First day at artists' colony

Well, since yesterday was spent getting here--SW to Baltimore and then on to Tampa, picking up rental car, driving a couple hours, a stop at supermarket for supplies--today is actually my second day. (a shout out to Southwest Airlines for retrieving my beloved jeans jacket after I forgot it on the plane!) 

Arrived in the pouring rain. And the sound of rain and waves right outside my window lulled me to sleep for 10 glorious hours, after a welcome dinner of steak Oscar with the other fascinating residents and Hermitage people. 

Today: a morning of reading to prepare me for the essay I'm planning to write. A couple of hours to tie up loose ends on other projects. Then writing my novel. 

Oh. And staring at this:

Artist Retreat

Friends, tomorrow I leave for two weeks at an artists colony near Sarasota, Florida. I'll mostly be working on my new novel and an essay I've been mapping out in my head for a long time. Of course, I'm also imagining short stories pouring from my fingertips, and progress on something I've been toying with out of my comfort zone. But I can't describe what it feels like to have nothing to do but think and write (and stare at the ocean). How I miss my family when I go off to do this. But some of my best work came out of retreats at Yaddo, amongst others. And so I'm excited and hopeful and ready for warm weather. And of course to return with lots of words written, and eager to smother everybody with kisses. 

Heading to New Orleans for the Tennessee Williams Festival

So many awesome writers! So much awesome food! If you're in or around New Orleans I would love to see you. 

http://www.tennesseewilliams.net/

Why am I awake at 3:52 AM?

Full disclosure, as a lifelong insomniac it's not that unusual for me to be awake between 3 and 5 AM. I used to fight it, but not so over the past few years. In fact, when I'm not in a house full of happily sleeping people I watch TV or read. I've seen lots of episodes of Scandal when I'm in NYC awake in the wee hours. Even home, like now, I play my Words With Friends turns. It's always fun when a fellow player is also awake. 

But no matter where I am, this is the perfect time to obsess. About money. About the missing plane. About my anemia. And now that I've started a new novel, let that obsessing begin! Is it any good? Does it make any sense? How is the person in Paris going to meet the woman in the bookstore????

Monday I begin a two week stay at The Hermitage, an artist colony on the beach (sunshine! Sand! Ocean!) near Sarasota, Florida. Hopefully I will return with 100 pages written, many books read, higher iron numbers, and a bit of color in my winter cheeks. 

It is hard to describe the joys of retreats like this for a writer (or any artist). Thinking is so vital to making art, and I've done some of my best work when I have days and days to do just that. In fact, much of my new book, An ItalianWife, was written at various stays at Yaddo in Saratoga Springs, NY--as a second project to what I'd gone there to write! And yes, I have a second and third project I'm hoping to make progress on in my weeks away. 

Still, this morning I can't stop worrying over what I've written so far (all thirty pages!) or stop trying to solve plot problems. Ok. Or stop reading every news item about the missing plane. 

But I am growing sleepy now. Tomorrow, Sam and I are going shopping and then picking up the grandmas for dinner. Grilling burgers has become my go to way to pretend it isn't 18 degrees. In March. 

And if you are in or near New Orleans, come to the Tennessee Williams Festival this weekend. I will be there with dozens of wonderful writers. 

Even though I have not solved the woman in Paris and the bookstore problem yet, I do think I will go to sleep...

Off to Tucson and the Tucson Literary Festival!

Cannot wait for:

SUNSHINE!

Enchiladas

Margaritas

Writer friends

Books, books, books

Did I mention SUNSHINE?

Read this quote by Diane Arbus and wanted to share it. "I work from awkwardness. By that I mean if I stand in front of something instead of arranging it, I arrange myself."

DO NOT GO GENTLE

I have just spent three days recording my memoir, DO NOT GO GENTLE: MY SEARCH FOR MIRACLES IN A CYNICAL TIME for Audible.com. Thanks to Open Road, the book is available again as an e reader. And soon on audio. 

It's been an emotional few days, reliving these events. But it's also been an extraordinary experience. 

Here is a description of the book, and a link to it on Open Road. 

Do Not Go Gentle is a transporting memoir about Ann Hood’s quest to find a cure, if not an outright miracle, that would cure her father’s cancer. Her “spiritual Odyssey, with a secret history all its own” would take her from Rhode Island to El Santuario de Chimayo, New Mexico, in search of dirt reputed to contain astonishing healing powers. Along the way, Hood tells the story of her family, their immigration to America, and the author’s reconnection with her Italian heritage. Most of all, this touching memoir is a valentine to the man who was, in Hood’s own words, “the love of my life.”

You can get the e reader here:

 http://www.openroadmedia.com/do-not-go-gentle

Sittin' in a railway station...

...got a ticket for my destination...

One of my all time favorite songs, running through my mind as I watch the woman making coffee here at the Amtrak station in Providence. Hurry up! 

I had one of those wake up every hour sleeps that I get when I need to be up early (4:30 today), so I'm feeling a bit like I've been punched all night. Of course, three episodes of House of Cards before bed didn't help!

Three days of recording Do Not Go Gentle, my memoir about my dad, in NYC. And one of my wake ups was at 2:08, his number. Sometimes you have to believe they are still with us...