SEATTLE BOOK TOUR PLUS A DAY ON ORCAS ISLAND

We took off for Seattle last weekend for a book tour: checking on bookstores which might be interested in selling my book.  It was hard work, but fun at the same time, returning to Seattle for the first time in several years. It's a busy metropolis but wonderful on a warm summer day with Pike Street Market, Union Lake and the bay. We visited with our old friend, Steve, on Magnolia hill. 

Steve has a lovely home and is the host with the most.  As a collector of Asian artifacts, mostly Chinese, and his interest in beautiful Asian works of art, Steve's place is a treasure trove to explore. He also has a wonderful oriental garden, graced by many of his most treasured pieces of wood burls and sculpture and a recently built tea house. 

Here I am at Pikes place,Seattle, checking out the bookstores

As my readers will recognize, I used Magnolia Hill as the setting for the home of my main character, Angela Larson.  While there, I came up with an idea: to challenge my readers to find "Angela's house on Magnolia hill." I know which one it is, not Steve's.  May try to write an article for the Seattle Times about how an author finds her setting. Might be fun. Of course, this was only a tiny part of the novel which is mostly about El Salvador and it's people---and Angela's lover, Liam from Boston.  Actual places and people feed the imagination!  At Steve's suggestion I called on the Magnolia's bookstore and was delighted that they were willing to try the book. I hope to do a signing party there in the near future. Hopefully, the residents of this community will be curious about Angela and her search for new meaning for her life when she goes to El Salvador and finds herself in love and helping a Salvadoran mother and daughter connect with the father, an undocumented worker in the United States. 

Here I am at Magnolia's Bookstore

I also went to Elliott Bay Book Company, one of my favorite Seattle bookstores and University Bookstore. I made some good connections and hope to get the book in both spots soon.  At the suggestion of an employee at the latter bookstore, I will try to set up a Reading Event to kickstart sales and interest. One thing I learned is that it would be much easier if I had been a Seattle writer at  most of these bookstores, an understandable fact.  

On Sunday, we drove to Anacortes where we took a ferry to Orcas Island. We had two missions: one to visit our niece and her new baby. She lives in the delightful village of Eastsound. Our second hope was to get my book into the Island bookstore, Darvilles.  The owner showed some interest since the book features a section in the San Juans, actually San Juan Island, but said she would consider it for a future order from Ingram, the national distributor which carry's my book amongst thousands. I know I have lots of competition. This whole marketing process is a challenge, but I continue to forge on and keep learning. 

Staying at the Blue Heron bed and breakfast was a delight, not only because of its nice hosts and lovely setting on the West Bay of Orcas, plus a magnificent view of the sunset from our room,  but also because we met a delightful pair of fellow guests, Aine and her mother Laurie. We shared much in common and both were enthused about my book. Laurie, a high school English teacher even came up with a great idea to require her AP (Advanced Placement) Senior students to read my book and write reviews on Amazon. Wow---what a splendid idea. We promised to get together in the future. They live in Sebastapol, California. 

View from our Orcas Island B&B 

Looking over my book on the porch of a restaurant in Eastsound 

It's not easy to leave the San Juan Islands with their charming and relaxed small villages and the surrounding water and scenes of boats.  Flowers abound everywhere in the village of Eastsound.  

Island view of harbor at West Sound 

The ferry ride back to the mainland is filled with breathtaking views. 

Leaving Orcas Island

On our way back to Oregon we stopped at Orca's Bookstore in Olympia and the very nice bookstore owner, Linda agreed to take my book on consignment. I thought the name of the bookstore appropriate following our day and night on Orcas Island, both places bearing the name of the Orca whale, something I always think of when visiting these islands.






So anyone who reads this from Olympia, please stop by the bookstore and buy my book. I hope to promote it to the fellow supporters of Eco-Viva, the NGO which I have contributed to for the past nineteen years and which facilitated my trips to El Salvador, which subsequently inspired the story.

On our way back to Oregon we stopped at Orca's Bookstore in Olympia and the very nice bookstore owner, Linda agreed to take my book on consignment. So anyone who reads this from Olympia, please stop by the bookstore and buy my book. I hope to promote it to the fellow supporters of Eco-Viva, the NGO which I have contributed to for the past nineteen years and which facilitated my trips to El Salvador, which subsequently inspired the story. 

More Kayaking Adventures

The summer has been a busy one of trips back and forth to Portland from the Oregon Coast. The best adventures have been with my group of women friends, paddling the waterways of Oregon and Washington. This past week's paddle took us to Lacamas Lake in Camas, Washington and to a beautiful private site, Wauna Lake on the Washington side of the Columbia River and near the Bridge of the Gods. There we not only kayaked amongst the beautiful, though invasive, water lilies but swam in the cool waters of the lake, cooling off from last weeks hot Northwest temperatures. Here's a few photos which should tickle your maybe latent desire to get out and paddle whether it be in a kayak, canoe or rowboat. It's fun!  And, as my friend, Annis Cassells shares on her  blog, the Daymaker:

“It is essential to our well-being, and to our lives, that we play and enjoy life. Every single day, do something that makes your heart sing.” 
-Marcia Wieder, author, speaker, and founder of Dream University.

Enjoy the paddle! 

Kayak Gals on Lacamas Lake---a beautiful day 

The beautiful waterlillies 

Following---my feet in the foreground on my ocean kayak 

Beautiful scenery at Wauna Lake 

View from my friend's cabin---pure serenity! 

NEW ADVENTURES WITH THE KAYAK GALS

Had two great paddles two weeks ago with my group of women friends. We call ourselves the “Kayak Gals.”  Each Thursday a different person plans the weekly paddle. Still recuperating from my wrist break last February, I haven’t been able to join them until now. So, I finally made my “maiden voyage” on Lost Lake, Mt. Hood.

It was threatening rain but we lucked out and had some clear skies, clear enough to catch a couple of beautiful views of the peaks of Mt. Hood. The ride there from the small town where one of our group has a lovely cabin, was also beautiful through windy, forested roads and amazing wildflower displays.  Though I was a bit sore by the end of the paddle, it was worth the adventure. We picniced by the lake and then headed back to my friends cabin where we had a night of gabbing, eating a delicious dinner and staying up way too late with lots of laughter. The next day we paddled the scenic Trillium Lake, a smaller lake than Lost Lake, but just as desireable though the extent of the invasive water lillies was surprizing. Bright lemon yellow flowers were pretty but we know that the ecology of the lake is negatively affected by their presence.  Dark rain clouds hid our views of the mountain top but we didn’t get rained on until after we put in at the dock and took off to enjoy the rest of the day together, visiting Wildwood Park before heading home. The park has wonderful educational trails with informative signs on the local Salmon River and it’s flora and fauna.

I regretfully headed back to the city, but refreshed after the exercise and time in the natural environment ---and away from the computer and screen time. WATCH FOR PHOTOS SOON!

Adventures in My Own Backyard

You don't have to travel far to have an adventure. Today, I visited my local recycling center, better known as CARTM, Community Action Recycling Team of Manzanita, just 2 miles from my cottage on the Oregon Coast. What a fun time I had rummaging through all the junk in the outdoor dumping site, lots of good stuff for making art.

The check out counter 

Get a load of this amazing mosaic made out of found objects at the recycling center. I had a great time perusing through all the stuff and admiring the clever recycled art in the this mini-gallery. 

These two characters greeted me at the entrance

I grew up in a family who repeatedly said this!

Isn't this a great quote?

At the end of my adventure looking through all the "junk" at CARTM, I fell into the recycled bathtub

sofa in the back corner reading nook, and settled down to read. Not a bad place at all, considering all the delightful old books there as well.  I'd add this to any travel book on the Oregon Coast, as a place to go for those who like to take the "road less traveled" and discover treasure! 

In Residence in San Miguel de Allende, MEXICO 2013-2014a

       To all my friends, family and blog followers: my apologies for my long absence from these pages. Life is still an adventure---so much so that I find less and less time to blog. Our six month stay in our new home in San Miguel is drawing to a close and we will soon be back on the road to "El Norte" where we will settle once again into our small cottage on the Oregon Coast for the summer.
     
        Before we leave SMA, I feel an urge to share some of the highlights of this past six months. However,  I have a new challenge. On February 14, at the annual Writers Conference, I was dancing at the fiesta and took a fall, admittedly after imbibing a margarita and a half, and having a joyful time. The result was a seriously broken right wrist which ended me up, after a lengthy visit to the local hospital and some surgery, with a full arm cast, an adventure I would have just as soon avoided. Ah well, adventures do come with their hazards as Indiana Jones reminded us! The consequence of this mishap is that my writing and keyboard abilities have been greatly affected. As I perused the many photos I've taken this year, most with my iPhone, I realized I could share much of this past six months with all of you via a visual adventure. So hang on---here we go!

Viewing our beautiful Peroquia at night

baking in my San Miguel kitchen

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LIFE IN SAN MIGUEL SOMETIME SEEMS LIKE ONE LONG FESTIVAL, GOING FROM "EL DIA DE LOS MUERTOS," THE DAY OF THE DEAD ON NOVEMBER 2 TO CHRISTMAS AND THE MORE IMPORTANT DAY HERE IN MEXICO, "DIA DE LOS TRES REYES,"THE DAY OF THE THREE KINGS...IN EARLY JANUARY, WHEN THE CHILDREN GET THEIR PRESENTS. 

THE three kinks come by horseback--not camels

they gather in front of the parish church to greet the mommunity

 A SPECIAL TREAT THIS PAST NOVEMBER WAS PARTICIPATING IN "LIBROS SIN FRONTEROS" A NEW SAN MIGUEL PROJECT, THE BRAINCHILD OF OUR CONVERSATION GROUP AT THE CULMINATION OF READING FRANCISCO JIMENEZ'S WONDERFUL 3-PART AUTO-BIOGRAPHY BEGINNING WITH CAJAS DE CARTON IN WHICH HE DESCRIBES HIS CHILDHOOD AS A YOUNG CHILD OF IMMIGRANT PARENTS BACK IN THE FIFTIES. OUR COMMITTEE INVITED MR. JIMENEZ TO COME TO SAN MIGUEL TO HELP US PROMOTE LITERACY IN THE TOWN AND THE CAMPO. WE RAISED ENOUGH MONEY TO DISTRIBUTE BOOKS TO OVER 200 CHILDREN AND THEY READ HIS BOOK BEFORE HIS ARRIVAL.  THE PROJECT WAS A TREMENDOUS SUCCESS AND THIS DELIGHTFUL MAN WON ALL OF OUR HEARTS, INCLUDING THE CHILDREN'S. WE ARE ALREADY PREPARING FOR NEXT YEAR'S VISITING AUTHOR, VIOLA CANALES, AUTHOR OF GUSANO TEQUILA OR TEQUILA WORM. 

       special treat this year was welcoming author, Francico Jimenez

Francisco Jimenez

La Calacas are ever present in San Miguel  as are  Monigangas...

 giant puppets who appear for every occasion

THE BIG DEAL FOR ME WAS THE PUBLICATION OF MY FIRST NOVEL. I SPENT MUCH OF MY TIME PROMOTING MY BOOK AND DOING PUBLIC READINGS. SAN MIGUEL HAS A VERY ACTIVE LITERARY COMMUNItY AND OF COUSE, ANOTHER KEY EVENT WAS THE 9TH ANNUAL INTERNATIONAL WRITERS CONFERENCE...

At the local Organic Market, selling my book--- I'm very proud of my book cover, an image by Fernando Llort, El Salvadoran artist who kindly gave me permission to use his artwork for my book.

here I am with one of the keynote speakers, Canadian author of Life of Pi, Yann Martel 

With my poet friend, Lois Read, after one of my successful readings

There's always something fun to see in San Miguel

People come from as far away as Mexico City and Monterey to have their wedding in San Miguel

 It's fun to support the local crafts people---here, I'm having a dried flower garland made for my hat...

AND THEN THERE'S ALWAYS THE MUNDANE--- WORKERS RE-FACING THE OLD COLONIAL BUILDINGS...OR A MAN ON A STREET CORNER PLYING HIS TRADE, RECANEING OLD CHAIRS...

AND ALL THE WHILE GUADALUPE WATCHES OVER US!

To be continued....be sure to check out my book on Amazon.com, read the reviews, and an excerpt on my new website at sherdavidson.com  HASTA LA VISTA!

Christmas in Mexico: Feliz Navidad

The last three months have been a blur of activity, getting settled into our casa in San Miguel de Allende, re-connecting with friends here and my working on my goal to get my novel published by Christmas. Well, I’m close. The book will be up on Amazon in about a week. Hope you will consider taking a peek and be sure and write a review please. Like the old saying goes, “if you don’t have something good to say, don’t say it at all, but if you have something good, do tell!”  By the way the title is Under the Salvadoran Sun and do check out my new website for more details:https://sherdavidson.com

 Christmas in Mexico: ah, how sweet. We loved watching the decorations going up all over our town, of San Miguel de Allende, then hearing the music at night as people gathered at the local churches. Posada is a big thing in Mexico,  between December 16-24. The tradition is that people gather in their neighborhoods and walk from house to house. One house serves as the host house. At each casa the group asks if they can come in, taking on the symbolic role of Mary and Joseph seeking shelter the night that the holy child, Jesus was born. They sing some traditional songs but are turned away until they arrive at the host house where they are welcomed and everyone celebrates with tamales, hot chocolate. The children gather around the piñata, hitting it with a long stick until it breaks open and dulces (sweets) pour out; everyone rushes to gather the goodies up. Unfortunately we did not participate in Posada this year as we were busy  preparing for our departure to the beach.

Scroll down and read about our holiday in Mexico below the photos! 

Here I am with my husband, Gary sitting on our La Manzanilla patio right off the beach!

Piñatas are a popular part of the holiday festivities

Relaxing on the beach after three months of editing and proofing my first novel. Needed this R & R. 

This is the beautiful entranceway to our casita on the beach, Allegre Mar, owned by our friend, Kate.  

Sunsets here are gorgeous and we love strolling the beach at this time of day

Not a bad life!

The setting sun from Allegre Mar

 On Friday , the 19^th, we left for the long drive (about 11 hours  via Guadalajara) to La Manzanilla on the coast, about 2 hours south of Puerta Villarta.  We came here last year with our dear friends, Penny and Jim. This year, we are so happy our daughter, Tiffany and family will be joining us, arriving on Christmas Day. 

La Manzanilla, formerly a modest little fishing village, is still small, and picturesque with a gorgeous beach on a bay, gentle sea and lots of fun things to do, like kayaking, snorkeling, and just “hanging out” with long leisurely days, slow walks into the small town and beautiful sunsets.  See our photos.

We’ll leave here on Sunday and drive the family to our casa in San Miguel de Allende where we’ll participate in the New Year’s celebrations.  We’re looking forward to sharing our Mexican village with our family and are sure they will love it.  We do miss other family members and friends at this holiday time and send our merry wishes to all for a Feliz Navidad and a Propero Nuevo Año! 

I'll write about other adventures in Mexico after the new year!  Coming up: our trip to Chiapas with friends in March.