No New Year's Resolutions for This Writer!

I don't make New Year's Resolutions any more. I think they set people up for failure. I used to work with a woman who would make this huge list of resolutions every January, so ambitious that she'd be feeling like a failure on the 15th of the month! Around that time, I decided not to even make resolutions any more. Instead, from Thanksgiving to New Years I try to have a light work load so I can spend time reflecting on the past year and rejuvinating my creativity. I try to have a lot of time to sit around a do nothing but think, so I can discover my focus for the coming year. I usually read a book about creativity or writing during this period, as well. This year I read A Writer's San Francisco, the second book in a series of "guided journeys for the creative soul" by Eric Maisel. Last year I read A Writer's Paris, the first in the series.

Both books are wonderful, inspirational texts that will help any writer find creative energy and meaning through their work. The first book made me want to get out and travel the world, using the opportunity to hone my senses and gather new experiences for my writing. It was wonderful, as far as that goes, but I don't generally have the money to fly off to Paris for a month, or even a week, to feed my creative soul. You can tell Maisel lives in San Francisco, while he himself has been only a tourist in Paris, because the second book brings writing home. It makes you appreciate your own home town, even if it's not as artist-friendly as San Francisco, and it offers an illuminating look inside a successful writer's daily life with out the rules and regulations so often laid out in "a writer's life" type of book. I highly recommend this book for all aspiring, struggling, and successful writers.

So, back to New Year's Resolutions (you thought I forgot, didn't you?). This year I've decided that my focus for 2007 will be to improve my writing. So far, I'm planning to take a couple of workshops throughout the year, work on some exercises in books I bought years ago that I read but never "did", go on a writing retreat in May, and attend the Women Writing the West conference in October.

The point is not to check these specific things off my list, but rather to focus throughout the year on one goal: to improve my writing. This to do list is merely a way to nail down what that means, but there are other ways to improve my writing as well. The most important being to write every day. (Every weekday, anyway.) This year I started going to a cafe every morning for 2 hours to write. It has been an amazing experinece. I didn't keep it up this month because of the holidays and the blizzards, but starting on Tuesday I'll be right back at my regular table with my latte and my notebook or laptop every morning.

Yes, I'd like to lose 20 pounds, join the gym, clean out my closets, make jam, paint my kitchen, learn Lithuanian, eat more veggies, stop eating so much ice cream, sew my own clothes, and more... but who am I kidding if I "resolve" to do all of these things in 2007? No-one but myself, probably. So, along with Curly from City Slickers, I'm going to focus on my ONE THING in 2007: to improve my writing.

Wish me luck!


Donna Druchunas
Women Writing the West website manager
www.sheeptoshawl.com

Happy New Year

Happy New Year wishes to all. In the midwest, we had a "green" Christmas and it should be 40 degrees on New Years Day. It hardly seems like winter. It makes me anxious to dig up dirt and plant flowers. I wish it made me anxious to clean closets and do laundry.

I'm taking a break from my book signing tour. I did eleven book signings between November 7th and Christmas. In January, I'll focus on writing the next book (another time travel romance--this one set in 1877 Kansas). In the February 2007 issue of Romantic Times BOOKreviews, they reviewed my current release, HERE WITH ME and said, "This book makes you remember why you first fell in love with romance. It rates with the very best."

Now, that was a nice way to start out the new year.

Hope 2007 is your best year yet.

Beverly Long
www.beverlylong.com

Riehl to Speak on Writers in the Sky Podcast

Thanks to a reader who enjoyed my book, "Sightlines: A Poet's Diary," a down-home family love story beyond death, I learned about Yvonne Perry's Writers in the Sky podcast and was invited to be her guest.

We've taped the interview in two parts and it will appear on January 12th, 2007. Yvonne is a dynamic interviewer. In the first part, we spoke about the inspiration for "Sightlines," the writing process, and I read a poem from each of the five sections of the three people and two places that I love.

In the second part, I spoke frankly about publishing my book through the author-services company, iUniverse, which I consider a hybrid option for getting your work before the public--in-between traditional publishing channels and traditional self-publishing.

To learn how to connect to the Writers in the Sky podcast and hear an audio clip as I talk about my father as an inspiration for my writing and read the poem "Scribbler," dedicated to him, you can go to http://yvonneperry.blogspot.com/ or my website www.sightlinesbook.com.

Hope your in the room while I'm reading and discussing my poetry of love, loss, and discovery.

Best wishes and greetings from Janet Grace Riehl

Mini-book tour for Colorado Less Traveled!

Photographer Jim Steinberg and I are going on the road in December to sign our book Colorado Less Traveled, a finalist for the 2006 Colorado Book Awards and featured in the Mountains and Plains Bookseller's Association's Holiday Gift Guide, at various Barnes & Noble bookstores around the state. Here's our schedule:

Sat., Dec. 9, 2:00 - 4:00 p.m.: Grand Junction, Barnes & Noble, on the west side of town. I'm on my own for this one!

Sat., Dec. 16, 2:00 - 4:00 p.m.: Both Jim and I will be at the Fort Collins Barnes & Noble bookstore.
5:00 - 7:00 p.m.: Another signing, this time at the Barnes & Noble in Loveland.

Sun., Dec. 17, 12:30 - 2:30 p.m.: Jim and I again at the Barnes & Noble Bookstore in Boulder.
4:00 - 6:00 p.m.: Our final signing of the weekend at Barnes & Noble in Westminster, Colorado. Whew!

Come see us if you're in the area!

Susan J. Tweit
http://susanjtweit.com

Conference Tour Photo & Recap

I finally got some photographs from the Women Writing the West conference in Colorado Springs developed. Here's a group of us who took advantage of the pre-conference tour, enjoying the sunshine after a visit to the Pioneer Museum. The museum, housed in the restored 1903 El Paso County Courthouse, is a gem! I particularly enjoyed seeing some of author Helen Hunt Jackson's belongings.



The annual WWW conference usually moves from place to place, which is a benefit of attendance! Many of us come a day early or stay a day late to explore the area. I'm already going back to Colorado Springs in 2007, and I plan to spend more time at the Garden of the Gods.

Cheers,
Kathleen Ernst
WWW President Elect
www.kathleenernst.com

Back on the blog

Thanks to Donna, I'm back on the blog. I wanted to let you know about a blog interview I did
http://www.noveljourney.blogspot.com/ for noveljourney. I think it was posted today. I also heard that Pub Weekly reviewed my novel to be released in April, A Tendering in the Storm. If any one sees it, let me know even if it's a bad review! It was great to see the Historical Novel Society's article. As WWW president, I was interviewed for that and I hope I said good things about our group AND about our passion for stories of the woman's west. Have a great day. Jane K where you can find me and my schedule at www.jkbooks.com

Historical Novel Society: Definitions of Historical Fiction

Historical Novel Society: Definitions of Historical Fiction

One of our members posted an interesting essay on our listserv, which prompted me to check out the organization using the Blog This! feature. I also learned a bit about historical fiction. :)

Dani

No Rest For Me On The Weekends

This weekend I had book signings in Wheaton, Illinois and West Dundee, Illinois, both suburbs of Chicago. At the Wheaton signing I met an absolutely lovely woman who told me that she’d spent the last twenty five years of her life photographing ghost towns in the Old West. I wish we’d had more time to talk—before she left she did tell me that any writer writing the west would be well served to spend some time in the library at the University of Montana.

And speaking of Montana, at the West Dundee signing, I met a man who was interested in my first book, STAY WITH ME, which is set in 1888 Wyoming Territory. When I told him that I had spent a week at a dude ranch near Sheridan, Wyoming, when I was researching the book, we had a nice discussion about the differences between Wyoming and Montana, where his son currently lives.

The opportunity to meet new people is the very best thing about doing a book signing. I’m gearing up for the day after Thanksgiving when I’ll be signing at the local mall. I suspect I’ll be well versed in giving directions to the nearest gift wrapping station and the restrooms.

Beverly Long
www.beverlylong.com

Five Book Signings in Five Days

My second book, HERE WITH ME, hit the shelves on Tuesday and I hit the roads on Wednesday and didn’t stop until Sunday afternoon. I’m exhausted but I can’t think of a better way to spend time than at a bookstore, meeting readers. Family and friends were there, of course, buying multiple copies. What are you going to do with all those books?

Fans of STAY WITH ME, the first book of the series, who were anxious to read the next story, were actually waiting for me at one store. What fun that was. The bookseller had a rather anxious look on her face when I arrived with just minutes to spare.

New readers, ones who’d heard about the book signing on the local radio or in the local paper were great, too. The most challenging, of course, were the unsuspecting shoppers who just happened to be walking past the bookstore. They had no intention of buying a book and I had no intention of letting them leave until I’d given it my best shot. I lured them in with a bookmark and a free notepad and more times than not, before they got away from my table, they had a book tucked under their arm. I convinced one very nice woman and her husband that they absolutely had to buy my book for her mother for Christmas when I discovered her mother had the same first name as one of my characters.

Really, everyone was great. I’m looking forward to next weekend when I do it all over again. For more information on my book signing schedule, visit www.beverlylong.com and check out the monthly contest, too.

New book on the shelves

I’ve decided that November is a lovely time for a new book to be released. Readers are huddling inside bookstores, sipping coffee, looking for the perfect gift. My second time-travel romance, titled HERE WITH ME, appeared on bookstore shelves this week. It’s the story of a hero from 1888 Wyoming Territory who has time-traveled to present-day Napa Valley, California. Sheriff George Tyler intends for his stay to be short but that’s before he meets Melody Song. She’s pregnant, unmarried, and in desperate need of a man to pass off as her husband to her dying grandmother. Neither the sheriff nor Melody realize that someone is equally desperate to make sure that Melody and her unborn child do not survive her grandmother.

The first review of HERE WITH ME, posted on www.wantzuponatime.com said, “Sometimes funny, Sometimes poignant; Always interesting” and gave it their highest rating, five out of five “books”.

For more information on this book, as well as my first book, STAY WITH ME, visit www.beverlylong.com. And check out the monthly contest, too.

Book Award and podcast news

Colorado Less Traveled, my latest book and the brainchild of Steamboat Springs photographer Jim Steinberg, won a silver sticker as one of four top finalists for the 2006 Colorado Book Awards in the pictorial category! I was a double winner at the Book Awards gala, since Comeback Wolves, an anthology that includes my essay "Wolf 293" along with essays by 51 other western writers, won a 2006 Colorado Book Award for anthologies. Comeback Wolves includes pieces by several WWW members, including Laurie Wagner Buyer, plus work by Willa Award winner Laura Pritchett, Pam Houston, and others.

When you're surfing the web, please visit my new web site at susanjtweit.com. I've finally joined the 21st century and put my weekly radio commentary, "The Nature of Life," on my site. You can listen online, download an episode to your iPod or other mp3 player, and subscribe to the program on a weekly basis. Check it out and let me know what you think!

WWW author Sheila Wood Foard invites you to a book signing.

Join Author Sheila Wood Foard and her book, "Harvey Girl" at Cold Stone Creamery on November 11, 2006 from 1-3 PM, for a children's booksigning party.

A-L-L-L-L-L-L-L A-B-O-A-R-D! Ride the Rails in 1919 with Clara Massie, age 14, as she runs away from her Ozark home to become a waitress (a HARVEY GIRL), in New Mexico and at the Grand Canyon. Clara meets movie stars, suffragists, cowboys & Indians, while secrets and lies threaten to send her home.

Who: Sheila Wood Foard's "Harvey Girl" booksigning
When: November 11, 2006; 1:00-3:00 PM
Where: Cold Stone Creamery at The Boulevard - Saint Louis


--Sheila Wood Foard, author/inventor of time machines
Historical books are time machines that whisk kids into the past.

Rosemary Observes

An Open Space of One’s Own

I had a wonderful time at the recent WWW conference in Colorado Springs. Thanks to all of you who participated in the workshop that Donna Druchunas and I presented. Being there, hearing about and seeing your books, made me think long and hard about what it is to “write the West” and what it is to be a Westerner, to be creating in this unique geographical space.

Back when Pluto was a planet and the moon was made of cheese, I had a very early sense of myself as a Westerner. That is, as a person born and made in the American West (see photo). I felt a perfect understanding of what love was all about when I saw Roy Rogers kiss Trigger during a Saturday matinee. I didn’t feel that was weird; I felt a kinship—he was of the West and so was I. And we both loved Trigger with an almost unseemly passion—horses being a defining feature of the legendary old West.

I grew up in a tiny farming community in southern California in the fifties. In our town, the crop was potatoes, and the harvest was owned by two or three major farmers. In the western tradition, they called themselves “ranchers,” although their livestock generally amounted to a dozen yard chickens and a couple of beeves raised for the table. As teens, we had two main choices of places to work: potatoes or food. The best pay was in the spuds—picking, sorting, or cutting all the eyes out of potatoes for the next planting (this was “women’s work”), or, if you were a healthy young man wanting to build muscle over the summer, you filled huge bags as potatoes bounced and rolled off the conveyor belts and hefted them onto trucks. Winters were marked with cold, socked-in foggy mornings and evenings, and summers were hot and dry, no smog in sight, with vast blue skies that seemed to go on forever and the smell of fresh-mown alfalfa on the air. There was plenty of space (no one referred to it redundantly as “open space” yet) where folks could hunt, fish, look for arrowheads, or picnic. Most people were plenty busy making a living and didn’t call walking around on the land “hiking”—you always had a greater purpose. And no one wore special shoes for it, either.

I thought most families were like mine. Fathers worked hard and brought their paychecks home to full time homemakers who baked regularly, sewed clothes, and got their laundry out on the line on Monday mornings before 7 a.m. We ate lunch and dinner, not supper, and everyone drank milk. The idea of cocktails or wine at meals never came up. Friday night was high school football; most Saturdays, kids went to the afternoon matinee, Sundays was church. Without it ever being spoken of, there was a sense of physical attachment to the land. If we thought of Easterners at all, which I’m not sure we did, we envisioned them in big cities, all thought and no go. Now and then my dad would joke that “those folks” didn’t even know where their milk came from.

Later in life, it began to soak in that people who grew up in the “East” often looked at things differently than I did. I began to believe our wide open skies and vast expanses of land, unbroken by living too closely together, had an effect on our ways of thinking. That we might be more open to possibility than those in the East. Since its mythic early settlement days, West has been the direction of opportunity, of change, of adventure. The compass point quivered with anticipation when it pointed toward the Pacific. All things might be possible if you left the conventions of the East, the tightly packed expectations of culture and family behind. You could reinvent yourself, escape the old, familiar frame. You could spread out, loosen your belt, wear white shoes after Labor Day, try out some new ideas, seek your fortune, raise whoopee.

I’m a confirmed Western woman. I’m not at home if the sky isn’t big. I have to live where I define my direction by geographical features to the west—the ocean when I lived in California and the Rockies here in Colorado. I’m headed north if they’re on my left and south if on my right. I know where I am, if not where I’ll end up. I like dramatic landscapes—even if they seem flat and rolling, it’s that they run as far as the eye can see and they’re not all boogered up with concrete and steel high rises. When I’m in the East, I feel smaller, more compressed; there seems less possibility, like someone else has already done everything—named all the destinations, defined all the journeys. The trees grow so close together they become a stockade; they hulk over you in places—suffocating green tunnels that hold you pinned to the road, cutting off your view of the heavens. Every inch of ground holds someone else’s footprint.

In the West, each dusty old road still seems to promise an unexpected bend, a choice not a foregone conclusion. As writers, I think the geography shapes our words. Women and men writing the west seem more optimistic, more able to soar. Our thoughts can ride side saddle, western, or hell-bent bareback across the plains. They don’t perspire, our words sweat. European traditions don’t mean much to us—we mold them to fit our own lives rather than molding ourselves to them.

I wonder if, for each of us, there is a place, or a sense of place, that trumps all others. Virginia Woolf wanted a room of her own. She grew up in tradition-bound England. Me? I need a wide open space of my own.

— Rosemary Carstens
http://www.TheDreamRider.com/FEAST.html

Conference Bookstore

Now that I've been back at home for a few days and have sorted through life a little, I'm finding time to explore some of the books I purchased and received as gifts from generous WWW writers. (Thank you!) It was also a delight to read the inscriptions from signing authors. I would come back to next year's conference just for the bookstore. I wonder if it could be open to the public for one day. The thought nags me that the Pioneers Museum gift store manager would have loved a visit to look at these titles. Anyway, here's a shot of the loaded tables of tomes that tempted us. I gave in with abandon. ;-Dani

More Member Comments about Conference....

Here is some old and new members had to say about the conference:


I trust you all arrived home safely after the weekend in CO Springs. It was a joy to meet everyone and a blessing to take part in the great sessions held. Thank you all for your graciousness -- it was wonderful to be around so many talented, successful writers who share the same passion for the written word. I look forward to the conference next year, here again in CO Springs! May you all have a successful year of writing and publishing 'til then. What a terrific group this is.

Pamela Cosel
WWW Conference Bookstore Liaison - 2006



The conference was wonderful, awesome, inspirational!!! Thanks to all who worked so hard to make it possible. Thanks to the speakers and the panel presenters--great job.

I enjoyed the weekend so much, and the best part really is reconnecting with old friends from past conferences and making new ones. This is such a terrific group--Kudos to you all!!

Heidi Thomas
WWW Catalog Editor



I agree with others who've talked about the great conference in Colorado Springs. It was the most upbeat, positive, rewarding conference I've ever attended. Thanks no doubt to our great leader, Jane K. and her hardworking, wonderfully friendly crew. Thanks a bunch, you guys -- oops gals!

Irene Bennet Brown
WWW Member


Speaking for myself, this was a fantastic conference. They are all wonderful and each have had their spot of glory and special events. Members gathered, hugged, exchanged experiences, news, ideas, even a few shared disappointments, the thought ran through my head as I observed these exchanges: WWW Conferences are like a huge family reunion, without the squabbles. And, to my knowledge, this year brought the largest crowd yet. If that's incorrect please correct me, ok? Hopefully, we'll top that next year!

To all members who couldn't be there for whatever reason you were missed.

See you all next year, same time, same town, same location with a name change .

Priscilla A. Maine
WWW Treasurer



Hi! My name is Gayle Gresham and I am one of the newest members. I discovered Women Writing the West 2 weeks before the conference, and since I live near Colorado Springs, I mailed my registration and joined right away.

It was hard to walk into a conference where I didn't know a soul, but I was enveloped by the sweetest and most welcoming women. I was amazed that every officer (that I know of) of WWW made a point to stop and visit with me when they noticed the green dot on my name tag. Thank you for your sincere and generous spirits.

I know others are anxious for reports, so here is one from a newbie. I arrived Friday afternoon and immediately had 2 editor
appointments. Because of these I missed much of the programing. I did see quite a bit of the dramatic reading of Desert Dwellers Trilogy by Harriet Rochlin. It was very well done.

On Saturday, I attended Cyberspace and You by Donna and Rosemary. So interesting and informative. Even though I'm not a poet, I attended Wordsmiths Ho! by Peggy Godfrey and Jane Morton just because of their great personalities. I knew it would be fun and rich in the value of words. I was amazed by the women in the class who, when given an assignment, were able to write touching, honestly revealing poems in a few minutes time and courageously shared them with the class. Wow... The Memoir/Creative Nonfiction class by Shannon Applegate, Liz Duckworth and Dorothy Solomon was fascinating.

I couldn't return this morning, Sunday, because I had to sing and play guitar with my bluegrass group at church. I'm really sorry I didn't have a chance to tell many of you who I met good-bye. I am thrilled to be a part of this organization. And I'm looking forward to getting to know all of you.

Gayle Gresham
WWW New Member

Pioneers Museum

Someone mentioned Helen Hunt Jackson's reconstructed house at the Pioneers Museum, one of my favorite exhibits. I happened to get a few pictures of the interior space. It was also interesting for me to see the murals again as I interned for the artist, Eric Bransby when I was in college and modeled for a number of the female characters. We didn't get a chance to visit the archives downstairs, but I can tell you that if you're researching the history of the area, the lower level is like a sanctuary. You'll love the time you spend there.

Raffle Delights

It's true what I just read on the listserv.... the Raffle was a huge success and the prizes seemingly endless and so desirable that I was practically wrestling early travelers for their raffle tickets before they left for the airport. Okay, I'm kidding. But Ann and I probably ended up with 300 raffle tickets by noon on Sunday. Here's a picture of Dear Ralph, who won the editing basket. The Tired Old Ass Herbal Soak in the basket of goodies was probably more to his liking than the Official Editing Hat Complete With Editor Star. Har! Ralph, you're a good sport for modeling this "thang" for us. Next year I'll get a picture of the table of treats... and help wrap up all the goodies everyone brought. Wow, that must have been a job!

Dani

It was a GREAT conference!!!

Compliments to all who helped make this year's Women Writing the West Conference so good. We enjoyed a dramatic reading from Harriet Rochlin's Desert Dwellers Trilogy books. It was a selection about pioneer Jews, performed by local actors and directed by a WWW member. It was terrific. Indeed I would love to see more of the same --- more poetry, more drama, more selected readings --- at future conferences.

It had been 30 years since I visited Colorado Springs and wow, has it grown a lot. (The pioneer museum we toured had a great display on Helen Hunt Jackson, the novelist).

BTW, for all who didn't come to the conference this year, think again about coming in 2007. Try to find a way to do so. You'll meet agents & editors as well as other members of WWW, and gain the support, inspiration, and tools you need as a writer of the West. It beats other, non-organizational writers conferences by ten miles. And if you're a WWW member, do think about using the listserve to get a roommate or a ride in order to cut expenses for next year again in Colorado Springs. I shared a ride with someone I hadn't met before, Heidi Thomas, and had a great time getting to know her and her writing (about oldtime rodeo gals who competed equally riding broncs with men, not in sex-segregated contests). Plan to come next year --- attending the conference is a valuable experience as well as an investment in yourself as writer. Ooooh, did I mention nonstop FUN ?

Penny Sidoli
WWW member in Santa Barbara

Such good panels

Women Writing the West

I have to say that the agents and editors panels were a goldmine for this newbie. I had no idea they would be so interesting and so full of really useful information. I can only say that one can read all the publishing how-to books in the world and gather every bit of information and advice available... it doesn't quite replace seeing a face live and hearing a voice in the same room with you. To that I would add that meeting ono-on-one with the editors and agents was a marvelous experience for me. My first-time live across-the-table meeting with Danielle Egan-Miller, who was so gracious and kind, prompted me to jump in with both feet and talk to three more... and I thoroughly enjoyed every single one of those connections. I mean, they were such nice people! Who knew? Why is it that the purple monsters in our closets often turn out to be so cuddly? Agents and editors are great folks, too. :) I know these grand encounters will color all my future connections with anticipation rather than dread.

Dani

Women Writing the West

Women Writing the West

Just a few comments tonight to add to Donna's post. Her session with Rosemary was excellent.... just way too short. :) The signings in the wonderful bookstore seemed to be a big success. I snapped up one of the Arctic Lace books even before the signing, which turned out to be a wise move. Need I say that I bought more than one book? More than three? How about six? I have a great photo of Donna talking to Judith Keeling, editor-in-chief of Texas Tech University Press. It's always nice to meet more passionate knitters... even at writing conferences!