What a fun time, and insightful learning experience for five California writers. Santa Catalina Islandwas the perfect choice for the first Writers Escape Weekend.
Writers hailed from different parts of the country. All authors shared many diverse genres. Workshop subjects included short story, fiction, creative non-fiction, character/plot development and blogging.
When we first arrived on the magical shores of Catalina, we could walk to our conveniently located weekend hide-away, The Catalina Lodge.
One of the advantages of Catalina is very few cars, only golf carts and bicycles. We explored the nooks and crannies of this magical island by foot from sunrise to sunset, then again in the evening to marvel at the nearly full hunter’s moon illuminating the boats in the bay. I took a refreshing swim at the local beach each day.
We feasted on gourmet coffee, authentic Mexican specialties, and fresh Mahi Mahi. The golden sun was warm. The ice cream was a cool refresher.
One night we enjoyed a starry night “at home” in our cozy courtyard. Cheese, nuts, fresh fruit, and wine was the perfect writers picnic under an almost full hunters moon.
Another highlight of our retreat was a tour through the museum. The rich natural and social history of the island is fascinating.
Leaving this unique place is always bittersweet for me. All of us would have enjoyed at least one more day of sun, fun, fellowship and learning. While dolphins danced near the deck of our ferry, our merry little group of writers planned our next writers retreat.
Look for the details of the Spring Writers Escape, perhaps to Big Bear, on this blog. We would enjoy hearing your comments, suggestions and ideas.
This was first published on Hight Desert Blogging.
Brenda C. Hill
International Food Wine & Travel Writers Association
Books By Hills Success With Writing Where And What in the World
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Author: Brenda Hill
As a longtime food writer for Where Magazine New York City, Brenda Hill, along with her writing partner, Maralyn Hill (no relation), writes and publishes books about chefs, food and international travel. They co-authored "Our Love Affairs with Food & Travel" and joined French Master Chef Herve Laurent in writing "Cooking Secrets: The Why and How" Brenda has been active in the California Writer's Club, IFWTWA, and the Santa Barbara's Writers Conference. Brenda Hill and her partner Maralyn Hill conduct marketing and writing seminars. Maralyn and I will be heading back to Rancho La Puerta in July to give our presentation on writing and marketing your book, as well as bringing back some freshly picked off the farm nutritious and tasty recipes.
