Arleen Williams's Blog, page 13

Art, Books and Snow

Snow in Seattle? Maybe. A few flakes fell Monday morning and the forecast is for more on Thursday, but who knows? We don’t usually get much snow in Seattle, only an annual average of about six and a half inches. Given the Seattle hills and our experience coping with snow and ice, this is a clear care of less is more. Even a dusting seems to send us into hibernation.
Snow or no snow, tomorrow is the West Seattle Art Walk. Join me at Merryweather Books to chat about snow, books, or whatever might be on your mind. I’ll be there between 6:00 and 7:30 p.m. and I’d love to see you! Thursday, December 8, 20166:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m.Meet the Authorat Merryweather Books4537 California Ave SW, Seattle, WA 98116

Life + Inspiration = Fiction

When the Dora-Faye Hendricks of the Southwest Seattle Historical Society invited me to give a talk (as opposed to a reading) for the Words, Writers & West Seattle series, I’ll admit I was stumped. Despite a lifetime of teaching and dozens of bookstore and library readings, I am not a public speaker. I can read. I can’t speak. Or perhaps I should say, I can’t speak unless I’m teaching. It’s different. Besides, I had no idea what to talk about. 
Then I met Clay Eals on Alki Beach to film this video invitation to the event. We stood next to the sign post that graces the cover of Running Secrets with Elliot Bay behind us and the gorgeous Seattle skyline in the distance. It was a clear day – rare in these weeks of winter gray – and once again I was overwhelmed by the beauty of this place I call home.  
Still, I am even less comfortable with video-taping than I am with public speaking, so Clay chatted and joked and helped me relax. He asked about my event and encouraged me to talk about myself, my connections to West Seattle, and my inspiration for The Alki Trilogy.
“They want to know about you,” Clay said. “They want to know the person behind the stories.”
I pondered this for a while before admitting that every time I read a book or attend a book event, I want to know about the author and his or her inspiration. Where did she get the idea? Why did he write this particular story? I decided there might be other readers like me who are interested in where ideas and characters come from and how life experiences play into fiction. Are you?
As I considered the circuitous journey my life has taken, my West Seattle connections and the inspiration for The Alki Trilogy, I better understood how deeply these facets of my life are connected and the planning of my talk became easier.
I’m gathering photographs and stories, facts and statistics that I hope will explain the life and inspiration behind The Alki Trilogy. I hope you can join me this Friday and tell me what you think!
Barnes and Noble - Westwood Village2600 SW Barton St Suite E-1Seattle, WA 98126Friday, December 2, 2016 5:00 – 7:00 p.m.

Memoir Is

Memoir is a tool for understanding the world and our place in it, for processing pain and for coming to terms with past and present realities.

We all have stories to tell. However, we do not necessarily know what they are and why they are important. Writing can help us see why our stories matter, and why we feel a sense of urgency to tell them. Carefully considered, our stories can shed light on our moral assignments. Mary Pipher , Writing to Change the WorldMemoir is more than simply slapping a story on a journal page. Like all writing, it involves discipline, dedication, and process. There are as many ways to write, as many practices and techniques, as there are writers, but in the end a solid memoir is a well-written story with universal appeal.
A good memoir requires two elements – one of art, the other of craft. The first is integrity of intention … Memoir is how we try to make sense of who we are, who we once were, and what values and heritage shaped us. If a writer seriously embarks on that quest, readers will be nourished by the journey, bringing along many associations with quests of their own.The other element is carpentry. Good memoirs are a careful act of construction … Memoir writers must manufacture a text, imposing narrative order on a jumble of half-remembered events. With that feat of manipulation they arrive at a truth that is theirs alone, not quite like that of anybody else who was present at the same events.William Zinsser, Inventing the Truth: The Art and Craft of MemoirMemoir is truth, the writer’s truth. As we write, we remind ourselves that we are telling our own truth, that we are being as honest as we are capable of being, that there is rarely just one singular truth.
The memoir is not and should never be confused with the truth. The very act of writing creates a literary construct: alteration is inevitable. As a result, truth belongs to the teller. Truth is relative to the teller. Laura Kalpakian , The Memoir ClubNext Saturday, November 16, I have the pleasure of joining a panel of three other memoirists to explore memoir from inspiration to publication. Allan Ament, Margaret Bendet, Judith Works, and I will discuss topics ranging from techniques for generating ideas and methods for drafting and organizing to publishing options in today’s changing landscape. I hope you’ll join us.
From Inspiration to Publication: Your Memoir's Journey Arlington Library 135 N Washington Ave, Arlington WA 98223-1422 Saturday, November 16, 2016 2:00 – 3:30 pm

A Stirring Journey into the World of African Refugees

Would you like a free copy of Walking Home today?
My Sunday inbox held this message from Tana at Read It & Reap. 

Sign up below for your free book. Or if your an author, find out how you can also participate in this Goodreads program.

Enjoy!




What is Read It & Reap?
Our Read It & Reap program is designed with authors in mind. Our goal is to help indie and self-published authors promote their books.

For more information about RI&R and our Rules & Requirements click here: http://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/7...http://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/7...

Sign up to Review:

Title: Walking Home
Author: Arleen Williams
Genre: Contemporary Women’s Fiction
Formats Available: Mobi, Epub & Pdf
Page # 244
Review Due Date: November 6, 2016

Book Description:

In this stirring journey into the world of African refugees, Arleen Williams creates a story that is both heartwarming and haunting.

Seattle is a long way from the Horn of Africa. Despite escaping his country’s violence, Kidane is never too far from the nightmares and despair of his past. A new country, a new hope, and a new love may not be enough to save him. Only when he is able to face his worst fears can he have any hope of being truly free.

The city of Seattle provides the backdrop for this powerful coming of age tale that, along with the other interconnecting portraits that make up The Alki Trilogy, gives voice to the plight of the immigrants in the Pacific Northwest.

Be one of the first people to sign up below in order to receive a copy of this ebook to Read and Review!

Formats available: Mobi, Epub & Pdf

All reviews should be completed and posted within 3 weeks .

It would be appreciated if you could post your reviews on Goodreads and Amazon.

Review Due Date: November 6, 2016

Sign Us Here: https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/...https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/...

Authors Sign Ups: https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/...https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/...

Thank You!

Tana

Wedding Day!

On Sunday, September 4, 2016, our daughter, Erin Williams, married her best friend, Elliot Brasch. My husband and I couldn't be happier for the new couple. They belong together. Our home filled with family, and friends arrived from near and far. There are no formal photographs yet, but thanks to friends and family, I have a few to shots to share. Maid-of-honor Michelle and her husband Blair hosted the rehearsal dinner in their beautiful back yard.  Preparations began at 7 a.m. on wedding day with hair and makeup.
And continued at the wedding venue! Erin and Elliot exchanged vows. And after dinner, the dancing began!





















The magical day came to a beautiful end ... and it all still feels like a dream.

My Heart Tells Me

It is a cool, overcast Seattle morning. A silent calm fills the neighborhood. I am silent as well. My pen has been silent for too long. I wait in silence for the re-release of my books after the demise of my publisher and the signing with another. I wait in silence for medical updates on a sister's health after the loss of two other beloveds to cancer only months ago. I wait in silence, in a silent home, for the arrival of family to fill these rooms in joyous anticipation of our daughter's wedding.
A summer of waiting, of silence, of holding in tears. The tears of pain and joy so intermixed I find myself teetering, equilibrium at times difficult to maintain. I support the worried and grieving as well as the joyous as best I can, knowing what I offer is never enough. It will never be enough.
The losses will always be felt, but with time and patience the flood waters of hurt will recede. Though there may be glitches in the perfect wedding plans, the bliss will always be cherished, the memories locked away, a balance against future losses.
In the silence of one gray Seattle morning, I reminded myself there will always be losses and new beginnings. My heart told me to put pen to paper once again, knowing life's challenge is learning to negotiate the extremes.

Night at Sheep Lake

Eight years ago, my husband and I took a friend backpacking to celebrate her fiftieth birthday. Since that first trip, she has made it her annual birthday tradition to gather a group of friends and head to the mountains in mid-July for a night or two of camping and hiking.
I began backpacking close to my thirtieth birthday. As I age, the pack feels heavier, the ground gets harder and the physical recovery from sore muscles and achy joints takes longer. Still, I never regret the effort. Sitting by a crackling campfire high atop a mountainside with stars overhead centers me. The calm is vast, the beauty a reminder of all that is good in this crazy world. There's much to be said for annual traditions. They keep us doing something we might otherwise allow to slip away, replaced by the demands of life and work. I'm grateful to my friend for getting us out into the ancient tranquility of the Pacific Northwest mountains in the early summer each year. Now, our backpacks are out of the attic, packed, and ready for the next weekend escape. It doesn't take much - only one night - to shift perspective and refresh the soul.

Rehearsal for Retirement

When I woke, I had every intention of cycling with friends in the afternoon. Instead I found myself drawn to Schmitz Park. How could I refuse? Summer is that way. I set a plan only to find myself altering course throughout the day. Whatever it is that I end up doing tends to be different, but usually equally rewarding.
I am a college instructor, my annual schedule dictated by an academic calendar. As the years pass each summer becomes a rehearsal for retirement.
Most of us spend our working days waking to an alarm, trudging off to work, coming home. A routine set in stone. Weekends are filled with household chores and family obligations. Before we know it the kids are grown, the house is empty, and we find ourselves at retirement age wondering how to manage the shift from days controlled by structure to the absence of all routine. I wonder how I will construct my own retirement when the time arrives, how tight I will plan in order to convince myself I've accomplished something each day. I hear retired friends complain of being terribly busy but never getting anything done, and I can relate having experienced a touch of this phenomenon during past summer breaks. But still I resist a tightly structured To Do list - for summer break or retirement.
I prefer a daily, weekly, year-round consistent To Do list, a list that includes only four items: write, read, exercise, spend time with loved ones. If I manage to include each of these activities every day, life is rich and full. When a plan goes sideways, when I take my daughter's dog to Schmitz Park and leave my bike at home, I'm okay. More than okay. I rejoice the flexibility that allows me the joy of being alone in the woods with a happy dog.

Neither rain, nor sleet, nor hail ...

Neither rain, nor snow, nor sleet, nor hail shall keep the postmen from their appointed rounds.
Unlike the Pony Express, the West Seattle authors at the Morgan Street Festival did not read through snow, sleet, or hail last Saturday. But the gusts of wind and rain sure made the day interesting. Not what you'd expect at an annual event just two days before the summer solstice. My husband was scheduled to pick me up at 5:30 pm. At 3:37 he texted: "Geez you want me to come now?"
Fifteen local authors came together to share their works and talk about writing. There were hourly free book drawings as well as a grand prize basket with enough reading for the entire summer! Merryweather Books was on hand through sunshine and rain.  Thank you, West Seattle for a wonderful day, and Alice Kuder for organizing the annual Meet the Authors event.

Coming Soon!

Are you in the Seattle area? Do you want some community fun? Do you enjoy meeting local authors? Don't miss the Morgan Junction Community Festival in beautiful West Seattle next Saturday.
Here's a news release from organizer extraordinaire, Alice Kuder:  

Morgan Junction Community Festival Welcomes Local Authors  
Where can you find Greek Gods, homicide detectives, and wanton boys all sharing one tent? This summer, they will be gathering under an awning at the Morgan Junction Community Festival.

These are just a few of the dynamic characters that West Seattle authors bring to life in their novels and memoirs for your reading pleasure in genres as diverse as fantasy, young adult fiction, poetry, and memoir.
At the one-day Festival on Saturday, June 18, a group of fifteen West Seattle authors will present their work under a banner inviting you to “Meet the Authors.”

This will be the second year for the authors’ booth located in the vendor area behind Zeek’s Pizza. Two tents will be for author presentations and a third will offer their books for sale through local bookseller, Merryweather Books. Merryweather’s also carries the books year round, with a special section of the store dedicated to local authors.
The Morgan Junction Community Festival is ‘the little festival that could.’ It is the quintessential hometown festival that would make Norman Rockwell proud. It’s so intimate they don’t even block off the streets!
Want to support a local artist? Read a book!

Participating authors listed alphabetically by first name:
Alice Ann Kuder, Allan Batchelder, Arleen Williams, Cherie Tucker, Christine Brant, Christopher Anderson, David Kannas, Gail Engebretson, Jeanette Chaplin, Lisa Richesson, Michael G. Hickey, Molly Ringle, Sonya Elliott, Theresa McCormick, Victoria Randall. See attached spreadsheet for titles and genres. 

This year we will also be having an hourly free book drawing as well as the grand prize basket at the end of the day. So stop by to hear some great stories and stock your summer reading pile.
Saturday, June 18, 201610 a.m. to 5 p.m.Morgan Junction, West Seattle
Northwest Corner of California Ave. SW and SW Beveridge Pl.  Meet the Authors booths located in Zeek’s Pizza parking lot  
P.S. I'll be reading at 1:30 and 3:00. Come by and say hi!