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

   

Falling Leaves Retreat

The hotel reminded me of the Athenaeum at Chautauqua, with all the rockers on the porch.

It's been a while since I posted here. I've been busy meeting deadlines, planning a vacation, and fighting for a refund (succesfully!).

on Sunrise Mountain

Last November, I was lucky to get the opportunity to attend the Falling Leaves Retreat. After I returned, I noticed it was among School Library Journal's list of  best children's literature writing retreats. It was a well run event held at Silver Bay on the shore of Lake George in New York. I arrived early enough to hike up the red trail to Sunrise Mountain, which was described on the map as "Silver Bay's most challenging hike." In the light rain, it was a bit treacherous coming down the sleep slope on leaves that were slipping underfoot.

As I was about to join everyone in the meeting place, I saw this little guy.

What I did not expect was to meet someone that had suffered through the exact same tragedy that I went through earlier this year. When she told me what happened to her son, I blinked back tears, stunned. I was going to keep my secret all bottled up, but that's not the way it turned out.

the grounds at Silver Bay

All five editors gave excellent presentations. We did round table on-the-spot reading and critiquing, which was not what I was used to, but I quickly adapted to the format. One evening, we had the opportunity to read our work, if we were brave enough. I signed up, fearless. I read, flawless. REDEMPTION!