Finished my first week back teaching after a far-t00-idle summer. Four classes and a fifth starts in October. I need to be busy again. Busy-ness makes me feel better. Having things to do, having places to be and responsibilities. I’d like to think it pushes me creatively, too. This summer was just a wash–too much [...]

Posted in art, collage, crafts, fiction, my writing, postcards, teaching, writers No Comments »

Where to begin? I seem to keep taking too long to post new blog entries. Sorry. This has got to be one of the slowest summers — as far as (paid) work for me — I’ve ever had but still I find myself busy, frazzled, distracted. So, first, Fishtrap. Got back from my 8-day writing [...]

Posted in Fishtrap, cute photos of me, fiction, my writing, travel, writers, writing residencies 3 Comments »

Today I head out to Northeast Oregon for a writing conference and retreat at Fishtrap. I’m one of the five fellows (that sounds funny… but I mean myself and four others have a fellowship for the week)– and I’ll be taking a writing seminar/workshop/class three hours every morning with the writer of one of the [...]

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I love getting my Word of the Day from Merriam-Webster’s online dictionary (you can sign up for it on their website). I’ve discovered so many cool, strange, new words from it and I keep a file of them on my computer. Who knows, one or more of them could end up in my writing. Today’s [...]

Posted in Movies, fiction, my writing, word of the day No Comments »

I’m making my way through Tinkers, this year’s recent Pulitzer Prize winning novel by Paul Harding. Yesterday I took it to a coffee shop, had an iced coffee and a cookie and sat out on the patio and read for an hour and a half of uninterrupted bliss. I’m torn between really loving the book, [...]

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How does time slip away so fast? I was just saying to my buddy Eduardo yesterday that days and weeks and months just fly by now that I’m a grown up. I remember being in junior high or high school and feeling as if the days and weeks dragged on. Now I wish they would [...]

Posted in Fishtrap, books, crafts, fiction, my writing, postcards, writers, writing residencies No Comments »

It’s been over a week, sorry, since my last post. Lots going on– school is coming to a close– I finish teaching the last week of May. I cannot wait. I’ve rented an office with a co-worker of mine–it’s beautiful, pics to come! So I plan on spending my summer writing–especially since I have literally [...]

Posted in books, fiction, my latest man-crush, my writing, nonfiction, poetry, travel, writers No Comments »

Been wanting to do something crafty lately. Paint. Collage. Make soap. Make something. I get restless when I haven’t created something in a while. Not that writing isn’t creating but a novel is such a long process that I need to feel that I’ve finished something, you know? A couple of weeks ago Ted and [...]

Posted in Uncategorized, crafts, my writing, poetry, writers 1 Comment »

Reading the book A Sudden Country by Karen Fisher; she’s one of the featured writers at Fishtrap, where I won a fellowship for July so I thought I’d better read her book. It’s won or been nominated for a slew of awards and it turns out I remember this book being reviewed in Entertainment Weekly [...]

Posted in Movies, books, fiction, my latest man-crush, my writing, television, writers, writing residencies No Comments »

So I found out a few days ago that I’ve won a full fellowship (even a travel stipend!) to Fishtrap– a week-long conference, workshop and mini-writing residency in the northeast corner of Oregon. I’m thrilled. It’s a week of conferences, readings, and writing workshops–especially this cool one I’m registered for on writing historical fiction (as [...]

Posted in my writing, travel, writers, writing residencies 8 Comments »