She Writes

In a couple of weeks, Hedgebrook’s second Vortext Salon for women writers will take place on Whidbey Island: three extraordinary days of workshops and conversation, in a beautiful setting, led by six renowned writers and teachers: Dorothy Allison, Karen Joy Fowler, Elizabeth George, Jane Hamilton, Ruth Ozeki and Gail Tsukiyama.

Vortext was just a gleam in Karen Joy Fowler’s eye a year ago, when she came to us with the idea of convening her compadres at Hedgebrook for a reunion and Salon. They taught together many moons ago (in the now defunct Maui Writer’s Conference), where they were the renegade literary women. Over the years, their friendships have deepened through raucous reunions in their homes: wine, good food and laughter flow abundantly as they share fresh work, critique early drafts of each other’s novels, commiserate about the business of being a woman writer, and cheer each other on.

They…

In my last post (sorry for missing a week- I was on vacation!), I asked some author friends where they like to write. This week I asked them when they prefer to write. While I tend to be the most productive in the middle of the day and late afternoon/early evening, their answers were quite different:

Do you have a favorite time to write?

• Karen McQuestion, whose newest book is a paranormal young adult novel called Edgewood:"Morning is best! But not too early in the morning, if I can help it. I love my sleep…

Many of life’s treasures remain constant in the state of simplicity—a lesson that author Molly Friedenfeld learned when she began her journey in search of ancient wisdom. When Friedenfeld moved from her head down to her heart, it became clear: Love is simple. Truth is simple. Peace is simple. Joy is simple. It is from the benevolent heart space that one comes to the realization that we are all divinely connected—that we are all one. When we realize we are here on earth to grow our souls, we begin to look beyond ourselves, and we come to know this truth: what is for our highest good is also good for all. When we act upon this knowledge, we become difference-makers, and we inspire others to find unique ways to spread around this newfound love, truth, peace and…

Sarah Glazer takes a second look at her reaction to an experiment.

I’m still not sure if I like novelist Ali Smith’s Artful. It has been marketed as a writing breakthrough, "refusing to be tied down to either fiction or the essay form," according to the Amazon description. Or as I would describe it-- a story framed around a literary art appreciation lecture. 

At first Smith’s writing feels like traditional fiction. This Scottish-born writer is the author…