Midge Raymond's Blog, page 48

Bookstore geek: Point Reyes Books

I have to admit, I walked right past this bookstore (perhaps I was a little obsessed with the Bovine Bakery next door) — the sign is pretty nondescript, and the bakery does have that sugary fragrance going for it. But I was very glad to have stopped in to Point Reyes Books, a little treasure in this tiny Bay Area town.

The bookstore is cozy, its staff friendly, and I found it a great source not only of books but of work by local artists (in fact, in the upper right of this photo is an installation by a local artist of books by authors hosted by the store). And speaking of events, Point Reyes Books has an impressive list of visiting authors — and one of its owners, Kate Levinson, is an author herself. If you're ever in the area — Point Reyes Station is only an hour or so north of San Francisco — I highly recommend stopping by. And don't forget about that bakery next door.

Weekly Writing: Life's necessities

As my beloved neighbor packs up her apartment in preparation for her next journey, we've been chatting a lot about packing, moving, what to take, what to leave behind — in other words, what's important in life and why. How much of what we need is already with us, and how much of it exists in the things we own? As women who have moved more times than we can count, we have plenty of thoughts on the subject — and I feel as though I learn more each time.

So, with this in mind, here's this week's prompt:

If you could only pack up one suitcase to last you the rest of your life, what would be in it?

Virtual Book Tour: Word Love

I'm delighted to be a guest today at Word Love by Randy Susan Meyers — a fantastic blog about writing and all aspects of the writing life. In addition to hosting this terrific blog, Randy is the internationally bestselling author of The Murderer's Daughters; visit her web site to learn more and to read all the fabulous reviews.

Come join us at Word Love to learn a few tips on how to create a book trailer, to watch a few great ones, and to read the behind-the-scenes story about my own effort, Love in the Time of Amazon.com.

 

Bookstore geek: Eureka Books

I imagine most writers are bookstore geeks like me — this is probably how it all started for us. I still remember the indie bookstore in the town where I grew up, one of my favorite places ever. Sadly, it closed, and a Barnes & Noble opened up in a mall on the other side of town — but, as we all know (as both readers and writers), a big chain bookstore is never quite the same. Bookstores, for me, need to have creaky hardwood floors, narrow aisles, non-florescent lighting, bookstore cats. It needs to have aisles that end suddenly, aisles that meander until you forget where you are. And of course it'll have staff members who are fellow book geeks.

I've taken my geekiness to a new level by photographing bookstores I find. Below is one in which I recently escaped an icy rain — Eureka Books in Eureka, California.

As you can see, it's a gorgeous bookstore, housed in a Victorian dating from 1879 (and it's right off the 101, if you're ever passing through). The store has a wonderful collection of regional books and literature, and it's right in the heart of downtown, along with many other lovely shops, not to mention the Lost Coast Brewing Company (which I also highly recommend).

 

Virtual Book Tour: Savvy Verse & Wit

Today I'm thrilled to be a guest on the fabulous Savvy Verse & Wit blog, where I share some thoughts about my writing space (complete with before and after photos!). We're also doing a Forgetting English giveaway, so come visit and enter to win a copy of the book.

Many thanks to Serena for hosting me today — and in addition to her blog, you can also find her on Twitter and Facebook.

Virtual Blog Tour: Savvy Verse & Wit

Today I'm thrilled to be a guest on the fabulous Savvy Verse & Wit blog, where I share some thoughts about my writing space (complete with before and after photos!). We're also doing a Forgetting English giveaway, so come visit and enter to win a copy of the book.

Many thanks to Serena for hosting me today — and in addition to her blog, you can also find her on Twitter and Facebook.

Weekly Writing: Inside the writer's studio

Today's Weekly Writing exercise is connected to my guest post over at the fabulous Savvy Verse & Wit blog, where I share some thoughts about my writing space (complete with before and after photos!). Come visit and share your own thoughts — but first, check out the exercise below, which is designed to get you thinking.

We all have our dreams of what a writing space should be, and I hope this three-part exercise gets you a little closer to your dream space:

1. Write a detailed description of your Dream Writing Space. Feel free to add images; make it a collage if you'd like — just be sure to use as many details as you can.

2. Describe your current writing space: the good, the bad, the ugly.

3. Write a page or so about how you can — right now — convert your current space into your Dream Writing Space, at least as much as possible. You may not be able to build yourself a cottage overlooking the ocean, but can you add a photo or painting of the sea instead, and let this be your window? You may not even be able to devote an entire room to writing, but can you clear out a space and arrange it so that it feels as though you have a room of your own? Get creative, have fun — and then get into that space and write.

And, of course, stop by Savvy Verse & Wit and tell us your thoughts. We're also doing a Forgetting English giveaway!

 

Virtual Book Tour: Practicing Writing

Today I'm delighted to be a guest on Erika Dreifus's popular and invaluable blog, Practicing Writing, to which I've been addicted for many years. Erika is a contributing editor for The Writer magazine and Fiction Writers Review and an advisory board member for J Journal: New Writing on Justice. Her beautiful story collection, Quiet Americans, was published earlier this year.

With thanks to Erika for hosting me, today I'm offering Ten Tips for a Writing Life, a few things that I find helpful to keep in mind as a working writer. I'd love to hear your tips as well, so stop by and share!

 

Virtual Book Tour: Elizabeth Austen

I'm so happy to be over at Elizabeth' Austen's blog today, writing about Thinking Like a Writer (a nice reminder for those of us who can't manage to sit down to write as often as we'd like).

Elizabeth is a poet, teacher, and performer whose most recent collection, Every Dress a Decision, has just been released by Blue Begonia Press. Check out the trailer here — and listen to Elizabeth chat about poetry with Billy Collins here.

I look forward to seeing you at Elizabeth's today!

Virtual Book Tour: The Alchemist's Kitchen

Today I'd like to thank Susan Rich, author of three beautiful books of poetry (the most recent of which, The Alchemist's Kitchen, is a finalist for the Poetry Book of the Year award), for hosting me on her blog today. Today's topic is Writing About Place, and I offer a few tips for how all writers — from poets to novelists — can best write about place.

So join me over at The Alchemist's Kitchen blog. It's a place you'll want to visit over and over again.