I was fortunate to spend a couple days last weekend with the lovely and talented writers Lara Zielin and Ellen Baker for a writing retreat in Michigan’s beautiful Upper Peninsula.
Getting there was a bit of a challenge. I live in Chicago, where getting lost doesn’t pose the risk of, say, being eaten by a bear. If you wander off the path in Chicago, there’s usually a helpful pedestrian, or armed mugger posing as a helpful pedestrian, to get you back on track. In the U.P., however, one wrong turn could put you in an involuntary Walden Pond kind of situation. Let me tell you–once you’ve driven fifteen files down a pitted dirt road in a Saturn Astra, you’d rather just pull over and start cutting down trees with a nail file to build your cabin than have to go back down that road to ask directions.
Thank goodness I pressed on, however, because here is what waited for me at the end of the road . . .
. . . plus a lot of food, which we ate before I could capture it on camera. Amazingly, despite the beautiful surroundings, we actually got writing done. I can’t wait for the world to see the novels that will emerge from the weekend–thanks for a lovely retreat, ladies!
{ 2 comments… read them below or add one }
Kelly, I loved your Louisa book! I got to read it in April in Florida: it was already on the library shelf!
Where were you in the UP?
Chris
ps will be in chicago for 10 days starting on the 12th of June.
You are so sweet to write, Mrs. Hodges–thank you! If you feel like going down to the South Loop on Sunday the 13th, I will be doing a talk for the Printers Row festival with another author in Dearborn Station at 11 am.
I was near Nevins Lake, which I think is near Munising. It was gorgeous!