Ruth Thompson's Extraordinary "Quickwater Oracles"

Ruth Thompson's extraordinary Quickwater Oracles (out Dec. 4 from Saddle Road Press) is a unique and ultimately joyful exploration of life's challenges and triumphs. Her channeling calls forth delightful and in many ways prescient voices providing wisdom and advice to Ruth and to all of us. They belong to her sweet pup Duffy, long departed, but still with Ruth every moment; the Dolphins, who gently remind Ruth not to take life too seriously; Bear and Crow, the Singers, the Faeries, the Dragons and other beings who converse with her. They talk of life, of love, of fear, of joy, and offer advice that rings true throughout.

Read the rest of the review on Goodreads:

https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/4357713972

Get Started on Your Memoir this Saturday!

Last call for my new two-hour, Zoom-based workshop, Get Started on Your Memoir! It’s this Saturday, June 6, from 10:30 - 12:30 p.m. Pacific. Link to register is below. Here’s the description:

You've always wanted to write a memoir, but you just aren't sure how to get started. This two-hour workshop on Zoom will give you the tools to begin, with step-by-step instruction that will provide the motivation and oomph you need to move from idea to book. Includes a detailed handout and list of resources to keep you focused and on track long after the workshop ends. Cost is $75.

Let me know if you have any questions.

You can sign up here.

Exciting News!

My memoir, Face, will be published by Saddle Road Press early in 2021! As many of you know, I have been writing this book for almost 15 years. It was the reason I decided to go back to school in 2010 to get my MFA in creative writing from Antioch University in Los Angeles, and it has been revised many, many times over the past four years (version 5,397?).

Anyway, I am thrilled, and want to thank Ruth Thompson, publisher and editor of Saddle Road Press, for offering encouragement and exceptionally helpful editing suggestions over the past year. Thanks, too, to A Room of Her Own Foundation, which is where I met Ruth and many other wonderful and supportive women writer friends in 2011.

I can’t wait to see this book in print! Here’s the tentative cover. You can find out more about the book here and here.

Want to Deepen Your Writing Skills and Knowledge?

I’m honored to be a part of the California Creative Writers Conference happening Feb. 28-March 1 in Los Angeles. You don’t want to miss this event, which will be held at the DoubleTree Hotel by Hilton Los Angeles Westside in Culver City.

I’ll be doing a solo presentation (What writers Need to Know about Publishing with an Indie Hybrid Press), 3:30 p.m. on Saturday, the 29th, and also will be participating in panels Friday afternoon (How to Write a Nonfiction Book Proposal that Sells, 5:15 p.m.) and Saturday morning (How to Write a Memoir that More than Your Family Will Want to Buy & Read, 10 a.m.).

This conference is part of Tony Todaro’s wildly successful Greater Los Angeles Writers Conferences, which I’ve been privileged to be a part of several times in the past. The CCWC offers a huge selection of panels, presentations and workshops for writers of all stripes, and I recommend signing up no matter what your level of experience or skill. You’re sure to come away with lots of valuable information. Here’s the entire schedule.

Here’s the regular registration link. Don’t miss this great conference!

Merry Christmas, Happy Hanukkah and Happy Kwanzaa

Happy holidays to all my friends and acquaintances, professional and otherwise. I spent an afternoon recently wandering through downtown Santa Barbara, which is decked out for the holidays, and thought I’d share some of those images.

It’s raining, so I’m not sure I’ll get to do my Christmas Day beach walk (my own little holiday tradition), but I’ll share some photos from a recent walk. I’m truly grateful for the opportunity to live and work in this beautiful place, and I’m grateful to all of you who have become friends and clients over the years.

I’ll be teaching a new course for Antioch University Online in January: Writing to Create a Joy-filled Life. It’s the perfect way to start the new year, with gratitude and recognition that if we want to feel joy, we only need to decide to be joyous. Would love to write with you in the New Year! Here’s the link to sign up.

And coming soon: new classes on memoir writing and using fiction techniques in nonfiction through the Pacific School of Writing. Stay tuned for more details after the new year.

Sending all best wishes from me and Cleo (below) for a love- and joy-filled holiday season and a fruitful New Year!

Cleo (@cleoqueenofcats on Instagram) guarding her Christmas tree.

Easing Back into Life

I’ve been home for almost two weeks, and am just starting to feel like myself again. Jet lag after a month in Europe and days of walking seven to 10 miles each day definitely took their toll! But I absolutely loved every minute of our travels, and especially my 10 days in Tuscany with my colleague Helena Hill and the 11 women we took on our writing and painting retreat. (See my previous posts for more on our retreat and my subsequent travels through Italy. I will post more photos from our time in Spain, as well.)

One of the things I realized once I got home is I want to do it again! So I am looking into leading a writing retreat to southern Spain in 2020, and Helena and I are talking about another writing and painting retreat in Tuscany in 2021. Stay tuned for more details, but if you’re interested, take a look at this trip’s itinerary, and let me know if you are interested in a future retreat. And if you would like to get my Weeping Willow Books newsletter, sign up here.

Meanwhile, here are more images from our time at Casa Fiori in Tuscany:

Painting our ceramic plates at the watercolor studio of Katinka Kielstra near Lucca, Italy

Lunch at Katinka’s

Cooking class with Karolina

Helena with a typical lunch at Casa Fiori

Celebrating a successful shopping expedition into Lucca

Ciao, Casa Fiori. See you again soon!