Quick check-in to say HELLO from Loon Lake, BC! I cannot believe this place is a mere 40 minutes from my house; I feel like I've traveled a great distance to find this kind of solitude, in the middle of a forest on UBC property. It's a 15-minute drive on a gravelled, bumpy road to reach the lodges from the main gate, and I love it up here. Have I mentioned today how much I love living in British Columbia?!?
The lake itself is like glass in the morning, unless it's raining and then the fog hovers low and the water's surface wavers and shimmies from raindrops and whatever breeze sneaks through. I've yet to see a loon (or a bear or a cougar), but we do have a squirrel named Jeremy who will sneak in through any open doors to steal any available snacks. (And apparently we have a mouse in our building who helped herself to some chocolate-covered ginger snacks on Tuesday; this morning upon making my coffee, I discovered that the whiskered perp had climbed into my Ziploc bag containing my mushroom coffee, etc., and helped herself to the napkin-wrapped cranberry cookie I'd purloined from the dining hall yesterday. If I fall ill with hanta virus in the next week, blame the mouse. I mean, it was a good cookie, I will say.)
The Fed has use of the Johnson Cabins, which are two gorgeous log cabin buildings with eight lodging rooms each (and accommodation for multiple people per room), plus the expansive downstairs meeting rooms where our workshops and writing sessions happen. I've been staying in another building called the Pan Abode -- SO cool -- rooming with fellow author and editor Cadence Mandybura, a delightful roommate all around. (Her half of the room is super tidy; mine looks like a bomb went off. Naturally.) The Pan Abode has its own kitchenette and huge meeting space for folks to work and talk at tables or in the comfy forest-themed sofa chairs. The buildings pretty much all have gas fireplaces, which are great on chilly nights. Oh, and we get delicious three meals a day in the Bentley Dining Hall. Seriously -- staying in the middle of the forest in a warm cabin with running water, plenty of bathrooms, 24-hour access to hot coffee, and three scrumptious meals every single day? WINNER WINNER CHICKEN DINNER.
Click through for more on this gorgeous place: https://loonlake.ubc.ca/. Honestly, I wish I could live up here all the time.
On Tuesday night some of the braver souls in our troupe of scribes willingly and voluntarily did a cold plunge IN THE LAKE, followed by a spell in the sauna. Alas, I am not a brave soul. I am still shivering from the mandatory swimming qualification lesson in the unheated pool that sat in the shadow of huge trees at Campfire camp when I was 10. Brrrrrrr. Big ol' nope.
Last night we were treated to a "fireside chat" (which was actually indoors and not anywhere near a fire, other than the digital one on the projector screen, LOL) with Dr. Finnian Burnett, one of my MOST favourite people and writers on the planet. They read a few flash fiction pieces from their latest novella-in-flash, Redshirts Sometimes Survive, and damn it, they had half the room in tears. Finn's writing is so raw and powerful. PLEASE check out their latest release (especially you Star Trek fans!): https://finnburnett.com/.
Since I'm on the Federation of BC Writers team, this week I've continued with my online morning sprint group "on location." We did the Monday night as normal too; tomorrow (Friday), I will be back home in plenty of time for the 5:30 p.m. session, so you should join us! I will be sad to leave this gorgeous venue, but Rosie Cotton will be glad to have her mom back.
Today is another workshop with Finn Burnett and their partner-in-most-crimes, the hilarious and talented Andrew Buckley (https://www.andrewbuckleyauthor.com/), I have a couple of one-on-one sessions with folks who want to talk about publishing options, then tonight is our open mic. Not sure if I'll read anything yet ... there are 33 people in our group, which is a LOT, so we'll see. They've probably heard enough from me this week.
Seriously, if you ever have an opportunity to do a Loon Lake writing retreat (or a retreat anywhere outside of your usual four walls), I highly recommend it. Though I've been working on client edits -- my day job follows me everywhere -- I have squeezed in a few hundred words here and there on Please Don't Make Me Read This, which continues to expand like two-part insulation foam. Wow.
Also, if you're interested in sprint sessions on the WEEKENDS, Alli will be running one from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. every Sunday, starting this weekend. Register here: https://www.bcwriters.ca/event-6636787 - As always, free for Fed of BC Writers members or a guest ticket is $35 CAD for eight writing sessions.
xo
