Just an FYI that I'm traveling for the next couple of weeks, so there'll be no updates until early/mid-August. First stop is Napa Valley for the Napa Valley Writers' Conference. I'm psyched to be in Tayari Jones' fiction workshop and will be discussing one of the pieces from my linked story collection. It's been one of the hardest stories for me to tackle and I finally (read: finally) found the right way in which to tell this character's story, so we'll see if I'm on the right track. Some of us attendees have been connecting via Google Groups and I'm already indebted to their generosity and kindness regarding rides and such. And I'm super stoked about staying in a cottage during my stay in Napa. Pics will be taken!
After that I'm headed to New Mexico. First few days will be with a friend I met at the Postgraduate Writers' Conference three years ago (and you know how much I loved that conference) to see the sights of Albuquerque before she drops me off in Sante Fe for the Glen West Workshop. I'm also excited to be in a workshop with another author I admire, Sara Zarr. The workshop is YA focused and I'll be workshopping another story from the collection from a teenage boy's POV. So I'm intrigued to hear what others think, and to see Santa Fe.
Needless to say there'll be lots reading and artist immersion (and possibly drinking) over the next two weeks, well at least in Napa Valley. And then it's residency application season!
So far I've been blown away by the manuscripts I've been reading for both conferences and I cannot wait to meet my workshop groups.
When I get back I promise a nice summary of events and then a cookbook giveaway of Rasa Malaysia's Easy Chinese Recipes. (Thanks to the generosity of Tuttle Publishing.)
Have a great summer. Stay busy and creative!