Most years we have only one group picture. But at breakfast today Jane Shepherd (seated in the middle next to me) gifted everyone with a Jane Austen tattoo!
Week 2 writers with their tattoos
Here’s a close-up of mine, taken by Foust.
My tattoo
And then Charlotte Morgan introduced us to her Frog “King”–i.e., Elvis. Charlotte is the author of the novel, Protecting Elvis. She worked on that book at Nimrod the same summer I worked on a first draft of “Love Me Tender” (published earlier this year).
The Frog King
Even after the room was empty and the car loaded, we chatted on the front porch of Square House.
So I said goodbye to Jimmy, the man who provided such great food this year.
Jimmy
And goodbye to Nimrod, comforted to know it will be waiting for us next year.
The last day at Nimrod is always bittersweet. All the paths not walked. All I won’t see come to fruition–like this rose in the Square House flower box.
Rose coming on
And the naked ladies are just coming on. There will be a huge display, but searching now reveals only spears of varying heights, rather like an asparagus bed in spring. I guess the summer heat here is recent.
Naked lady bed
Away from here I won’t walk before breakfast. When will I again notice a toad or see a katydid?
Toad
Katydid
But what I’ll miss most is the focus on writing with other writers, discussing ideas, process, and progress–not to mention book recommendations! Of course there is always some of that in my life, but it’s scattered and intermittent.
Nimrod is addictive. One of the writers from last week, Molly Todd, drove over from Richmond for a few more days–and brought her husband!
Molly Todd and her husband
Except for being the last, it was like every other day. We talked writing before dinner, and after everyone read for five minutes. I read three pages from my new novel, developed this week.
Cathy Hankla, this week’s writer in residence is wonderful. She’s been working her magic here for more than twenty years. Cathy has published eleven books–short stories, novels, and poetry–so far. She’s won numerous prizes and is the Susan Gager Jackson professor of creative writing at Hollins University.
Cathy Hankla
Charlotte Morgan, a novelist, is the writer in residence for Week 3, but she’s also the coordinator of the Nimrod writing programs. Anyone who comes during the first two weeks gets a two-fer, for Charlotte gives generously of her insights and support. Her laugh is famous!
Charlotte Morgan
And so I’m wrapping up, having just headed back to Square House in the dark that is so much darker here than in the city.
This picture from my morning walk is just a reminder that Nimrod is very rural. One sees old cisterns, cow pastures, horses grazing… In years past I’ve seen deer, close enough to photograph, but the rabbits are usually too fast and always too small.
Morning walk at Nimrod Hall
The wonder of the morning, however, was absolutely stationary: one of the most notable trees of Virginia. Here I am, standing inside the biggest sycamore I’ve ever seen.
Me inside the tree
Indeed, here are all of the Week 2 writers with this tree.
Week 2 writers with the tree
I will not tell you where it is, for the property owner treasures his privacy. But when last officially measured, it was 33′ in circumference and 105′ tall. This tree is incredible.
View of the tree
Here it is from the other side. I can imagine children sheltering from the rain, or defending the castle. Or maybe the attackers were pirates, for the tree overlooks water, as sycamores do.
View from the tree
Returning to reality–if writing fiction can be labeled reality–I started restructuring my novel. News flash: deciding to do it is a whole lot easier than doing it!
Because we are such an intimate group this week, only one writer was “on” today, Jane Shepherd. Jane writes memoir and fiction.
Jane Shepherd
We were together when I found the diary and scrapbook that launched me into my historical novel. AND she is the one who brought the wedding cake seen here and in earlier posts.
At Nimrod there is a sameness, but always a new adventure. I love it.
One of my favorite walks up Nimrod Lane passes this tiny graveyard. Three members of the Smith family are buried here–gone and forgotten?–and several mornings each summer, I pay my respects.
I’ve always loved graveyards and cemeteries. I have a favorite tree in Mt. Auburn Cemetery, Cambridge, MA. In fact the main picture on my website was taken there, in the first garden cemetery in the US. And as some of you may know, my story in Virginia Is For Mysteries is “Death Comes To Hollywood Cemetery”— which is in Richmond, VA, and is the third oldest garden cemetery in the US.
But enough, before I get carried away sending pictures of my skull jewelry. BTW, skulls are also a symbol of transformation.
My work today had nothing to do with death or cemeteries, though my new novel will have much to do with transformation. I spent the morning trying to apply the structure used for “Brokeback Mountain” (by Annie Proulx, in Close Range: Wyoming Stories) to my novel. In that story, only 30 pp, I saw how a story spanning decades can be compelling while (by?) leaving out a lot.
The two writers “on” today were widely divergent and wonderful.
Foust is a writer, cartoonist, and print maker who lives in Richmond, VA. She is seen here on the Square House side porch with her two new books. Six Of One, Half-Dozen Of The Other is a book of cartoons. Sins of Omission is a collection of stories. Foust specializes in short-shorts, so many of these are only a couple of pages with enormous punch.
Foust
Amelia L. Williams is a prize-winning poet from Afton, VA. Her language is both lyrical and gripping. She has done–and is continuing to develop–an amazing installation of in situ art with integrated poems.
Amelia L. Williams
This picture of Amelia was taken shortly before her workshop and reading. Obviously, Nimrod writer weeks are pressure cooker sorts of events.
Who but Nimrod Writer Women would be passing around a paper mâché wedding cake at breakfast? A few years back, NPR put out a call for short stories about the wedding cake in the middle of the road (or something close to that). But story possibilities are endless!
I’m not sure what the central decoration is supposed to represent, but think about it. Imagine the symbolism! I’m just saying…
Here’s one thing at Nimrod that’s even less needed than fake wedding cake. No writer is ever disturbed between breakfast and lunch–and seldom otherwise.
Speaking of meals–as I sort of was–the food is great, especially the salads. Tomatoes grown here. Crisp sweet peppers. Corn cut off the cob. Black beans. Green beans. Asparagus. Shredded kale. Quinoa. And I, for one, had never considered thinly sliced raw Brussels sprouts!
Frances and I walked near the old boys camp mess hall. Even in their heyday, I’m sure the food was nothing to write home about!
old boys camp mess hall
Frances Webb Burch and I walked past the old mess hall after lunch today. She is my most frequent walking partner. She writes wickedly funny essays about sex and aging, touching memoirs about coming of age in the 50s, gritty stories about mothers and daughters–and sometimes dips into magical realism. She is one of the Founding Mothers of the Nimrod Hall Summer Arts Programs, first visual arts and then writing.
Frances Burch, classy as this Tesla
Frances was “on” today, as was I. And as Monday is my preference, I was a happy camper. I workshopped 15 pages of a new novel. Tonight I read a short story in progress. And now I must stop this, for Cathy Hankla, writer in residence, assigned me to read “Brokeback Mountain” and consider point of view, distance, and narrator as I revise 3-5 pp of my new novel!
En route from Hot Springs to Nimrod, I paused at Warm Springs. What were once known as the Warm Springs Baths are now called the Jefferson Pools because Thomas Jefferson so often took the waters here. This is the men’s bathing house, built in 1761.
In 1836, a separate Ladies Pool House was opened, fed by a separate spring. The roof of the octagonal Ladies Pool House is open to the sky. The water is always 98 degrees. Bathing suits are optional. I love it! BothNETTIE’S BOOKS and “War and Murder at Nimrod Hall” have scenes set at the Jefferson Pools.
I was back at Nimrod before the Week 2 writers arrived.
I reset my workspace and polished my memoir a bit. But I also had time for the sort of nature Nimrod is known for.
Week 2 is a more intimate group, 7 total. I had the foresight to ask permission to talk about them on-line, and so will be introducing you to individuals this week.
This week, everyone knows each other to some degree, so we skipped introductions and went directly to “brag time” talk about the year’s accomplishments. Since last Nimrod, I’ve had 5 short stories published, plus the DIFFERENT DRUMMER collection–very gratifying!
We talked about goals for the week. Cathy Hankla (this week’s writer-in-residence) read from her forthcoming book. Charlotte Morgan (who administers the writing workshops ms is writer-in-residence for Week 3) read from the novel she is writing. More about both of them later, but you might want to check them out online.
Returning to Square House under the Nimrod moon, I smiled. The words “incest” and “orgasm” have already been uttered. The topics of “gender-fluid” identity and hashtags have been broached, along with art in place and environmental conservation. It’s going to be that kind of week! 😊
I spent last week with a wonderful group of writers. Here we are at the conclusion of Week One. (I’m on the far left.)
Week One writers at Nimrod Hall Writers Workshop
This is Sheri Reynolds, writer-in-residence for the Week One workshop at Nimrod Hall. She’s a New York Times bestselling author AND a great workshop leader. The latter isn’t surprising, as she teaches creative writing at Old Dominion University, where she holds the Morgan Chair of Southern Literature. She’s as funny as she is accomplished. I’m fortunate to have had this workshop with her!
Now to begin Week Two.
This is a note card by Richmond’s own Susannah Raine-Haddad–Perfect for the arrival day of Nimrod Writer Women, Week Two.
Actually, it’s true only in spirit. In the flesh we are laden with laptops, works in progress, books, wine, snacks, comfy clothes and anything else deemed necessary for a productive week! (Remember my first post?)
In “War and Murder at Nimrod Hall” (forthcoming in February, 2016, in the next volume of Virginia Is For Mysteries) Clara and Major Bruce arrive at Millboro Depot on the Virginia Central Railway.
Virginia Central/C&O, 1860s
The Virginia Central at War
And in my novel Nettie’s Books, people were always “in the C&O”–meaning the hospital in Clifton Forge–or going to Clifton Forge for banking or shopping.
Nursing students at C&O Hospital, 1921
The original C&O Hospital
Later photograph of C&O Hospital
Who knows? Maybe I’ll write more fiction set in this area. Just yesterday I was wearing a T-shirt that says, “Careful, or you’ll end up in my novel.” A woman in a parking lot stopped me to say she’d first misread it as, “Careful, or you’ll end up in my navel.” IMAGINE THAT!
The road we traveled was full of hair-pin bends, switchbacks, and S-curves–not even a full two lanes wide. It reminds me of Kentucky roads of my childhood. I imagine Nettie and Roy (in my 1930s novel) would have considered this road a superhighway!
Virginia back roads
Tonight we had dinner in Hot Springs at The Golden Pigs–small, but excellent food. We liked it so much last night that we returned tonight.
The Golden Pigs
And it came to my attention that The Homestead doesn’t have a lock on the steam from the springs!
Closing out the first week: by this morning, we were five walkers instead of two. We walked to the high bridge–and talked, of course.
Our view from the bridge
Our view down
Along the way, we passed Heaven’s Gate. This new, polished sign is the only Nimrod upgrade I can’t really appreciate.
Returning, I had a rare view of Nimrod from the back.
My husband picked me up about noon for a weekend away. We drove through Highland County, VA, and Pocahontas County, WV. The mountains look more rugged than around Nimrod.
On one walk, I came across this big, flat rock. It reminded me of a rock at Granny and Grandpa’s–the Old Home Place–at the head of Old House Creek. That rock hosted tea parties with tiny china cups and snakes taking the sun.
And as I wind down the day, the story ideas generated this week swirl me to sleep–ideas generated on walks and alone in my room, but mostly during talks of family, relationships, sex, religion–talks walking, eating, sipping wine after dinner. Next week will be great!
Once upon a time, and for a long time, there was a boys’ camp here. I think that ended somewhere around 1950. This morning’s walk took me by the remains.
Earlier, I posted a picture of folks waiting for the breakfast bell. FYI, all meals are served family style. And, by the way, said food is great. Here’s a picture of this week’s writers at lunch.
Today was yin/yang, emotionally–a wonderful experience coming to an end. Dr. Seuss, in his personal persona, said something like, “Do not weep that it is done, smile that it happened.” Seems right.
So, last day of focused writing. I’ve nearly finished polishing a short memoir piece AND I have half a dozen wacky ideas for short fiction. All very gratifying.
After dinner tonight, we had our last hoorah: ten of us read for five minutes each. I read the first 2.5 pages of “War and Murder at Nimrod Hall”–to be published in February of 2016 in the sequel to Virginia Is For Mysteries–and I didn’t take pictures! Opportunity lost.
