Away at a Writing Retreat on San Juan Island, Chance to Rethink My Manuscript and My State of Mind

At a Writing Retreat on San Juan Island, a Chance to Rethink my Manuscript and State of Mind

Thank goodness for writing residencies! I’d been in a bit of a funk lately, and what I really needed was a chance to change my focus (I almost wrote foxus, and you’ll see why later) and think about my project in a new way. The residency is at a marine wildlife center in Friday Harbor on San Juan Island (WA). There’s no television or radio (or guarantee of electricity all the time), but it’s right on the harbor and perfect as a place to write. In fact, I wrote two new poems, sent out two submissions, and reconsidered my next manuscript in a way that I hope will make it much better. But it wasn’t really about productivity—it was about not listening to the news but listening to the ocean—not looking at screens but looking into fields for foxes—about paying attention to the light instead of listening to my anxieties.

Dancing foxes

Besides spending time in nature, I ended up talking to people on trails, nature photographer hobbyists like me, grandmother-aged skinny dippers. Besides leaving me wishing for more zoom on my shots (almost everyone there had a more expensive, better zoom lens than I did, which allowed them to get better fox pictures! Jealous!), I felt like I was part of a community. Loving nature is something I had in common with these people—all so joyous. And I got to witness the coolest thing ever—fox dancing! A black fox and a red fox both got up on their hind legs, put their paws together, and twirled around for about four minutes. My pic isn’t spectacular, but you have to realize it was so amazing to see.

In the five days or so I was away, I took a look at my manuscript not poem by poem, but the big picture—how do the sections hang together? what’s the trajectory of the book? what’s the story behind the story? Turns out it was time for some reshuffling, some deletions, some additions, and focusing on the story. And also, something about taking photographs—and waiting for the light—got me thinking about the right timing in books, the right light, so to speak. It takes time to see your own books—the shifts in tone, the difference in cadences—in the right light.

California quail

I was also thinking of the changes I’ve seen on San Juan Island over the last 20 years I’ve been visiting. In some ways, more dramatic than those in my neighborhood in Woodinville. This year, for the first time ever, I saw two gigantic bevy of quail. Like, 13 or 14 at a time. The rabbits—nearly non-existent in 2021 due to a disease that killed many—have recovered to numbers I hadn’t seen in ten years. The deer were fewer. The foxes were shyer but looked healthier—which meant they weren’t begging humans for food due to starvation, which was good. (Although I miss having foxes that came right up to me, I’d much rather they be healthy.) Besides the fox dancing behavior, I also learned that the black fox mutation in red foxes, pretty rare in nature, is really prevalent here. So just like me, the black fox is a mutant! Some distant pics below. But on the whole, taking this break helped my outlook, and reminded me of why I bother to write and fight for my health despite setbacks. With even limited internet and phone service, it was also a break from a constant stream of media, mostly negative.

So, we had a lovely boat ride home, but we were pretty exhausted by the time we got back. One thing we didn’t see on the island…any pumpkin farms or U-pick apple farms, which since the island is covered in farms (including an alpaca farm!), seemed like a missed opportunity. Good thing the Sunflower Festival started at the pumpkin farm in Woodinville. I’ll post about that in the next post! Hope you are all well, and wishing you a happy mid-October.

Also, there are still some spots left for my upcoming class with Kelli Russell Agodon: The Thinning Veil: Writing Poems Where Natural and Supernatural Worlds Meet. Don’t forget to register here.

A New Poem in MAR, A Rough Week, More Pumpkin Farms, and How to Cheer Yourself Up

A Rough Week and More Pumpkin Farms

It’s been a rough week for me, not going to lie. Drove across town in different directions on different days (three-hour round trips) to meet with endodontists who, surprise, said on the phone they could work with me on my root canal, but after charging me a $250 exam fee, decided they couldn’t. (Also had a day with three different doctor appointments, which always is hard on me.) The physical and emotional drain of doctor appointments for chronically ill people is real.

The winners were announced for the WA state book awards (congrats to all the winners, esp. friends Rena Priest and Jane Wong!) I hate to admit this, because yes, I am very grateful to have been nominated, but Flare, Corona (a finalist for the WA state book award) failing to win hit me a bit harder than I thought it would. I tried not to get my hopes up, telling myself I was lucky just to be nominated, but there it is—my emotions said otherwise. My MS symptoms were also acting up as I was running a small fever all week with a cold, so I had to reschedule my covid antibody infusion (which might have been too much this week anyway, with all the tooth stuff). Unexpected expenses, wasting time on not-useful appointments, and just feeling like “why do I even write poetry?”—all capped by a terrible hurricane that hit areas where I had family harder than we expected (luckily, they are all fine, but a lot of people aren’t) and more war in the news. Let’s not even talk about how close this election is. I am not usually a depressed person, but I certainly struggled with getting anything done this week, or even feeling like it was worthwhile getting anything done.

Flowers at McMurtrey’s u-pic garden

Cheering Yourself Up in Hard Times

I tried to do some things to cheer myself up, including getting out in nature and visiting a newly opened local pumpkin farm, McMurtrey’s, which also had beautiful u-pick flowers like dahlias, zinnias, and sunflowers. I tried to write but had more success reading—especially interesting articles in, of all places, the New Yorker—an article on Ina Garten’s success (for instance, she gave her first cookbook’s publisher $85,000 for half the print run, and then spent $200K more on PR and photography) now she makes millions on her cookbook contracts. So that’s how to be a successful book writer, LOL! $285K!) plus an article on AI and antibiotics which was fascinating. And I got my contributor’s copy of Mid-American Review, in which I had a new poem. And I had a lovely book club meeting discussing Yoko Ogawa’s Mina’s Matchbox, which was great. We’re reading St. Lucy’s Home for Girls Raised by Wolves for October, spooky season. I ate kettle corn from two different pumpkin farms. And I have a writing retreat to look forward to. So, maybe this stuff didn’t fix everything, but it did help.

Sylvia with new issue of Mid-American Review

New Poem in MAR, “Crows Splinter the Rain”

In other news, I was very excited to have a very spooky-season appropriate poem, “Crows Splinter the Rain,” in the new issue of Mid-American Review. (My issue came a little late as the first issue was lost at an old address, but better late than never.) It is a great issue, order yourselves a copy, and here’s a sneak peek at my poem:

Double rainbow visible from my window yesterday

Wishing Everyone Out There a Happy, Safe Turn to October

I am hoping everyone affected by hurricane Helene is safe and recovering. I know many mountain communities in Appalachia have been absolutely devastated. I lived and traveled throughout those areas for many years, and never had a hurricane affect us, so this is definitely a shock for those of us who used to live there and those that live there now.

As the days grow shorter and colder as we turn to October, I wish you all a good book, good friends, and as much hope as you can hang on to. And those of you who are already voting? Please keep in mind exactly what’s at stake.

The Fall Equinox, Hanging Out with Artist Friends, Pumpkin Farms and Sunflower Walks, Zoom Classes and Prizes and more

Mt Rainier and Hot Air Balloon

Happy Fall Equinox

We’ve had a beautiful weekend with days that start with mist and end in sunshine, although it was cloudy and rainy for days before—the Harvest Supermoon barely visible behind clouds. We stopped by a farmer’s stand to pick up apples and squash and even more corn (!) and enjoyed visiting the newly opened JB Grower’s Pumpkin Farm and Corn and Sunflower Maze, where we snapped this picture as a hot air balloon landed near the corn maze while Mt Rainier is out.  I also got to visit with my visual artist friend Michaela, who created the art on the cover of my first two books. It was great to catch up!

They say the things you’re supposed to do to celebrate the fall equinox include getting into nature, celebrating the harvest, lighting a candle, cleaning and practicing gratitude. I’m grateful for seeing so many friends in the last few weeks, and though I’m still trying to find an endodontist who will do a root canal without Novocain, I’m grateful for the flowers and sunshine and local beauty of fall. I am also waiting for the results of the Washington State Book Awards, which will be announced tomorrow. And I’m grateful that Flare, Corona is in such good company with the other finalists (like Rena Priest and Gabrielle Bates). I’m also grateful (but still a little nervous) about possibly getting the new covid monoclonal antibody (maybe I should wait ’til after dental work?) And I’ve got a writing residency and an ADA bathroom remodel coming up soon! Busy times!

Hanging Out with Artist Friends

Michaela and I in the sunflower walk

I was also happy to get together with my visual artist friend Michaela Eaves, a wonderful artist who did the art for my first two books, Becoming the Villainess and Unexplained Fevers. We hadn’t gotten to catch up in person for a while, so it was good—Glenn made apple and cheese scones and coffee and ginger tea, we visited the pumpkin farm (she especially liked the cute-dog watching at the farm!) and generally got to hear what was going on with each other’s lives. We talked about everything from books to the election to the difference between acrylic and oil paintings (I still have a hard time discerning which is which). I have wonderful friends, but some of them live a good distance away, so I am always grateful when they make the trek out to Woodinville.

Hanging out with pumpkins

Classes, Prizes and More

I also recorded a talk for Writer’s Digest this past week but have been having issues with Zoom with my new-ish HP laptop. Anyone have any recommendations for computers that have no issues with Zoom? Kelli and I are doing a Spooky Season Zoom class next month on the natural and supernatural worlds (see previous post to register!). I may start to do more Zoom classes in the future and want to make sure these crashes aren’t an issue. I’m also going to create a dedicated space to do Zoom classes in the house (I’ve been doing them in the bedroom, which isn’t the best room in the house for this). Isn’t it strange how the pandemic altered the way we interact with people but maybe made it easier for people like me (who can’t travel often due to health issues) a way to teach and visit and interact with people around the world. I’m grateful for the technology (even with the computer snafus).

Sunflower Walk, blue sky

And on pins and needles waiting to hear tomorrow about the Washington State Book Award for Poetry. It’s hard waiting for news! But I’ll distract myself by driving out to Edmonds for a meeting with a potential endodontist. Hopefully by the end of the week we’ll have a root canal (or similar) scheduled for that broken tooth. I’m also picking out a book for “spooky season” for the Bookwalter’s Winery Book Club, torn between Haruki Murakami’s After Dark, Yoko Ogawa’s Revenge, and a few others. Last year we did the fantastic funny ghost story collection, Where the Wild Ladies are from Aoko Matsuda, and is it hard to live up to that book. (Commenters are welcome to recommend more spooky stories!) It’s times like these I wish my friend Felicity Shoulders (who writes a great spooky short story) had a collection I could give out to book club members. Sometimes to your writer friends you want to say “hurry up and publish! I want your book! but I’m not a big fancy publisher so I can’t just go around granting lucrative book contracts, wish though I might.

Wishing you all a pumpkin and cider-filled first week of fall!

Fall is Here, Sign Up for a Spooky Season Zoom Class with me and Kelli Russell Agodon, Zoo Visits and More

Fall is Here!

No matter that we’re a few days early for the official start of fall, the cold temperatures and rain don’t lie—and neither do the farm stands, with squash and apples showing up along with the last peaches and corn. I love fall, although this one is pretty busy—I’ve been tied up with dental stuff for two weeks now, first a dentist broke my tooth at a cleaning, then back to patch it, then to an endodontist who said I needed a root canal but he refuses to do it because I can’t take Novocain (allergy)—I mean, exhausting—and that’s outside of all the specialists and scans and infusions on the calendar. I have to make sure to take some to focus on the good things—a quick stop at the Woodland Park Zoo to see snow leopard cubs (hiding during my visit) and our red panda, a visit to Bob’s Corn and Pumpkin Farm. And squeezing in time to write and try to submit and work on my next book (and work a little harder at promoting Flare, Corona!)

September is also rejection season AND submitting season—a double hitter that can be hard on the writer’s ego, and of course I’m waiting to hear about the results of the Washington State Book Award after Flare, Corona was named a finalist. And later this week I’m doing a recording for Writer’s Digest this week and putting together a Zoom class with my friend Kelli. (More about that later in this post!)

Kelli and I with sunflowers

Sign Up for a “Spooky Season” Zoom Class with me and Kelli Russell Agodon

Just in time for Spooky Season AND Sylvia Plath’s birthday, Kelli and I are hosting a Zoom class on October 27, 2024, called:

The Thinning Veil: Writing Poems About Where the Natural and Supernatural Worlds Meet

Zoo Visits

Carson the Red Panda

Woodland Park Zoo is under a lot of construction (including building a new habitat for our red panda!), but it had three brand new snow leopard cubs, and it was the last day of the Butterfly House being open, so we snuck in a quick visit. The snow leopard cubs were hiding while we were there, but we got to visit with their beautiful mother.

Going to the zoo is one of the summer rituals I didn’t want to skip, even though the weather is getting cooler, and the timing was hard. It’s important to squeeze in the things that matter to us—even if it’s just watching butterflies—in between paying bills, doctor appointments, work, and the busy work that is too big a part of our lives. To be a writer is sometimes to prioritize the butterfly watching.

Flare, Corona is a Washington State Book Award Finalist! And Art Gallery Openings, Visiting with Friends and Family

Flare, Corona is a Washington State Book Award Finalist

I can finally share my good news—Flare, Corona is a 2024 Washington State Book Award Finalist! I’m very grateful for the honor and am happy to be in very good company, including my friend Rena Priest. You can cross your fingers for me—I’ll find out by the end of the month if I’ve won or not.

We poets go a long time between pieces of good news, luck, recognition, awards. So, something like this can feel like a big deal and we try to celebrate it as best we can (in between rejections, LOL). Does this mean more people might buy or read the book? The answer is really only maybe. But we can hope! And I might get a sticker for my book, which is always nice. And thank you to all the people who wrote me nice notes of congratulations. It really does mean a lot.

(SAL and Open Books did an announcement on Instagram that had a cute graphic I thought I’d share!)

Dewi Plass’ “Instinct”

Art Gallery Opening at Roq La Rue

Saturday night we went to the opening show for Dewi Plass and Hallie Packard at Roq La Rue, my favorite Seattle art gallery. My little brother and sister-in-law were also in attendance, and we had a great time catching up with them. Plus, we talked to the artists and Kerstin, the gallery owner. A gorgeous show (it’s up ’til Sept 28th if you want to see it!) And I purchased a great book of sci-fi and steampunk art. (Roq La Rue has some terrific and hard-to-find art books, if you’re into that sort of thing.)

It made me think about how art inspires me and how making friends with artists is always so rewarding. It’s good to give your life a little space for music, visual art, theater, anything that makes you feel more creative. Visual art has a way of making you see the world a little differently.

Visiting with Family and Friends

Sunday, I visited with my writer friend Kelli Russell Agodon and her family, which was wonderful. I don’t get to see my writer friends often enough, especially this year, it seems. We got to catch up and celebrate good news, commiserate, enjoy brunch. One of the things about the pandemic is how much many of us got used to not socializing, even with family and close friends. Even now, Glenn and I probably go and about less than we used to. But there’s such a benefit to getting together with actual humans.

Kelli and I talked about doing a possible Zoom class together soon, so stay tuned for details on that!