March Madness 5: Believing in Yourself

Anyone who’s visited my place would understand when I say my garden beds are a little on the wild side. Not in a nice, English country garden style of wildness, but more of a weed-filled, woodsy mess. Even in the middle of gardening season they tend to get neglected and the ferns and salal that pop up in

Conference Aftermath…

Every event has a highlight. For the Surrey International Writers’ Conference, it has to be after the Saturday evening’s theme banquet, when author Jack Whyte offers up his annual rendition of ‘The Hippopotamus Song’. This year’s performance was especially poignant because many of us know we almost lost Jack last year following his November 30,

Photos from THE Conference

I promised some photos…   That’s enough for tonight. I’ll have a “conference catch-up” post on Monday. ~  ~  ~

Off to a good start!

This will be short and sweet. It’s almost 1:00 a.m. and my eyelids are threatening to shut down at any moment. I did finally get that dratted suitcase packed in time to leave for this weekend’s conference. I’m at the hotel now, filled with information and ideas gleaned from Thursday evening’s workshop with Donald Maass,

In a fog… (in which I complain about suitcases)

Some days my brain is in a fog. There’s just no other way to describe it — fuzzy, unfocused, a little lost. It happens to me every time you put me in front of a suitcase. Suitcases were designed to thwart any attempt to contain what may be necessary for the impending journey. Doesn’t matter

It’s a little like Christmas in October!

October’s here! You know how it was when you were a child waiting for Christmas? December 1st arrived, and with it came all those tantalizing secrets, the fragrance of Mother’s gingerbread baking, the ritual unpacking of heirloom ornaments and, of course, Dad’s annual untangling of Christmas lights. Days crossed off the calendar ever so  s

Getting Ready, Preparation, Organization — Whatever you want to call it

The mist drifting in this morning, this moisture darkening the deck wood and dampening the chair fabrics, isn’t rain. It’s dense fog. We’ve had weeks – months! – of sunshine. It can’t rain now. Our church corn roast is tomorrow. I’m never ready for autumn… never ready to give up summer’s easy living and lack

It’s today! SiWC registration opens today!

I start hyperventilating on this day each year. At least I do on the years I’m able to attend the Surrey International Writers’ Conference, and this is one of those years. I’ve been attending since 2004 and always come home filled with renewed energy for my writing, reams of notes from the workshops, lots of

Paralyzed by Fear

. The fabric has well-defined folds and wrinkles from being squashed under a stack of tablecloths and placemats. It’s a batik I created somewhere around 1985. I’ve kept it because I enjoyed the experience of making it and love its colours, but it has resided in a drawer hidden under table linens for all these

SiWC in Retrospect

Even if you leave late nights to the partiers, the pace at the Surrey International Writers’ Conference keeps your brain in perpetual motion. Every year I come home emotionally recharged but physically and mentally exhausted. It takes a couple days before my brain kicks into gear again, and I can begin to digest all the