tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1001156153899984046.post7839622094920361047..comments2024-03-29T11:29:56.764-04:00Comments on Jungle Red Writers: Hallie's back from TuscanyJungle Red Writershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16646429819267618412noreply@blogger.comBlogger35125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1001156153899984046.post-57858357620416105872019-06-12T13:00:08.943-04:002019-06-12T13:00:08.943-04:00How wonderful that you met Rhys!How wonderful that you met Rhys!Bibliophilehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07764234701385787238noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1001156153899984046.post-27031227057323914762019-06-12T07:16:17.786-04:002019-06-12T07:16:17.786-04:00Sounds like a great way to mix work with pleasure....Sounds like a great way to mix work with pleasure. Traveling solo and for your writing is pretty special. I spent part of a week in Beaufort, SC to research one of my books.Hallie Ephronhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04759439029582054503noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1001156153899984046.post-25953596899601333982019-06-12T07:14:57.535-04:002019-06-12T07:14:57.535-04:00I MET Rhys for the first time at that conference.....I MET Rhys for the first time at that conference... and I'll be one of the authors teaching there this year. LOVE that conference, and it truly is an intense workout as well as a vacation. I can't begin to count the number of writers and aspiring writers I've met there and kept in touch with.Hallie Ephronhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04759439029582054503noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1001156153899984046.post-44730022253584937592019-06-12T07:12:18.928-04:002019-06-12T07:12:18.928-04:00That sounds fantastic. I see Wizard World is still...That sounds fantastic. I see Wizard World is still humming - their conference in Philadelphia starts tomorrow!Hallie Ephronhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04759439029582054503noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1001156153899984046.post-80868993341665715012019-06-12T07:10:34.913-04:002019-06-12T07:10:34.913-04:00Go for a week, Jenn! The place we stayed would be ...Go for a week, Jenn! The place we stayed would be absolutely perfect.Hallie Ephronhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04759439029582054503noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1001156153899984046.post-41550069965344097522019-06-12T07:09:52.598-04:002019-06-12T07:09:52.598-04:00I know this will sound twee, but the real pleasure...I know this will sound twee, but the real pleasure was getting to work with those writers. I got really lucky.Hallie Ephronhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04759439029582054503noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1001156153899984046.post-51861730701871188542019-06-12T07:09:03.600-04:002019-06-12T07:09:03.600-04:00Busman's Holiday! Now that's a wonderful t...Busman's Holiday! Now that's a wonderful term I haven't heard in a while. That sounds like a fabulous, life changing experience, David. Wow. 6 months!!Hallie Ephronhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04759439029582054503noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1001156153899984046.post-59603964883529092692019-06-11T17:59:50.630-04:002019-06-11T17:59:50.630-04:00The only thing like that was when I went to Argent...The only thing like that was when I went to Argentina to improve my Spanish through my college. I had to attend some classes at JFK University in Buenos Aires and write a paper when I got home. <br /><br />My work was all clerical so I had to be in the office to open mail, file, etc. Which was fine because my vacations were all fun!Sally from PAhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03649707016754971847noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1001156153899984046.post-48182150637949095932019-06-11T14:57:25.566-04:002019-06-11T14:57:25.566-04:00The closest I've come to a "working"...The closest I've come to a "working" vacation is when I went to cover the Wizard World comic convention in Philadelphia back in 2005 for a website that I was writing for at the time. <br /><br />I was there from Thursday through Sunday and while I had a good time attending panels, talking to some creators past and present, doing some buying and gathering info for the article I would write, it was still work. But it was weird because I stayed with a friend and the day I got there, his girlfriend broke up with him. So that made things a bit awkward. <br /><br />And when I came home I had the next two days off but was busy with summer basketball league preparations the first day and my dad's cancer surgery the second day. There was a LOT going on as you can see.<br /><br />But hey, I got to meet J. Michael Straczynski and Jim Starlin so that was pretty darn good. And the article turned out nicely too.Jay Robertshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11409350742317719903noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1001156153899984046.post-9119693127549559212019-06-11T14:27:10.116-04:002019-06-11T14:27:10.116-04:00Yay, Hallie! I'm sure they will never forget t...Yay, Hallie! I'm sure they will never forget the things you were able to teach them. Lucky group indeed.Wendall Thomashttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10302086879242837772noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1001156153899984046.post-63223221747846627792019-06-11T13:28:29.119-04:002019-06-11T13:28:29.119-04:00No jobs I ever worked offered retreats. Tuscany so...No jobs I ever worked offered retreats. Tuscany sounds fabulous. Lucky dogs!Pat Dhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12732230586783432052noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1001156153899984046.post-49649624926249703642019-06-11T13:24:07.022-04:002019-06-11T13:24:07.022-04:00I want to go!!!! How lucky those students were to ...I want to go!!!! How lucky those students were to access your brain, Hallie! Thank you for sharing your insights and pictures with us. I've never done a writing retreat other than local plot group weekends with two trusted writer friends. Maybe we need to consider Italy! Jenn McKinlayhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13589365995413467367noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1001156153899984046.post-27704901433805352992019-06-11T12:46:10.460-04:002019-06-11T12:46:10.460-04:00I can't imagine a budding writer having a bett...I can't imagine a budding writer having a better opportunity than to work with you, Hallie, or Rhys or Ann Cleaves in a small group setting like this for a week. Tuscany would be inspirational in itself and having a brilliant author as your tutor/mentor would be perfection. Kathy Reelhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17004247271452356577noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1001156153899984046.post-17882490324208354542019-06-11T12:32:36.896-04:002019-06-11T12:32:36.896-04:00Shalom Reds and fans. A busman’s holiday in Italy ...Shalom Reds and fans. A busman’s holiday in Italy sounds like fun. The only time that I have been outside on a sort-of vacation was when I traveled to Israel to live on a kibbutz for six months with a group of mostly English speaking young Jews. I paid my own airfare and the kibbutz gave us dormitory-style accommodations, 3 meals a day (except on Yom Kippur), and 20 packs of Israeli cigarettes a month. Five and a half days a week, we worked about half-days and the other half-days we studied Hebrew. I was in my mid-thirties but most of the participants were younger, in their mid-twenties. The work varied from week to week. I sometimes worked on the community’s fish farm, which consisted of half a dozen large man-made ponds that were stocked with St. Peter’s trout which we would harvest in large nets. Other times, I worked in an optics factory (they made lenses for eyeglasses and rifle-sights). At the time they were testing and perfecting robotics to automate the work. The ulpan (Hebrew classes) was fun and stimulating. They offered classes in three levels of difficulty. A was for beginners. B was for “easy” but not quite beginners. And C-D for intermediate level language learning. All the classes used an immersion method, meaning that for the most part, the class was Hebrew only. No English or other language allowed. The highlight of the classes was when the teacher would tell us stories about the early days of the kibbutz and the formation of the State of Israel. I also with everyone else was called upon to prepare stories that we would tell to the class. I prepared and told the story from the children’s book called The Loudest Noise in the World, which was first published in 1954, the year following my birth. In preparation, I could not just use an English-Hebrew dictionary, because I would be telling the stories to people who were also learning the language. I had to find words to express the concepts that would be understood. All told, the time I spent in Israel was one of the great moments of my life.David Squireshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17144607647071920674noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1001156153899984046.post-55299769454780965702019-06-11T12:16:23.837-04:002019-06-11T12:16:23.837-04:00Hallie, that sounds so fabulous. I would go for th...Hallie, that sounds so fabulous. I would go for the food, never mind the writing, lol. But I'm sure it was a great experience for your students. And isn't it interesting how much we learn from teaching or critiquing? Ann Cleeves next year should be terrific. Deborah Crombiehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16988750789088153601noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1001156153899984046.post-58557611095691821002019-06-11T11:57:34.496-04:002019-06-11T11:57:34.496-04:00I am swooning too hard to comment. xoxoxoI am swooning too hard to comment. xoxoxoHank Phillippi Ryanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17420701704169428286noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1001156153899984046.post-47506940567011064612019-06-11T11:37:55.256-04:002019-06-11T11:37:55.256-04:00Thanks, Hallie.
Lyda, it IS idyllic. It's a Qu...Thanks, Hallie.<br />Lyda, it IS idyllic. It's a Quaker retreat cottage behind the West Falmouth Meetinghouse. I have the whole house, which looks out onto a marsh, and doesn't have wifi - perfect for productivity!Edith Maxwellhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01388006370860482509noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1001156153899984046.post-36688039709671037522019-06-11T11:03:28.697-04:002019-06-11T11:03:28.697-04:00Glad you had such a great time. And yes, it is ea...Glad you had such a great time. And yes, it is easier to critic than to actually write. Which explains why I do what I do. :)Mark Bakerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11567392254011373198noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1001156153899984046.post-34834132860514747612019-06-11T10:38:21.522-04:002019-06-11T10:38:21.522-04:00Hallie, wonderful post and lovely photos! Yes, my...Hallie, wonderful post and lovely photos! Yes, my working vacation was at Book Passage Mystery writing workshop several years ago. Several of my favorite authors were there that summer. The workshop itself was wonderful. <br /><br />For a while after the workshop, I would get emails from people I did not recall meeting at the workshop and I found out that the organizers shared our email addresses. I did not know that! LOL. I gave out my business cards with my email addresses and I wrote down names of everyone I met! There was a famous author who explained that my email address was on the list and he apologized. I did not know about him until I got his email and now I see his name on best seller lists! <br /><br />Now I am in a Facebook group with alumni from that year and I actually met many people from that group. <br /><br />A friend at the workshop shared her opinion that of all the writing workshops she had been to that she thought that our Book Passage workshop was the best writing workshop. She had been to many all over the country. I had opportunities to chat with Rhys Bowen, Isabel Allendre, Jacqueline Winspear, Laurie King and many wonderful authors.<br /><br />DianaBibliophilehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07764234701385787238noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1001156153899984046.post-22727840084018279002019-06-11T09:26:10.649-04:002019-06-11T09:26:10.649-04:00Hallie, this is what we dream a writer's life ...Hallie, this is what we dream a writer's life will look like and you've lived it! How wonderful!<br />I have had two writing vacations and the third is coming up this August. <br />The first vacation I returned to a small town north of San Francisco to see how much it had changed since I briefly lived there in the late 70's. I was so happy to see that the core personality of the place was still in tact. It has become the setting for my own "Cabot Cove". Now I go back as often as possible to write.Lyda McPhersonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05211808700153787911noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1001156153899984046.post-55085326677179978252019-06-11T09:26:06.842-04:002019-06-11T09:26:06.842-04:00Sounds like heaven!!Sounds like heaven!!Hallie Ephronhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04759439029582054503noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1001156153899984046.post-48347664157645472082019-06-11T09:25:44.036-04:002019-06-11T09:25:44.036-04:00You're right -- all the ingredients are differ...You're right -- all the ingredients are different. Water, even. The flour. The cheese. Hallie Ephronhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04759439029582054503noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1001156153899984046.post-11116615634005296822019-06-11T09:11:31.631-04:002019-06-11T09:11:31.631-04:00Edith, this sounds idyllic! "Buzzard's Ba...Edith, this sounds idyllic! "Buzzard's Bay", the name alone creates an atmosphere of mystery.Lyda McPhersonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05211808700153787911noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1001156153899984046.post-47652997833776342502019-06-11T08:52:09.119-04:002019-06-11T08:52:09.119-04:00Looks like a lovely trip, Hallie. I love Italy. If...Looks like a lovely trip, Hallie. I love Italy. If only someone would give me $10,000 to use as I see fit...Liz Millironhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04919409969263609919noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1001156153899984046.post-45304127447385854712019-06-11T08:39:14.357-04:002019-06-11T08:39:14.357-04:00In Rome they use a different pasta, according to a...In Rome they use a different pasta, according to a travel/cooking show I saw on PBS. But the real secret is the alchemy that happens between the pasta, pasta water, butter, and cheese. Mine ended up just so-so.Karen in Ohiohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18002794561817071780noreply@blogger.com