Thursday, February 17, 2011

Face Time: At the Grille

Okay, so, I apologize for the dead air that has been filling my blog--I hope you all have been busy too. I'm going on a trip soon, so it's only going to get worse before it gets better. But, bear with me; I have been having fun experimenting with different types of writing an collaborating that I will share with you--all in due time!

A few nights ago, Kris put together a fabulous kidlit night out at the Westford Grille, and I was so excited to hang out with other writers! Martha, Nandini and I hopped into my SUV, and we braved all sorts of back, rural, dark New England roads (we waved at Walden Pond) until we came out into the dubious civilization of Westford.

We talked libraries and writing, and commiserated over how long this process takes, especially with family and life and all that good stuff thrown in. I really enjoyed talking with everyone--old friends and new.

Me, with Lynda Mullaly Hunt and Jeanne Munn Bracken
Sometimes candids don't pan out. You can see Nandini way over to the left, Marissa Doyle in light grey, Natasha in pink,  Lynda in blue, and forgive me, other wonderful writers, but I didn't remember your names. I was sitting at the other table!

Martha, Deborah Kops, and Kris

Then, we hopped into my car to drive home, and realized (thanks, helpful random guys who tapped on my window!) that one of my tires was almost flat.

How many writers does it take to put air in a tire??

Nandini got advice on the phone from her hubby, Martha donated the quarters, 
and I aimed the air gun.
Martha and I posing for Nandini.
Miraculously, the tire held air all the way home. With no help from me. I discovered the tire's air valve cover IN MY POCKET once I got home. Evidently we needed one more writer to screw on the cap. :)

Thanks to all the lovely writers who came together the other night--and thanks Kris for setting it all into motion!! This kind of face time fuels my writing for a good long time. I came home inspired!

What face time have you had with other writers recently? How are you faring this winter? Any tire fiascoes adding color to your life?
Posted by at
Labels: ,

18 comments:

  1. Laura PaulingFebruary 17, 2011 at 1:05 PM

    Thanks for sharing the pictures. Looks like it was a lot of fun. I wished I lived closer. 2 hours away would be a bit much. I love face time with writers. Just talking to someone else who understand the struggles of the writing journey is inspiring!

    ReplyDelete
  2. Tom M FranklinFebruary 17, 2011 at 1:12 PM

    facetime with other writers? what a strange concept. nope, never done it. i'll probably get around to it one day -- hopefully with fully inflated tires both to and from any such meeting.

    faring is going... okay. still haven't received word back from the hopefully-soon-to-be-agent on rev2 of the MS. other than to say she's "enjoying it." i should be diving headlong into revisions for the second book, but there's too much annoyed anxiety to overcome just yet.

    and don't worry abou the valve cover. it's not essential to keeping tires inflated anyways. : )


    -- Tom

    ReplyDelete
  3. Heather KellyFebruary 17, 2011 at 2:01 PM

    Laura--you were missed. Looking forward to seeing you at NESCBWI (I hope)!

    Tom--My fingers are permanently crossed for you! Sound promising!

    And I was hoping someone would chime in with a comment about how those caps aren't terribly necessary. I meant to leave that off! LOL. Thanks for making me feel less of a bonehead!

    ReplyDelete
  4. Natalie AguirreFebruary 17, 2011 at 2:16 PM

    Sounds like my week. My garage door was frozen shut on Tuesday am when I was leaving for work. We had to use a hairdryer to get it unstuck.

    It's always inspiring to get together with other writers.

    ReplyDelete
  5. D. U. OkonkwoFebruary 17, 2011 at 3:10 PM

    Ah yes - I love meeting with other writers. Fortunately I have several friends who are also writers so it works really well! They can always totally empathise with the writing journey.

    ReplyDelete
  6. Kristine AsselinFebruary 17, 2011 at 3:58 PM

    It was great to see everyone! And thanks Heather for posting the pics!

    ReplyDelete
  7. Heather KellyFebruary 17, 2011 at 5:53 PM

    Natalie--I've been thinking about using a hairdryer on some of this ice on our walk. It keeps melting, smoothing over, and refreezing slicker than ever. I'm wondering what will get me down to the ground. :)

    I agree about getting together with other writers.

    D.U.--So nice to have a fan club to commiserate with! I feel blessed to know so many wonderful writers. (And to continually meet more!)

    Kris--thanks for sending me that one picture--I didn't have any with me in them inside the Grille. I'm glad you're thinking of keeping the get-togethers going. Let me know how I can help!

    ReplyDelete
  8. alexiaFebruary 17, 2011 at 9:31 PM

    I'm jealous! Don't know any other writers to hang with. Going to a local conference next month so hopefully I'll meet some.

    ReplyDelete
  9. Robert GuthrieFebruary 17, 2011 at 9:36 PM

    You're such a maven of the writing world!

    (Is it bad to say I'm jealous of all that snow! The first cherry blossoms are out here.)

    ReplyDelete
  10. Tina Laurel LeeFebruary 18, 2011 at 7:57 AM

    So glad you went! Face time is really important!

    ReplyDelete
  11. Paul GreciFebruary 18, 2011 at 10:05 PM

    Cool photos!! It sounds like you had a great meeting. And the tire, well, it all worked out :-)one more writer to screw on the cap,lol.

    Lately my face time with other writers is with my wife and it's been great. We're reading each other's work and giving comments.
    Tomorrow 13 relatives come to town to visit for a week. We'll have a great time, and probably not much writing will happen, except for maybe an early morning or two.

    ReplyDelete
  12. Anna StaniszewskiFebruary 21, 2011 at 8:28 AM

    Looks like a great time - I'm sorry I missed it!

    I'm glad you got home safely, despite the tire drama. :-)

    ReplyDelete
  13. Lori W.February 25, 2011 at 12:44 AM

    Glad you got out!

    Face time rocks. I feel super grateful for my crit. group (SCBWI pals). We get together once a month and still shake our heads at how lucky we are to have found one another, though we've been meeting over a year now.

    ReplyDelete
  14. NandiniFebruary 25, 2011 at 8:28 PM

    OMG ... look at the pictures!! It was quite the adventure wasn't it?! I really enjoyed getting out for a writerly evening with you, and Martha, and all the other folks at the Grille. Thanks so much for driving us, Heather. You're the best.

    ReplyDelete
  15. NandiniFebruary 25, 2011 at 8:31 PM

    Forgot to say that I hope you're having a fabulous time in Hawaii!!

    ReplyDelete
  16. Kelly PolarkMarch 7, 2011 at 3:55 PM

    How wonderful you all got together! Great pics!
    Hope you have a great vacation!!!

    ReplyDelete
  17. Martha CalderaroMarch 9, 2011 at 10:37 AM

    I've been in the weeds with a million things going on lately, so a belated hello and laugh over our tire adventures. The meet-up was great, wasn't it? And great riding with you and Nandini, tire and all!

    ReplyDelete
  18. Heather KellyMarch 14, 2011 at 9:16 AM

    Alexia--I hope you meet lots of cool writers to hang out with at the conference, and after it ends! Have a great time.

    Robert--you can be jealous of the snow, if I can be jealous of seeing any plant at all blossom. :)

    Tina--:) Wishing to have some more face time with you sometime soon!!

    Paul--I love that you have built in writerly face time with your wife--so awesome!! Have fun with the guests!!

    Anna--You'll have to make it next time!!

    Lori--Once a month is a dream! That's awesome!

    Nandini--You're the best. Thanks for the great time!!

    Kelly--It was fun!!

    Martha--I think it says a lot that we were able to laugh about the tire at the time. What fun!

    ReplyDelete

Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.

Subscribe to: Post Comments (Atom)