Corinne Bowen

This is yet another reason why I love my neighborhood. How could I resist taking a picture of this lovely Hampden front yard? These are the kinds of scenes that spark my imagination for future characters and settings. I snapped this picture while walking to the post office last week. I’ve stayed true to my daily strolls and sun salutations and it makes a world of difference!

I’m back in Charm City, but I’ve been on the road for the past five days. First stop was dinner at Candle 79 with the CSL crew. Next stop was Jersey City for a weekend filled with friends and Indian food. Next month I’ll be part of an Indian wedding and to get us in the spirit of this joyous occasion, we watched Bride and Prejudice. Twice. You’ve probably already guessed that this is the Bollywood adaptation of Jane Austen’s classic novel. My dear Jersey City friend had these guys (below) on her shelf and they made me smile.

On Sunday, I headed to CSL headquarters in Woodstock, NY and I was back on the road by Tuesday night! I’m happy to be home and looking forward to a relaxing weekend of reading, writing, and seeing friends and family. I finished Catching Fire by Suzanne Collins (AMAZING) and started Nicole Peeler’s novel, Tempest Rising. It’s a fun and adventerous read and I’m excited to dig in more this weekend, rather than reading a few pages a night. Speaking of which, it’s time to do a few more manuscript edits and jump in bed!

Papermoon Diner (Charm City)

My quick trip to Woodstock was energizing and inspiring, as always. I drove up on Wednesday night and headed back to Charm City on Saturday morning. Woodstock’s tourist season is winding down, which for me is a relief. As I packed up the car on Saturday morning to head back to Baltimore, I was thankful for the opportunity to visit such a peaceful and magical place so often (not to mention the creative souls who live here).

On Friday, Kris and I indulged in one of our guilty pleasures, New Moon. No, it wasn’t a great movie. But it was a heck of a lot of fun. Although it was difficult to take the movie seriously while surrounded by the screams and laughter of teenage girls, I did my share of giggling too. It’s nice to stop taking myself so seriously all the time. Side note: I saw 2012 with Steve on Saturday and it was AMAZING. You won’t be disappointed.

Since arriving back in Baltimore, Steve and I have been doing some major brainstorming for the next book. We got started at The Papermoon Diner, which has many tasty vegan options, I might add. It’s exciting to think about this new project and I may take a stab at the first chapter tonight. I was so afraid that I’d used up all my good ideas in the first book. I’m learning that’s not the case (I hope!) and it feels like such a gift to have all these new characters swimming around in my brain.

During the drive to and from Woodstock, I listened to Stephen King’s On Writing. It is easily one of the best books on writing that I’ve ever read. Thank you, Stephanie! I have always shied away from King because I’m a wimp when it comes to horror films and books, but after reading On Writing, I had to see what he’s all about. We stopped at Salamander Books on Saturday (by the way they are moving to Mt. Vernon- this will be a sad day in Hampden) and I picked up The Bachman Books, which is a collection of his first four novels. He published these books under a pen name, Richard Bachman.

Did you know that King’s first published novel, Carrie, was almost lost forever when he threw out the first few chapters? His wife found the pages in the garbage and convinced him to keep going. I teared up when King talked about the integral role his wife has played in his success. If I ever make it, I know I’ll feel the same about Steve (and a few other amazing friends and family members!).

I pulled Strunk & White’s The Elements of Style off the shelf today. Actually, Steve dug it out of a box in the basement. I wasn’t keen on the idea of wrestling with spiders to find the book. I’ve attempted to read this several times, but I think it might resonate more this time, since I’ve written the first complete draft of my novel. Off to read and write…

My novel is set in Bar Harbor. Some of it takes place in the present, other parts in Eden, which was the actual name of Bar Harbor before 1900. A few moments ago, I was working on the second draft (about to type the 24,222nd word) and the memory of a bookstore in Bar Harbor flashed in my mind.

In August 2008, I visited Bar Harbor with my husband and in-laws. I had been on a reading hiatus. Well, not really a hiatus, but one of those long stretches of time when I pick up book after book, read the first couple chapters, get bored, and then stay away from it for so long that I never finish it. It’s a bad habit, but one that I’ve never outgrown.

Steve and I were perusing the shelves at Sherman’s Bookstore (which has been there since 1886) and I wasn’t finding anything that I wanted to read. Bookstores are more like art galleries for me (I am actually happier looking at shelves filled with book covers than anything hanging on the walls in the Louvre). Usually, I only buy books that I’ve read about or have been recommended to me. I’m not one to take a chance on a random novel. I had just about given up when Steve pulled a book from the shelf, read the synopsis, and encouraged me to give it a chance. So, I did. And I was pleasantly surprised.

This sparked a long (obsessive) love affair with books. I was insatiable. I went so far as to buy a flashlight for the car, so that during long trips I could read while Steve drove. It was heaven. Currently, I’ve fallen into my unfortunate book abandon habit again, but I’m hoping my vacation next week has an intoxicating read in store for me. I would love nothing more than to get lost in a book right now.

Point being, I just realized that the setting of my novel happens to be the place that my love of books was rekindled most recently. And the bookstore was founded in 1886, which means it was around during the time that most of my novel takes place. I think that’s pretty fantastic…now back to editing!

ps- The book I picked up at Sherman’s was The Book of Joe, by Jonathon Tropper. Maybe in honor of this post, I’ll pick up This Is Where I Leave You. Anyone read it?

I started September off with some of my oldest and dearest friends. We crowded into my tiny townhouse and enjoyed Baltimore (and a little DC too!). All three of them visited Aurora at breathe books on Saturday for readings and were blown away by her insight. I camped out at Common Ground with the rest of the ladies while we waited for each one to have their session. They all returned teary and starry eyed.

We took a quick road trip to DC and had dinner at Coppi’s (fantastic pizza!). On our way back to the car, we passed Ben’s Chili Bowl, a historic landmark in DC. Everyone has to go there. They even have vegan chili! After the last senorita walked out the door on Monday, I was left with a comfy air mattress in the middle of my living room and a little time on my hands (since my secretary, Thomas, and I had the day off). I was happy to get some writing done and watch a movie with the hubs. I was sort of sorry to see the air mattress go…

After a weekend of over-indulgence, I’m embracing some peaceful moderation. It feels good. Which is why I’m going to shut down my computer now and hit the hay. I have a long trip in the car coming up (hopefully as the passenger for most of it!), so I’ll have a chance to get a good chunk of writing done. I’m 22,308 words into the second draft. I read The Intern’s blog today, titled: Scientific proof that publishing a book will not make you happier, and it really struck a chord with me. If you’ve ever thought, “If I just get to (fill in the blank) then I’ll really be happy and satisfied,” read it! Good night!

I’m feeling pretty lucky right now. Even though life isn’t tied up in a nice little bow (and that can seem enticing at times), I’m grateful. Mostly because I feel alive. This blog started when I decided to choose a path that I never thought I would take. I threw twenty five years of planning in the garbage and decided to follow my gut.

If you had asked me a year ago if I ever, ever, thought I would be where I am today, I would have flat out said N-O. In the moment, when you’re dealing with the day-to-day stuff, it’s easy to forget that you always dreamed of being exactly where you are. Dreams don’t usually include taking the garbage out. I’m so happy to be writing this because it really puts me in the moment. It makes me look around and think, wow, I’m really here. This is my life and I love it.

In other news (that is my own microcosm of news) I’m 100 pages into the second draft of my novel. Suddenly, a new character has popped up! I don’t know where he came from, but I am so glad to meet him. It’s funny how I set out to write something, it went in an entirely different direction, and now I’m discovering that some of the elements that I hoped for are finding their way into my story.

Tomorrow, it’s back to Charm City and I’m so happy and excited for this weekend. I’ll be reuniting with three of my most treasured ladies on the planet. It’s exactly what the doc ordered. Plus, it’s a long weekend! Hooray!

So much of my life has been filled with goodbyes and missing people. I’m not sorry that it’s been that way. It has made me value people more and created memories that are more permenant and vivid. I don’t think you can truly know how much you love someone until they’re far away from you.  It’s time to go back home and then move on to the next adventure. Can’t wait to see what it may be…