Falling Leaves 2016

This is the hotel where we slept.

I had a fantastic time at the Falling Leaves Writing Retreat on the shore of Lake George, New York. Last year, I enjoyed this retreat too, but due to the circumstances, I wanted to be alone, I went to bed early, and at times I fought back tears. This year, I went to bed late, I wanted to socialize, and I laughed--a lot. I was pleasantly surprised to find the gorgeous fall foliage was still on the trees, an added bonus. On Saturday, we had a four-hour block of time that included a critique. I revised a manuscript for half of it and went for a walk for the other half.

The view from the front porch of the hotel.

Lisa Rush and I stuck out our thumbs and hitched a ride with the elderly golf cart driver, named Roger. We had a blast! He shared some venison jerky with us and drove us to an area that we didn't realize was part of the grounds.

We devoured brownies and roasted marshmallows at the Saturday night bonfire.

The week before I left for this retreat, I fell into a writing rut after receiving two rejections on the same manuscript. I started thinking about the holidays, the memories, and the hole that will never be filled. I had the attitude that I was paying a lot of money for five lottery tickets, one from each editor. After hearing a couple of retreat success stories and meeting so many published writers, I came home hopeful.

Lisa Schnell, Chris Mihaly, Mary Kay Carson, Alisha Gabriel

I was impressed by the caliber of the attendees. Many had published books. These photographs were taken during the last 15-20 minutes of the retreat. "Smile, like you've bonded!"

Linda Marshall, Susannah Buhrman-Deever

Lisa Hladish-Rush, Angela Calabrese, Annie Kuhn

Sue Heavenrich, Marie Sanderson and her husband, Annie Kuhn

Becky Loescher, Carolyn Scoppettone