The Gypsy in My Soul

Natty's fur grows shaggy over the winter, as he piles on layers to protect him from freezing during Colville's arctic winters. But now that spring is here, Natty headed for the Pooch Parlor for his lamb cut and dapper bandana.

I'm getting shaggy, too...but not quite ready to trim my locks. Instead I need to find a way to trim my gypsy urges to wander. Though I'm just back from London and Paris, and will be at the University of Oxford in July, I couldn't resist booking a few days in St. Louis to participate in a book signing on June 1 for my first co-created anthology, Not Your Mother's Book: On Travel. Though I'd been the copyeditor on the first three in Publishing Syndicate's new series, On Being a Woman, On Being a Stupid Kid, and On Dogs, in On Travel I worked on primary selection and editing of the stories, and then, with Dahlynn McKowen, shaped them into sequence

Four of the contributors to the book live in the St. Louis area, Sheree Nielsen, Linda O'Connell, Sioux Roslawski and Gregory Lamping. So we'll all gather for a signing/reading on June 1 at Barnes and Noble's bookstore, 320 Mid Rivers Mall Dr., St. Peters, a St. Louis suburb, from 1 to 3.

I've dedicated the book to my late friend, Kelly C. Presley, who shared so many travel adventures with me in the '80s and early '90s. Kelly's brother and nieces and their families live in St. Louis, and I've been invited to stay at Elves Manor, which two of the girls operate, the best B&B in town. So once again I get to indulge my itchy feet and the gypsy in my soul. Poor Natty, though. He'll languish at The End of the Trail kennel for a few days once again, where he'll look properly natty for the benefit of his fellow exiled dogs.

Here's more on Not Your Mother's Book...On Travel.
Not Your Mother's Book...On Travel is an anthology filled with true, first-person travel adventure stories. From the jungles of Central America to the highlands of Africa, from the charms of Europe to the mysteries of North America, from the sacred sites of Asia to the high seas of the Caribbean, these stories will delight and entertain you. Whether you are an armchair traveler or an on-the-road-again adventurer, we invite you to vicariously journey around the world with us. But don’t forget to fasten your seat belt, because you’re guaranteed one hell of a great trip! Not Your Mother's Book is a new anthology for a new century. Series creators Dahlynn and Ken McKowen spent 10 years developing titles for the world's bestselling anthology series prior to launching NYMB. But their series is very different: all NYMB titles are modern, fun and even daring! No sad, sappy or death and dying stories--EVER! Not Your Mother's Book...On Travel is the fourth title in the series. The first hilarious title was NYMB...On Being a Woman, followed by NYMB...On Being a Stupid Kid and NYMB...On Dogs.

A Weekend of Great Expectations

I'd been meaning to treat myself to a day off from the past hectic week of unpacking from my London/Paris adventure, laundering and repacking for a Medical Commission obligation in Olympia, reading Edith Wharton on my Kindle while waiting on standby at Sea Tac, and unpacking and laundering once more. I had solid reasons to celebrate!

 Amazon has released my debut co-creation with Publishing Syndicate: Not Your Mother's Book. . .On Travel, plus I'd whipped up a piece for the firm's monthly Wow Principles newsletter, "Seven Reasons Why Compiling an Anthology is a Trip."

Here's links to these two accomplishments...and, yes, I'm bursting with pride:

http://www.amazon.com/Not-Your-Mothers-Book-Travel/dp/1938778049/ref=sr_1_1_title_1_pap?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1364143984&sr=1-1&keywords=not+your+mother%27s+book+on+travel

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So this Dickens devotee decided to corral her fellow adventurer, Jane Conn, and spend a luxurious day in Spokane, lunching at the Davenport Towers exotic Safari Room and seeing the SpectiCast HD filming of London's West End production of Great Expectations at the Bing Crosby Theater at the Fox.

The Safari Room's 11 am to 2 pm specials, "6 for $6" are still offered, so I savored the curried lentil soup accompanied by a garden salad. Great fare for the price, and just filling enough for someone who is trying to trim down a smidgeon before embarking for England in July. (I'm hoping to fit back in to some summer clothes from a few years back!)

Jane and I were astonished that only a handful of Dickens fans showed up to see the filmed drama. I had expected college English profs and students to crowd in, despite Spokane having become a major sports mecca over the weekend, what with the NCAA and Gonzaga seeded #1 in the west, a major national volleyball tournament plus a hockey game. We had the theater almost to ourselves, but didn't regret the 65 mile drive to town. 

Here's what the critics had to say about this first ever London staging of one of Dickens' most popular novels:

Spectacular Adaptation Translates Spirit and Humanity of Dickens's Classic Novel to the Stage

What you need to know:
A stage version of Charles Dickens's novel Great Expectations has opened at the Vaudeville Theatre in London's West End. Graham McLaren directs Scottish playwright Jo Clifford's adaptation.
Blacksmith's boy Pip is transformed into a London gentleman with the aid of a mysterious benefactor. But even as Pip's fortunes rise, he is haunted by his love for the beautiful, unattainable Estella whom he visited at Miss Havisham's house as a child.
Paul Nivison stars as adult Pip and Paula Wilcox (Chrissie from the 1970s TV hit Man about the House) plays Estella's ghoulish guardian Miss Havisham. Jack Ellis appears as Pip's lawyer Jaggers and Chris Ellison as the convict Magwitch. Runs until 1 June.
What the critics like
Jo Clifford's version of Great Expectations shrugs off the many screen adaptations to create "pure theatre", says Libby Purves in The Times. Clifford wisely drops several strands from the novel, but the heart is there, and "the culmination thrilling".
Graham McLaren's production is "a resounding success," says Tim Walker in the Daily Telegraph. It communicates, in two hours and 20 minutes, "the spirit and humanity of the novel" but also "works as a stand-alone piece of drama".
This Great Expectations is "a spectacular affair", says Tamara Vos for the Londonist. It's a "Tim Burton-esque take" on a classic, with an original score, an onstage fire, and "the set is absolutely stunning".
What they don't like
It's an "inventive" production, but one that "sells Dickens's great novel dismayingly short", says Charles Spencer in the Daily Telegraph. The bones of the story are there and there are "gripping passages" but "the narrative often seems hurried and the characterisation crude".

I found the production absolutely astounding. Then I returned home to watch Gonzaga on TNT try to edge its way into the Sweet Sixteen. I was astounded once again as the Zags fell to Wichita State 76-70. Great expectations dashed for the sweethearts of the Inland Empire!

I cling, though, to my remaining expectations for this weekend. Yes, I have to launder once again...but I have two stories in mind to get written and submitted, and will begin at least one today...perhaps a story on my recent European venture with Jane...she's come up with a title: "Our Greater Journey." And another about waiting at airports through endless cancellations and standbys...and why it pays to have a fully-charged Kindle!

On the Waterfront with NYMB

 Rendezvousing with Pat Nelson at the Budd Bay Cafe

For the past couple of years I've been involved with the launch of a new anthology series, Not Your Mother's Book, by Dahlynn and Ken McKowen of Orangevale, CA. We're a far-flung lot, those of us collaborating on these hilarious collections. There's Laurel McHargue in Leadville, CO, Kathy Baker in Plano, TX, Linda O'Connell in St. Louis, MO, Maggie Lamond Simone in Baldwinsville, NY, Maggie Yee Webb and Nancy Withers not far from Sacramento, CA, and two us in Washington State...but separated by 450 miles and the Cascades.

We're a dauntless tribe, though. So Pat Nelson, who is cocreating the fifth book in the series, On Parenting, drove north from her home in Woodland, WA, to meet me in Olympia, WA, at the waterfront's Budd Bay Cafe for breakfast this past Saturday since I'd been in town for the Washington State Medical Quality Assurance Commission.

On the first three titles, On Women, On Being a Stupid Kid and On Dogs, Pat's served as proofreader, while I've been copy editor. I'm cocreator with Dahlynn and Ken on the fourth title, On Travel, to be released March 26.

Great news, NYMB contributors. Ken, Pat and I have spent the past day or so looking at the manuscript one final time and it goes to the printer this afternoon!

What a joy it was to chat across the table with Pat, who quipped the night before that we'd probably pull out our cell phones at breakfast and communicate via Facebook! We didn't...I don't really text on my little Trac phone...and besides, it was just too much fun to talk with Pat in person.

Both Pat and I are hoping the McKowen's will host a Cinco de Mayo party again this year and we can connect with more of the cocreators in Orangevale!

The Loneliest Day of the Year?

 Mountain Melody Sweet Adelines

This morning I received an e-mail from a childhood friend thanking me for a valentine I'd sent her. A psychoanalyst, she was widowed a few years ago, as was I. She said she hadn't received a valentine in so long she was glad to see it in the mail. I well know that unexpected joy of getting something in the mailbox on Valentine's Day. I can count on my stepson for ensuring I get one from my little granddaughter. And my writing partner, the wonderful Annie, not only sends valentines...but St. Paddy's cards, as well.

Still, I think Valentine's Day is a poignant time for widows. Fortunately this year it fell on the day I was scheduled to facilitate my Colville book group's discussion of Daphne du Maurier's Rebecca. So I threw myself a Valentine's party. The Mountain Melodies Sweet Adeline group roves around serenading for a several days on Valentine week, and I got my reservation in for them to sing "Love Makes the World Go Round" and a couple of other tightly-harmonized tunes for us.

Thanks to Netflix, I was able to show a video, The Gothic World of Daphne du Maurier, a special feature on its DVD of Rebecca, the Academy Award best-winning film in 1941. I baked a gingerbread in the shape of a heart, and my friend, Jane, brought a paper Victorian mansion constructed by her niece for a centerpiece and we pretended it was Manderley. I even broke open the box of See's truffles my sister had sent me for Christmas.

So the day turned out to be filled with food, friends and fun.

It's easier to get through a holiday without my late husband when I plan something to vary the usual daily routine. Chocolate alone won't always do the trick. (But it sure helps.)

Sweet Inspiration...Oh, What a Power!

At a high school reunion a few years back an old friend told me she'd always wanted to publish a few stories, but just never quite found the time or inspiration.

"It's probably easy for you," she said, with a rueful chuckle. "You've lead such an interesting life...been to so many countries and done so many exciting things."

"It's true I've traveled widely," I confessed, "But that's not where my story ideas generally come from."

Today I learned that my story, "A to Z," will appear in a new Chicken Soup for the Soul book, debuting in May. This narrative essay isn't set in Mongolia, Samoa or Bulgaria. No...it's set in the den in my home in Colville, where centered atop an entertainment center sit a pair of heavy black carved bookends.

It's usually been the everyday events of my life that have inspired my stories. When I look at the list of published stories that I keep updated on the first entry I ever made on this blog, I know that to be true:

http://atouchoftarragon.blogspot.com/2010/02/anthology-stories.html

Here's a sampling about what inspired me:

"Easter Bloomers"...my little brother rehearsing a line for a church pageant.
"Tea for Two"...my mother playing tea party with me when I was quarantined at Halloween.
"Kisses for Mr. Castle"...a junior high English teacher.
"The Valentine Sweetheart"...visiting my mother in a nursing home.
"When He Looked Like James Dean"...words my son spoke at his father's memorial service.
"Forced to Face the Facts"...taking a lung capacity test at a health fair.
"Finding My Comfort Zone"...dealing with my mother-in-law and my newborn son.
"Blue Hawaii"...my students' love of surfing culture the first year I taught school.
"A is for Apple"...my backyard trees when Ken and I moved into our house outside Colville, WA.
"Montana Bananas"...Ken reminiscing about raising three sons in Reno, NV.

Yes, there are some exotic locales...."Watching for the Rebound" summons up Belize, "Santo Domingo Sunrise" deals with heartbreak in the Dominican Republic, and "Once in a Lifetime" recalls the day I spied a macaw on my sundeck in Antigua, Guatemala, during a total eclipse of the sun.

The majority of my stories, however, come from reliving how I experienced the life events that most of us have shared. These were the magical moments in my life...that gave me sweet inspiration.

The next story I plan to write is about how one long distance phone call from Peace Corps Headquarters back in 1987 nearly gave me a heart attack...and how I agonized...and how it all turned out. As my dear friend Kelly Presley used to remind me: "Everything works out. And if it doesn't...that's a way of working out, too."

Speaking of inspiration...here's one of my favorite songs.  Listen to the Sweet Inspirations sing their huge hit, "Sweet Inspiration," and be knocked out by Cissy Houston's solo...brings tears to my eyes even now!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EHL8wQQ3r1Q

A Basket Case

Billed as a new anthology for a new century, the Not Your Mother's Book series took off last fall with a BANG...three books in three months: On Being a Woman, On Being a Stupid Kid and On Dogs. The fourth in the series, On Travel, is scheduled for release in late March. As co-creator, I can't wait...but, of course, I have to.

I wish I could give you a preview of its contents, and I will as soon as publisher Dahlynn McKowen makes the final decisions on the stories and their sequence. In the meantime, I'm keeping my fingers crossed for everybody who is waiting for final word. Believe me, I am waiting,  too!
 
I've seen Facebook posts from contributors who complain that the wait to hear whether or not a submission has been accepted or not is agonizing. Yes...sometimes we wait a year or two to learn whether one of our essays, poems or stories will actually be published. Rejections and acceptances sometimes seem to come in waves...and we're all familiar with those long intervals where we hear absolutely nothing.

The current January issue of The Wow Principles newsletter details why it can take a year or even longer to produce an anthology. In March the newsletter will carry a piece that I've been mulling over for a while...how to manage such delays and disappointments in the "hurry up and submit and then wait, wait, wait" process of writing for anthologies. I've tentatively titled it "A Basket Case."

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If I'd Known It Was Coming I'd Have Baked a Cake!

My lackluster Yahoo horoscope gave me little inspiration today. There must be something happier to contemplate for this Saturday, other than ticking off items on my "to do" list. I've been spending a lot of this past week looking forward to London and Paris in March, and not enough just relishing the moment. True, it's hard for me to rev up a lot of enthusiasm for even getting out of bed these subarctic mornings. But I don't give up easy, so I surfed around the Internet and found this intriguing website:

http://www.holidayinsights.com/

Its home page announces....You've arrived at Holiday Insights, where you will find fun, information, and lots more about every holiday you can imagine. We've got you covered on the big ones, the small ones, and all of 'em in between. So, whether you are looking up information, doing a school report, looking for Ecards or screensavers, clipart perhaps, or just having fun, surf on through and come back often.

I scrolled down the list of the January celebrations and found that aside from New Year's Day, I'd missed them all. I'd been in a daze about the days. I wish I'd known about Male Watcher's Day, Houseplant Appreciation Day, or even Peculiar People Day. I'm certain I could have cooked up something special to help me get through these winter doldrums.

So, celebrate, celebrate, I remind myself...it won't be long until spring, and we'll be admiring our flowers once again. In the meanwhile, we've got Groundhog Day, Valentine's Day, and more coming up soon. For right now, I'm going to brew up a cup of camomile. After all, Holiday Insights reminds me that January is Hot Tea Month! I'm not letting that one slip by. Of course, there's always tomorrow...Chocolate Cake Day.

C is for Cookie, but also for Cake, as celebrated by Cookie Monster and the Count:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=veNjYhcJ9IE