Wow! How time flies. RoadBroads.com is beginning its seventh year telling the exciting and breath-taking journey of women writers. When it all began, I was heading off to Boulder, Colorado to take part in one of Max Regan’s June Summer Intensives. As you can see, I even bought a new suitcase for the occasion. Of course Hannah the cat assumed she was going to travel with me, but unfortunately she stayed at home. Hannah is now 19 years old and still with me. Neither one of us are as spry as we were 6 years ago, but I’m still writing, and Hannah continues to be Queen of the Universe from her home base here in Houston.
When I arrived in Boulder back in 2018, I remember feeling like one of the 
“cool kids”. Most of the classes took place in the Boulder Book Store which means I returned home with more books than I started out with. And since this was before the pandemic, I could run around the bookstore with wild abandon looking at as many examples of the printed word as possible. It was a great trip. Since that summer, I have continued to attend Max Regan’s Exciting Summer Writing Intensives. Zoom is not as exciting as streaking around a bookstore in person, but it works. This summer I will be joining again via computer technology. The good part is that there are other writers here in the Houston area and we plan on meeting together for zoom classes and writing sessions. Don’t worry, if we need a bookstore fix, there is always Brazos Bookstore just a mile or two down the road.
What am I working on for a writing project this summer? Well, yes, I am still crafting the great American novel, but I’m trying something new this year. During the first of the two dynamic intensives, I am going to review all of my short stories. I have written a lot about ghosts, grim reapers, and other creatures that go ‘bump’ in the night. I have published in the anthologies that are created every year by the Houston Writers Guild and Women in the Visual and Literary Arts. I have taken part in various writing projects with WiVLA including several collaborations where Visual and Literary artists join together to tell/show a story. Maybe I will pull all of this together in one collective? Or maybe I will realize how spooky I really am? The possibilities are scary and endless. I don’t think I am as haunting as Stephen King, Neil Gaiman or Alice Hoffman, but that gives me a goal to aim towards.
The best fun of the past six years has been meeting, reading and getting to know some of the finest writers and artists in Houston. When I am around so many creative women, I can’t help but stay inspired. Also, many thanks to Max Regan for the many, many hours he has spent reading, critiquing, and talking to me about my writing craft.
Until next time.……