How to Nurture a Writer’s Soul

How do you nurture a writer’s soul? Allow her to spend time with like-minded women.

Last weekend I drove to Florida for a weekend of camaraderie at Bette Lee Crosby’s house. If you aren’t familiar with Bette’s work, she’s the award-winning author of beloved novels including Spare Change and Cracks in the Sidewalk. We’d met through Naomi Blackburn, the energetic moderator of the GoodReads group Sisterhood of the Traveling Book. Naomi also runs a fabulous series on author Terri G. Long’s website, The Author CEO.

But back to Bette. She’s a consummate and incredibly gracious host. Soon after our introduction in December, she extended an invitation to stay at her house when she hosted a luncheon for fellow authors Diane Capri, Karla Darcy, Leona DeRosa Bodie and Patricia Sands. This was a first: never before have I received an invitation for a weekend retreat after a few phone calls and numerous chats on FaceBook!

Needless to say, I spent the last day of my visit with five fabulous writers who are sweet, sassy, hilarious at turns and deeply dedicated to producing  quality fiction for their readers. I urge you to head over to Barnes & Noble or Amazon immediately and check out their books.

GoodReads Pages:

Bette Lee Crosby: http://tinyurl.com/aq5hk2b

Diane Capri: http://tinyurl.com/9wj6zmh

Leona DeRosa Bodie: http://tinyurl.com/a4wmuxp

Patricia Sands: http://tinyurl.com/avqhvtb

Karla Darcy: http://tinyurl.com/awjbjvy

Photo, from left to right: Bette (and her Bichon, Sugar), me, Diane, Leona, Patricia and Karla