Mark the dates!

Good news!

Two wonderful, independent bookstores have invited me to read from and sign copies of Gone to Ground in March.

The first reading is scheduled at the Four-Eyed Frog in the beautiful, sea-side town of Gualala, perched above the Pacific where the Gualala River empties into the ocean. It is the southernmost town in Mendocino County. Check the links for maps and directions.

The reading is scheduled for the afternoon of Saturday, March 21. Come early, enjoy the Mendocino Coast, maybe lunch at the Gualala Hotel and finish up at the Four-Eyed Frog.

The second reading/signing is also in a beautiful spot. The River Reader in the Russian River resort town of Guerneville. Follow the links for maps and directions

This reading is scheduled for the evening of Thursday, March 26.

There are lots of nice places to eat or enjoy a glass of locally produced wine (I’m partial to Porter-Bass Zin both because it's delicious and my niece and nephew make it). If you want to make an evening of it, it should be fun.

Of course I’m hoping for good turnouts so if you and/or any of your friends can make it to either or both readings, I’ll be very happy.

More to come with specific times for both events.

If you haven’t read it, please, please, please read The Omnivore’s Dilemma: A Natural History of Four Meals by Michael Pollan. It’s informative, entertaining and as important a book as you are likely to find.

Here's to good reading, good writing and good wine!

Gone to Ground is available on Amazon.com; through the publisher (PublishAmerica) or through independent booksellers everywhere.

Creative Works In Progress Public Workshop Series

I have loved living in the sparsely-populated coastal hills of Western Sonoma County, but I’ve missed joining with other writers to discuss our work and to benefit from their constructive feedback.

Last Sunday that changed!

In Los Angeles, I was part of a writing group which met every couple of weeks and moved from home to home like a floating crap game to read, critique, eat and drink. One member was working on a novel informed by his years as a medical student in the 1960's; another was finishing a detective novel set in the San Fernando Valley; a third was working on a coming-of-age novel set in rural Santa Barbara county; a fourth was working on a romantic novel set in Nepal. I was the only short-story writer. Many of the stories published in Gone to Ground were developed and improved thanks to this group.

The process was simple. One of us would read from her or his work and the others would comment. Sometimes a few pages would be handed out to be reviewed at the next meeting. I liked that. It gave me a chance to think and reflect on my comments.

There is a different process for playwrights; after all, it's a medium meant to be seen and heard, not to be read in silence. Because playwrights need to hear their work, when a piece has been developed to the point that you don't feel embarrassed asking others to commit some of their time, a "table reading" is held. If you're lucky, some of the readers are actors; if not, willing friends will do. You pass out scripts, assign parts and go for it.

But back to Sunday: With the help and encouragement of a local non-profit (the Coastal Hills Community Project), Sunday saw the first assembly of our Creative Works in Progress Public Workshop Series. What we launched was an amalgam of the typical writing group such as the Los Angeles one and a playwright's table reading.

People were invited to participate any or all of three ways. They could:

1. submit their own writing to be read and critiqued;
2. read/perform the works that others had submitted;
3. respond to what was read.

A fourth way was simply to come and listen.

The invitation was open to any form of writing including poetry, fiction, essays, memoirs, screen plays and so on. And, guess what—it worked! We had people who wanted their work read (including yours truly); others who wanted to read/perform; and still others who just wanted to listen and respond. Nobody opted to to stay quiet.

We met in Raymond's Bakery in Cazadero, and, as in LA, we shared work, received insightful feedback, ate delicious goodies, and drank good coffee!

Gretchen Butler a terrific graphic artist and memoirist shared portions of her wonderful work-in-progress about life from scratch in the Sonoma County boonies. New Zealand actress, now western Sonoma County resident, Jessie Alsop, read. She said it gave her a chance to work on her American accent and meet more of her neighbors.

I also shared a memoir, Melody at the Stone Forest, based on a trip to Yunnan Province, China. Radio host, David Kenly read the story. I thought the feedback I received was thoughtful, accurate and helpful.

Among those who chose to comment, rather than contribute writing was Dixie Lewis, writer, editor and publisher whose company, PenHouseInk is a local treasure.

We went away happy, caffeinated and restored. The next iteration of the Creative Works in Progress Public Workshops is planned for April 26 at the Ratna Ling retreat center on Hauser Bridge Road.

If you are interested in participating in any capacity please let me know!

Here's to more writing, more reading and more sharing!

Gone to Ground is available on Amazon.com; through the publisher (PublishAmerica) or through independent booksellers everywhere.

Context for "The Professor"

When one reader of this blog noted, "...listening to your reading of The Professor was like walking in on someone else's conversation ..." I realized I should have provided more context. Here it is:

The Professor is the third of a three-part memoir about my experiences in Lebanon in 2000. I read the piece on the radio during an interview about Gone To Ground in December with David Kenly (KGGV-FM) on his show, Rivermouth. David was good enough to provide me with a digital recording of the reading and that is the clip that ended up here.

About The Professor: In 2000 I was the Director of International Programs and Services at California State University, Los Angeles. The Governor of our Rotary District, Garbis der Yeghian, invited me, an active member of the Rotary Club of East Los Angeles, to lead a delegation of three young non-Rotarian educators to Lebanon where we would spend one month, meeting with our vocational counterparts and living with local families. The program, called the Rotary Group Study Exchange, is one of Rotary's best. If you are under 30 and can get leave from your job for a month, check it out!

Over the course of the month, I lived in the homes of three Lebanese families; one in the north (Tripoli); one in the center (Beirut); and one in the South (Sidon). The three-part memoir in Gone to Ground is my attempt to show Lebanon as more than an international "hot spot" on the evening news, but rather a place where people make friends, fall in love, raise children, worry about the future and do their best to make their lives work.