On Friday the 13th of March, I began self-quarantining at home with my husband, my dog and my cat. Over a month has passed, and we’ve fared remarkably well. I’m amazed at my emotional equanimity, especially since I’m diagnosed bipolar. In part it’s because I’ve rid my life of so many meaningless obligations that didn’t… [Read More]
It’s Spring, and my muse has awakened!
Spring arrived officially last night, March 19th, at 11:50 pm EST, the earliest vernal equinox in 124 years. Don’t ask me why. I tried looking it up in the Farmer’s Almanac, but the explanation was utterly inscrutable—I’ve never been strong on science. But today, the first full day of Spring, feels happily auspicious. Walking my… [Read More]
Real-life soap drama shatters idyllic writing retreat
As promised, here’s what I wrote about Wellspring Retreat House when I visited in August of 2015. After two feet of snow, it looks very different today. I’ll post some of the photos in the next installment. Working on my memoir, SUBDURAL, and the writing’s going well, “Wherever you go, there you are.” That’s the… [Read More]
Hunkering down at Wellspring for a winter writer’s retreat
It’s two o’clock in the afternoon—time for General Hospital if this were Monday and I were at home. But no, it’s Sunday, and I’m at Wellspring Retreat House, staring out the window over my laptop at a bleak vista of leafless trees and ground carpeted by fallen leaves in shades of brown and red. I’m… [Read More]
Appreciation, Albany Poets and Word Fest
Julie, I love and admire this window into your world, your history, your heart and–hallelujah–your healthy brain. What an honoring account of your parents and their contributions to your creative/writer self. Your voice is compassionate and generous. SUBDURAL promises to be captivating. Marj Hahne left the comment above about my previous post, “How a Near-Death… [Read More]
Banish the Winter Blues–Join my creative writing workshops at the Arts Center of the Capital Region
A blinding snow squall whipped through upstate New York this afternoon, followed by a precipitous drop in temperature. The temperature’s already below zero here at Snyders Lake, and it promises to plunge even further before dawn. I was planning to go to an open mic in Troy tonight, but I couldn’t bear the thought of… [Read More]