Anne here, back from the RWA conference in Washington DC and posting from New York City and soon to be hopping on a plane for a lonnnnng flight home. And although my dog is at home--more accurately, at dog camp -- I'll put her pic up regardless, as I miss her...
Dog camp is actually a dog boarding kennels. She usually stays with friends, but that's not always possible. The first time I took her to a kennels -- one which came highly recommended -- she seemed fine, albeit tired when I picked her up again and a little bit clingy. But when, months later, I took her back there, dropping her off just hours before I was due to catch a plane, she refused to get out of the car and I had to carry her, shivering to the office. I felt sick at having to leave her but I had no choice at the time. Of course she never went back there.
The place she's at now is great and she actually loves it. She bounds from the car and practically breaks down the gate in her eagerness to get there, and when she gets into the office, she wants to say hello to everyone there. They lead her off--actually, she leads them, prancing, tail wagging furiously, with barely a backward glance at me. It's such a relief -- I don't feel in the slightest bit guilty at leaving her there.
Anyway, I didn't plan to write about my dog and I will get onto some proper wenchly blogging in a moment, but it's a problem, isn't it, when you have animals and need to leave them occasionally, because they don't understand. And as most of my pets have been rescue animals, they do understand abandonment. So it's a huge relief to have a place where they're happy. Thank you Welcome Kennels.
So, the Romance Writers of America conference is over. My brain is exhausted. I've met so many people, made new friends, and strengthened old friendships. I met dozens of people I'd only known cyberly -- several wordwenches I'd never met in person -- both really lovely -- as well as publishers, editors, reviewers, word wench readers, people from various other blogs and boards, people who'd read my books and came up to say hello, and people who didn't know me from a bar of soap who were just as friendly and kind and wonderful.
And I met authors: people whose books sit on my keeper shelf and have given me hours of pleasure, authors whose names I've heard but whose books I've not yet read but will now, and authors and books new to me. And then there's the excitement of the brand new author with her first book, like my friend, Kandy Shepherd, with her first book, LOVE IS A FOUR LEGGED WORD -- Isn't that an adorable title? And it's about a dog, so of course I'm going to love it. I have it to read on the plane trip home.
There is a such a warm and lovely atmosphere at romance conferences. I suppose most romance writers are optimists and like to have happy endings, and that leaks into the atmosphere. And then, of course there are all the workshops, and the discussions and the gossip, so no wonder my brain is exhausted.
After the conference, I went to stay with a writer friend and we planned a long, intensive workshop we're taking together. It should have been all work but we spent a lot of time just sharing ideas about books and finding how much we had in common and talking about books we both loved. She kept pulling out books from her many shelves crammed with wonderful books -- my idea of the perfect home-- and we pored over them, finding passages we loved, and talking in the way book-lovers do everywhere.
And then there were moments of pure magic! At one stage I glanced up from our table deep in papers and saw a hummingbird hovering, feeding from flowers in a hanging basket outside the window. I'd loved the idea of hummingbirds since I was a tiny girl, but I'd never ever seen one. And later that evening, fireflies winked and sparked in the warm darkness. More magic -- I'd never seen a firefly, either. And there were squirrels. I know, I know -- my hosts laughed, too but to me, they're magic, exotic creatures, just as a kangaroo or koala might be to you. As a child, growing up reading Enid Blyton and other English storybooks, squirrels were often mentioned and I'd longed to have one sit on my shoulder, as Benjy did, in THE CHILDREN OF CHERRY TREE FARM or was it THE MAGIC FARAWAY TREE books?
I also walked a labyrinth. I'd become fascinated with them after reading Mary Jo Putney's contemporary novel, THE SPIRAL PATH, but I'd only ever walked one that we'd drawn in the sand once, on retreat, so on this visit I walked my first 'real' labyrinth, in the beautiful, peaceful, green wooded grounds of a convent. It, too was magic.
So, books and book discussions, a labyrinth, fireflies, humming birds and squirrels, what more could I ask for? Well I got fireworks -- a special display in my honor-- and lashings of delicious food. My hostess was determined I taste some regional specialities. I remember the best gumbo I've ever had, superb crabcakes with sweet white corn and potato salad, a cherry dessert, pulled, spicy pork, and slow, delicious breakfasts over good coffee and books. Thank you, my friend, for a wonderful visit.
Now I'm in New York and my brain is full. I have one day left. and I'm not sure what to do. I'm thinking maybe a harbour tour -- I've never been to the Statue of Liberty. It's not my first visit to New York and I've visited most of the "usual sites." I'm in the Soho/Tribeca are, and I'm told there's a magic cocoa/chocolate shop somewhere around, so I might go looking for small gifts to take home. Any suggestions most welcome. Sorry about the lack of pictures -- It's very difficult to harvest them on this little computer.
So, any suggestions for what I should do in New York?
And what do you do with your pets when you have to go away?
And have you ever been on a visit where magic happened? Where you saw your first hummingbird or firefly, or some other magic creature?