Good news

Two bits of good news:

My story “Invasion” is featured today at Every Day Fiction, www.everydayfiction.com.

I’ve passed the 50,000 word count for Nanowrimo 2009. Whew!

 

 

Story accepted by Every Day Fiction

I received an email from the editors at Every Day Fiction informing me that my short story Invasion will be featured on the site, www.everydayfiction.com, and sent to subscribers on Wed., Nov. 18. People can rate stories on a scale of 1 to 5 and make comments, too. E-mail subscriptions are free.

 

Beside suicide’s door: A guest blog

Lynn Henriksen invited me to do a guest blog for her TellTale Souls blog. She posted it today at http://telltalesouls.com/blog/. Much of Lynn’s work centers on collecting stories about the mother/daughter relationship. And through her workshops (some of which are done in collaboration with Kate Farrell), she succeeds in creating a very safe, supportive place for daughters to explore their memories and write keepsake memoirs about their mothers. She has also collected a number of such stories for a book, which her agent is shopping to publishers now. So, when writing the guest blog, my thoughts naturally drifted toward my mother, who, unfortunately, committed suicide when I was very young.

Lynn’s blog, which she updated frequently, also has book reviews, contests and links to interesting resources.

 

Shollenberger Park, such a fine place to go

Petaluma’s Shollenberger Park, opened in 1995, has long been a popular spot for nature lovers. And it continues to grow more enticing. An adjoining trail cut along Alman Marsh and stretching to Petaluma’s Marina was added in 2003; the Petaluma Marsh trails were opened in the summer of 2009, adding length and variety to a hike through this birder’s paradise.

With the addition of the Petaluma Marsh trails, which run around a state-of-the-art recycled water project, the area now comprises 250 acres of wetlands. And in this peaceful place, where dogs on leash are welcome, there is much to appreciate.

The wildlife is ever changing. All manner of birds—150 species, according to the Sonoma County Agricultural Preservation and Open Space District, are the stars here. Depending on the season, you might see thousands of Canadian geese waddling in and out of the water or bulrushes afire with red winged blackbirds. The variety is stunning: ducks, hawks, doves, hummingbirds, grebes, terns, plovers and sandpipers—the list goes on. Mammals such as jack rabbits, pocket gophers and river otters also thrive in this environment.

I’ve made a modest slide show to accompany this article that you can find at www.examiner.com/examiner/x-7978-Sonoma-County-Examiner~y2009m10d6-Shollenberger-Park-a-haven-for-wildlife-and-people.

 

A week of rich reading

To escape from my own writing, I’ve done an extraordinary amount of reading lately. And the last three books to keep me up when I should have been sleeping were “The Space Between Us” by Thrity Umrigar, “The Weight of Silence” by Heather Gudenkauf and “Girl in the Mirror” by Kate Farrell. They first two were “New York Times” best sellers put out by big publishing houses; the third was self-published by the author through Unlimited Publishing.

All three books address in different ways the plight of women in relationships with men who are physically abusive. I didn’t seek out this theme; it seems to have found me.

The first two books are novels that deftly pull you into their fictional worlds, illuminating the characters and the forces shaping their environments and decisions. Umrigar’s is especially well written with complex, conflicted characters realized so fully I found myself loving and hating them equally. Here’s a taste from the book’s first chapter. The setting is a hut in a Bombay slum (it’s back when the city was called Bombay), and Bhima is talking to her granddaughter, Maya:

“So what will you do all day today?”

Maya shrugs

The shrug infuriates Bhima. “Oh, that’s right, memsahib is no longer going to college, I forgot,” she says, addressing the walls. “No, now she will just sit around like a queen all day, feeding herself and her—her bastard baby, while her poor grandmother slaves in someone’s home. All so that she can feed the demon that’s growing in her granddaughter’s belly.”

If it’s blood she wanted, she has it. Maya moans as she pulls herself up from the floor and moves to the farthest corner of the small room She leans lightly on the tin wall, her hands around her belly, and sobs to herself.

Bhima wants to take the sobbing girl to her bosom, to hold and caress her the way she used to when Maya was a child, to forgive her and to ask for her forgiveness. But she can’t. If it were just anger that she was feeling, she could’ve scaled that wall and reached out to her grandchild. But the anger is only the beginning of it. Behind he anger is fear, fear as endless and vast and gray as the Arabian Sea, fear for this stupid, innocent, pregnant girl who stands sobbing before her, and for this unborn baby who will come into the world to a mother who is a child herself and to a grandmother who is old and tired to her very bones …

Umrigar’s is one of those books that will stay with me for a long time, one I might hesitate to loan for fear of not getting it back. Gudenkauf’s probably not so much, though I did enjoy reading it. It alternates point of view chapter to chapter, using at least six different points of view, which didn’t quite work for me. I found some voices to be more believable than others, and when I wasn’t believing the voice, I wasn’t absorbed in the world. It was a nail-biter of a story, though, dealing with sobering issues of addiction, violence, betrayal and forgiveness.

Farrell’s book is a different sort of work. It tells a modern story, shaped around “Psyche and Eros,” an ancient myth which some jungian analysts have said provides a pattern for feminine development. A novella written especially for teenage girls, the book was conceived as a teaching tool to help adolescent women apply wisdom from the myth to their own situations. The central character, Sylvie, is being stalked by her violent boyfriend, and she escapes to her godmother’s house in the country, where, among other kinds of support, her godmother tells her the story of Psyche.

A storyteller and librarian in addition to an author, Farrell has an ambitious mission: she wants to empower young women to love themselves and not tolerate anything approaching violence against them. She intends to use the book in workshops with adolescents and teach other workshop leaders to do the same. I could envision her also writing an accompanying workbook that would help her charges reflect upon the layers of meaning in both the myth and the modern story Farrell created to frame it.

It’s been quite a week of reading. Bravo to all three authors who, I believe, have succeeded, each on her own terms.

 

What’s up with Gravity Hill?

Just posted this tidbit at examiner.com, thought I’d share it here, too:

Here’s something off the beatin’ path in Penngrove, Calif., that just might give you the willies if you’re in the area and have the time to go there: Head way up Sonoma Mountain on Lichau Rd. When you reach an iron gate on the right with a wrought iron sign that says “Gracia Santiago,” slow down because just ahead is a small descent that gradually slopes into a little bowl that then ascends once again.

It looks like an ordinary, graceful dip in a beautiful country road. But it’s not. Instead of barrelling through the little bowl, stop the car at the bottom of the incline. Then (traffic permitting) take your foot off the break. Your car will begin rolling backward up the hill you just came down.

No kidding. My husband, Jim, and I read about it in an article by Chuck Lucas in  “Penngrove Proud,” a lovely, full-color, glossy quarterly devoted to all things Penngrove, and we drove up there at dusk to try it out. To read Lucas’ article, as well as the current and back issues of “Penngrove Proud,” visit www.penngroveproud.com.

 

Voices of wisdom

What a cozy place the Sitting Room in Cotati is: bookshelves everywhere, comfy chairs, nooks just right for reading, writing, reflecting. I was there yesterday, one of six women enrolled in “Wisdom has a voice: Daughters remember mothers,” a writing workshop led by Kate Farrell and Lynn Cook Henriksen.

Lynn Cook Henriksen and Kate Farrell

Farrell and Henriksen are both published authors who share an interest in  preserving women’s stories, particularly those about their mothers. Their stated goal for the workshop was to “create a workshop environment that allows for the authentic sharing, reflection and writing of a significant memory of each attendee’s mother that then becomes a keepsake memoir.”

With specific outcomes leading to the goal also clearly stated, they managed to pack a lot into just two hours while maintaining a relaxed, inviting atmosphere. They applied their experience with meditation, the Kolb Learning Cycle (which assists people in reflecting up and drawing meaning from their concrete life experiences), listening and telling, and writing to help participants move from having no idea what to write about to having a draft of an arresting, short memoir.

I wholeheartedly endorse this duo. Each participant’s unique voice came through, and the knowledge that everything shared there would be kept private created a great deal of safety for creativity to emerge.

Walking the trail to the Sitting Room in Cotati

If Farrell and Henriksen were so inclined, they could branch out to offer workshops on all kinds of relationships: for siblings, spouses, lovers, friends and colleagues, perhaps. But they are doing a bang up job of following their hearts into the mother/daughter lode. And more power to them.

For more information about the presenters, visit http://redwoodwriters.blogspot.com.

 

Lose some, win some

I submitted a story to www.wordsfordollars.com last week. The site has weekly contests. It’s $5 to enter; first prize is $150, and runners up get $50. I didn’t win anything, but I might submit again sometime. It’s worth checking out; I know someone who won a few weeks ago, and she got paid her $150 promptly.

I’ve hardly been writing for examiner.com lately. Ever since the manager of my group asked all writers to avoid writing in first person, my enthusiasm for the gig has flagged. I was doing it for fun and to learn about creating a Web presence that draws readers. And I was writing in first person. I hardly ever get feedback on what I post here, but I got a fair amount of feedback on examiner.com and even got a handful of subscribers. I think having a clear focus helps, something this blog doesn’t have. Examiner.com has good support and educational tools, too. But my heart’s not in churning out third-person articles right now. It makes it too much like a job, and one that pays a pittance at that.

It’s good to try different things. Today my Web adventures don’t seem to be panning out. But that may not be the case tomorrow. The more you stumble, the more you learn.

 

Two Rock rocks

Isolation in narrow, concrete runs. Outside exercise once, maybe twice a day. No contact with your own kind. This sounds more like the infamous Pelican Bay prison than a nice place to board the family dog.

But in decades past, there were scant alternatives for dog lovers who needed a place to board their furry family members.

Not so anymore. Dog boarding and “doggie day care” have progressed leaps and bounds since the dark boarding days of yore. State-of-the-art canine homes away from home exist where facilities and activities are based on dogs’ natural inclinations and desires, not on caretakers’ convenience. And one of the best of these in Sonoma County is Two Rock Dog Ranch.

That’s where my husband, Jim, and I take our Maltese-Shih Tzu cross, Romeo. (Our purebred Maltese, Scouty Boy, isn’t invited; he’s too surly and unpredictable to pass the personality test.) An evaluation of all potential participants in day care is one of the plusses of Two Rock. You don’t have to worry that some vicious, half-wild predatory beast will break away from a handler and attack your pooch.

Other plusses include lots of large, indoor and outdoor spaces where dogs can roam freely from one to another spot all day long. Dogs can form their own packs and romp around together, or if they want down time, they can withdraw to any number of cozy beds and nooks designed for shut-eye or just plain quiet time.

Small and large dogs have separate sections, so there is no problem with larger dogs inadvertently stepping on a pipsqueak and doing some damage.

All sections of the ranch are well supervised by trained personnel. And dogs get periods of structured play organized by staff, that is, if they want to participate. And I expect the majority of them do because the staff’s love and understanding of dogs is evident in all the little things that matter: tone of voice, body language, honest affection and enthusiasm for their charges.

Sound heavenly? Our Romeo thinks it is. If you live in Sonoma County, stop in without your pet, and one of the friendly staff can take you on a tour. 4395 Middle Two Rock Road, Petaluma, CA 94952-9651; 707-763-3997.

 

Mixing pet fun and photo fun

I didn’t realize it had been so long since I’ve posted anything here. So, here’s a little something I posted on examiner.com not too long ago:

What better way to spend a sleepless night than to write about my favorite pet supply store? It’s Pet Food Express in Petaluma, one of about 34 stores in a Bay Area chain that, in addition to helping pet owners care for their furry treasures, is responsible for “Pets Around the Bay” on Fridays at 7:20 p.m. on Channel 5.

A couple of weeks ago I snapped pictures in the store while looking for some Bach Flower Remedy to calm our Maltese at night. (Since he’s become elderly, he transforms after about 7 p.m. into something more like a large wild rat than the cuddly little lap dog he is during the day. We still love him, of course, although one member of our family does call him The Germ from time to time when he’s being particularly obnoxious. Luckily, since he’s only about 9 lbs. and slightly feeble, he hasn’t bitten through any of our pant legs.)

Back to the pictures. I felt the need to explain myself when one of the salespeople looked at me with kindly curiosity when I stood pointing my Cool Pix at the Honest Kitchen display. I said I planned to write something about the store since it’s my fave and all that.

A week later, I was back buying some Primal (it’s raw, frozen food in handy little nuggets) for our canines (we have a Maltese-Shih Tzu cross, too) and the salesperson I’d spoken with the week before said, “Weren’t you going to write something …” And I said I still intended to, but just hadn’t gotten around to it. Shortly thereafter I got a lovely message from Michael, the Pet Food Express owner. He gave me his phone number, said I could interview him. But, now that my attention is finally focused on the store, it’s 2 a.m., and, well, I sure wouldn’t want anyone calling me at 2 a.m.

So, here’s why I love the store:

1.The people who work there are friendly, knowledgeable and helpful. They listen excedingly well and offer excellent suggestions. I never get the sense that they’re trying to push anything on me.

2. The store is clean, well stocked, well organized and just the right size. It’s a pleasure to browse there. Dogs are welcome; in fact, they even have a dog washing area. (I keep wanting to try this, but Jim, my husband, reminds me it’s just as easy to stick our little dogs in our kitchen sink and wash ‘em up.) And whoever does the buying for the store stays abreast of healthy new products and so forth. If I read about something, say, in “Whole Dog Journal,” I can usually find it at Pet Food Express.

3. Like some other pet food stores I shop at, the business offers “buy three, get the fourth free” for purchases of certain high-quality pet food. The great thing about Pet Food Express is that you get the discount from the store at the time you buy the food. The other stores I’ve visited that offer something similar make you deal with the pet food companies yourself to get the discount (I can’t recall exactly how they worked it because it seemed like too much trouble to me, but then I have admitted to being lazy in a prior article.)

4. They offer dog training on site through Unleashed Dog Training, and at least one evening is on a drop-in basis—which is very good for, well, flakes like me who sign up for a series and can’t seem to make it to all the classes.

5. They are involved in the community in innovative ways. One is that they do pet adoptions through their website. As of right now, they’ve done 47,686 such adoptions.

So, if you want to know more, stop in at 383 S. McDowell Blvd. in Petaluma, call 707-781-3333, or visit www.petfoodexpress.com.

A slideshow accompanies this post on my examiner page, http://www.examiner.com/x-7978-SF-Sonoma-County-Examiner. I was experimenting with special effects on www.befunky.com and http://labs.wanokoto.jp/olds. The latter gives a vintage effect to photos and is in Japanese, so you’ll likely have to click “English” in the upper right-hand corner to make use of the site.