Posted on

Two Evenings in Paris—by San Francisco Bay

Paris good coverIf you’re in the Bay Area, come join us as the Wanderland Writers debut the new anthology Wandering in Paris: Luminaries and Love in the City of Light.

We’ll celebrate the book’s publication at two festive launch parties sponsored by Left Coast Writers:
— Monday, August 12, 6 pm at Book Passage at the San Francisco Ferry Building.
–Saturday, August 17, 7 pm at Book Passage Corte Madera.

I’ll be reading along with other contributors. Come join us for good stories, wine, and, of course, a certain je nais se quois.

For a preview, take a look at the travel e-zine Wanderlust and Lipstick.One of my stories from the book, My Phamtom of the Opera, is currently featured there.

http://bit.ly/11K0EU3

Posted on

Travel Writing Takes Center Stage at Left Coast Writers this Saturday night, June 8

Hear some great travel stories this Saturday night and perhaps win a prize for a piece of your own.

Left Coast Writers presents Our Favorite Travel Writers this Saturday, June 8, at 7 pm in the gallery at Book Passage Corte Madera store.

We’ll share stories and wine and the company of fellow traveling writers. There will even be a contest for the best travel story (1000 words or less), so bring your submissions. The winning story will receive a cash award and publication in the Left Coast Writer online column, Roadwork. But you must be present to win, so mark your calendars.

I’ll read a story from my memoir-in-progress, A Stroke of Bad Luck and the Potholed Road to Recovery.  It recounts my introduction to adventure travel. Hint: I didn’t have to travel far to find more adventure than I bargained for.

Other readers include Cheryl Armstrong, Unity Barry, Antoinette Constable, Kate Crawford, Laurie McAndish King, Diane LeBow, MJ Pramik, and Cindy Rasicot.

Hope to see you there.

Location: Book Passage Corte Madera Store.

51 Tamal Vista.
Phone: 415-927-0960

Posted on

Ring in the holidays at the Left Coast Writers Book Party December 10

What better place than a bookstore to start your holiday shopping?

If you’re in San Francisco, join us tomorrow night (Monday, Dec. 10) at 6 pm at the Left Coast Writers Book Party at the Book Passage store at the Ferry Building.

There’ll be books, readings, and lots of holiday cheer.

I’ll read a story that shows what can happen when you stray far from home outside your comfort zone. Other readers include Kate Crawford, Unity Barry,  and Maureen Dixon.

Hope to see you there.

Posted on

New travel anthology explores Bali’s tropical paradise

I’m excited to be part of the luscious new travel anthology Wandering in Bali: A Tropical Paradise Discovered, a collection of stories from the land of frangipani, myth, and mystery. Don’t miss our two book launch events:

  • Saturday, June 9, 7 pm at Book Passage Corte Madera: 51 Tamal Vista Blvd., Corte Madera, CA 94925 (415) 927-0960
  • Monday, June 11, 6 pm at Book Passage, San Francisco Ferry Building

Both events are free and open to the public.

Two of my stories “Bali Shadows” and “Authentication Failed” join twenty other stories and poems, some mystical, some funny, some terrifying–each in a different, highly personal voice. From computer glitches to shadow puppets, temples, Balinese feasts, classical music and dance, I and my fellow writers sample and share the multiple faces of Bali.

Sitting on the lanai, I remembered our first day there: the air heavy with the fragrance of frangipani and promised rain … the thrumming of an afternoon downpour on our thatched roof … the sound of sawing cicadas and the whoop of a kingfisher diving in the gorge.”

The buzz on Wandering in Bali:
“For centuries, Bali has drawn souls from east and west to its natural beauty, mystical spirituality, and captivating arts. This collection of stories, poems, and photographs offers multiple windows from which to view this engaging place, all presented with rhythms and moods as melodic as the sound of the gamelan.”
—Larry Habegger, Executive Editor, Travelers’ Tales Books

“Like renting a frangipani-scented hut, kicking back and sharing the sensory wonderland that is Bali with a bunch of your fast friends—if your friends knew how to tell really good stories.”
—Spud Hilton, Travel Editor, SF Chronicle

On sale now from Book Passage, the Bay Area’s favorite bookstore: Buy here

Here, in pictures, are some of my favorite memories of Bali.

Picture Gallery
New travel anthology explores Bali’s tropical paradise

  • Garuda Mask from a Ramayana dance at Ubud's Water Palace

  • Dance from the Ramayana at the Water Palace in Ubud

  • Shadow puppets

  • Fanciful mask from master mask-maker Ida Bagus Anom Suryawan

  • Fruit seller at the Ubud market

  • Mischievious Monkey at Ubud's sacred monkey forest

    Mischievious Monkey at Ubud's sacred monkey forest

  • Snaky doings at Bali's Elephant Cave Temple

  • Rice fields – and cell phones, too – at the sacred temple of Gunung Kawi

  • Forest on Sayan Ridge outside Ubud

  • Beach at Canggu on Bali's western shore

Posted on

Zombies – in a Bali Paradise?

Don’t miss  Linda Watanabe McFerrin’s new story “Bali Belly and the Zombie Apocalypse,” up today on World Hum, the best travel-zine in the Ethernet.

Linda spins a spooky tale that will make you rethink your travel medicine bag. She proves, once again, that old travel-writers’ saw: Anything that doesn’t kill you is  fodder for great story-telling.

 

Linda also organizes magical travel experiences that generate bewitching books-full of stories, as well as  memories to last a lifetime.

I was on Bali last year with her fabulous group of Wanderland Writers.  Her World Hum story brings back one of my own favorite memories:   a visit to master mask-maker Ida Bagus Anom Suryawan. In addition to carving masks–to international renown–Anom is  a wood carver,  mask dancer, and puppeteer. His workshop, Astina, is in the village of Mas near Ubud.

http://bit.ly/Kpw72x

 

These scenes from his shop make me think zombies aren’t far behind:

 

 

 

 

I couldn’t resist the allure of remembered adventure. The mask below now hangs on my porch.

Stay tuned for more stories from Bali in the forthcoming anthology Wandering in Bali: A Tropical Paradise Discovered.

Bali in 2011. Next up, Paris. I’ll be along for that mystery tour as well. Can we expect a zombie lurking in the basement of the opera house?

 

Photos by Anne Sigmon