the writing exercise would be “How to Write a Love Letter.”

For this writing exercise, the only assumptions were that a) everybody loves someone and b) everybody can write. In our diverse room full of people, we had women of all ages, a couple of well-behaved young husbands (any guy who would attend a workshop called “How to Write a Love Letter” automatically falls into the “well-behaved” category) and a kid who was more interested in the chocolate-syrup pump in the breakfast room than any stinkin’ love letter.

In the back of the room was a burly man in a plaid flannel shirt, a red knit cap on his head and lace-up boots, with his sleeves rolled back to reveal beefy forearms. He held his pen like a blunt instrument. He was easily more than six feet tall and had the body of a linebacker. So I’m thinking, this better be good, because this guy could hurt me.

The writing process for a simple love letter starts with brainstorming and visualizing. I encourage people to picture their loved one (sweetheart, mom, child, pet, anyone they like) and to jot down some key phrases and feelings that come to mind. Ultimately, the goal is for them to put their heart on paper in their own unique, sincere way. Everyone went about it with gusto. I looked at Paul Bunyon in the back of the room and was amazed to see him weeping. He wrote and wrote, longer than anyone else, his big shoulders shaking as his pen moved steadily across the page. Then he blew his nose, gruffly thanked me and ducked out.

I found myself envying the recipient of that letter.

The Ocean Lodge tends to have that effect on people. It’s a place so close to the edge of the world that you feel as though you can touch infinity. People who don’t ordinarily write things pick up pen and paper. Unartistic people grab or pastels and sketchbook, and non-athletes find themselves taking a beach walk or hike with a camera. That’s what an Ocean Lodge Event is all about. I have one coming up later this month.  

Please join me for a reception, booksigning and writing workshop in this magical place, February 23-25.