[youtube n8dse-JTg8M no link] Tonight we, four of the writers of this week's retreat at Doe Branch Ink, took the meandering dirt road down the mountain to the main drag of Marshall, NC, where on Thursdays nights at Zuma Coffee there is a weekly bluegrass jam session.   By 7 p.m. ten musicians had assembled — with fiddles, banjos, guitars, a bass […] Read More

Tired. Though I have no good excuse.  Midweek at this one-week writers retreat in the North Carolina mountains: and today I slept quite late, did a little writing and email, took a small hike along a high ridge and down to the creek called Doe Branch, had one-to-one meetings witn two of the writers here, […] Read More

Witnessed quite a bold exploit this morning.  This writers retreat where I'm spending the week (Doe Branch Ink) got an astounding visitation from the outside world this morning.  The land is a quite a ways from a main road.  Getting here involves going up a mountain and just over the other side.  Not visible to […] Read More

Just started back to work on a nonfiction book that I haven't touched in 4 years.  For the last three weeks, I've done minimal writing (if making lists counts) because I finished a novel draft I've been working on for a while.  Jumping into a new book or a long-neglected one is, for me, like jumping […] Read More

Just arrived here at Doe Branch Ink, to be the writer-in-residence with four other writers for a week of mostly writing and some feedback and critiquing sessions, plus a lot of hanging out. I did one of these weeks last fall and it was like a literary houseparty, people tapping away on their keyboards here and there […] Read More

This could be the Halloween season when you finally see a real ghost. If you're wanting more adventure than simply handing candy out the door, check out this opportunity: bargains on haunted hotels, from Vermont to San Diego.  I have long wanted to see a ghost — wanted that kind of proof of some sort […] Read More

Think you go through a  lot to get your dream projects to work?  Have a look at the story of Robert Evans, one of most successful (and flamboyant and notorious) movie producers ever. Last night I watched the documentary version of his bio, titled The Kid Stays in the Picture.  This guy whose credits, as producer or […] Read More

Lately I've found myself feeling uneasy about the prospect of posting here.  The reason is:  I've gotten pretty irregular about it, have lost the rhythm, and have to get myself cranked up anew each time.   Sorta like going back to writing after some time away:  it's always harder to re-start than it is to just keep going.  […] Read More

In the New York Times tomorrow (Sunday, Oct. 16,) my essay will appear on the grievous wound I suffered at age sixteen when I didn't get into "brainy-teen camp," formally known as North Carolina Governor's School. At age sixty-two, I'm still irked that I didn't get to go. My story is about how that has […] Read More

    A few times a year, my clinical psychologist husband holds a one-day seminar on self-hypnosis.  The next one, held at our house near Chapel Hill, NC, is "Love Skills: Hypnotically Enhanced Intimacy."   A personal story:  When Bob and I first started getting serious about 30 years ago, I said to my very protective brother Franc, […] Read More