News from Heidi

This year's Festival was amazing. Yes, it happened a month and a half ago, but I'm just now having a chance to reflect. This was the third year and we felt more on top of things and much more relaxed during the Festival itself. I even got to enjoy some of the programs and talk to some folks. We're incredibly proud of this project and know that we must continue this in some way every year. There were participants who decided to create their art simply because they wanted to submit for the Festival. That was so satisfying to learn. Hopefully, the Festival is encouraging even more storytellers--Alas, we ended the year in the hole financially. I don't think folks realize that when we don't raise the money from donations and grants, we end up paying for the Festival out of our own pockets. It's become a very expensive venture these last years. So please, consider donating. Every little bit helps.

It's been a lovely time in P-town. I read a lot; met some great folks; and finally, got back on my exercise regimen. Hooray! Now it's time to start packing up for the departure later this week.

Yay! Yay! What can I say? But yay! And thank you People Magazine!

This made my day!  Thank you Latisha.  The flower bookmark is super!

I've mentioned before how much I love libraries--and I want to thank librarian Sara D. of the Capital Area District Library of Michigan (another reason I love Michigan) for this lovely video recommending The Girl Who Fell From the Sky! Check out all of her great reviews on YouTube!

At the amazing McLean & Eakin luncheon last week, I had the great privilege to meet the students of the Red Cedar Writing Project, a summer writing program for educators who teach writing. One of the participants, Dan, chose The Girl Who Fell From the Sky for the group to study after reading a review--a few days later they learned that I would be in their town for the luncheon and they bought tickets for the whole group. What a delightful bunch they are! I had to give Stasha an A+ for insightful question about the theme of "counting" in the book -- really, all of their questions were so wonderful. And I was so grateful to Tim for asking me to read a passage I'd never read before for an audience. I could go on and on about this wonderful group-- I'd never done a presentation where so many of the attendees had already read the book. The class generously invited me to stop by their end-of-class celebration that evening which I did. And they gave me copies of their reflection essays on The Girl and the collection of their own writing from the summer program. I cried when I read them--the reflections and each person's willingness to share how their own stories related--well, just wow! Thank you Red Cedar Writing Project. Meeting you all last week was such an amazing gift!

There are many people who have helped me along the way to publication & I have tried to thank them in some small way.

A few years ago, I struck upon my go-to thank you gift: a tin of Anna's Cookies. They're real Danish butter cookies--just as good as my Aunt Henny makes--but with a twist. In the tin I send, half the cookies are covered in chocolate. Get it?

Well, I order the cookies on-line and there's a little box for comments about the package. I didn't know what that meant really, but I started writing little notes about the reason I was sending the cookies (e.g. "This person wrote me a recommendation letter." or "This person wrote a blurb for me.")

I never really expected that anyone was really reading those notes, but then one day I got a call from Claire, the owner of Anna's Cookies. She was so excited to see that the book was finally published and she hoped she could meet me when I was in the area. It was too cool.

I did meet her this Spring, as well as her lovely daughter Molly, when I read at Kepler's Books in Menlo Park, CA. (Of course, she served her yummy cookies.)

About a month ago, I ordered some cookies but decided to send them in a new beautiful blue and brown gift box that she's offering. She called to get some information I had input incorrectly and then asked why I had changed my go-to gift. "Because the blue & brown box is so pretty and it looks kind of like it goes with my website."

"Oh, you're right," she said. "How about if I change the name of the box to the Heidi Durrow Special?"

And now voila! You too can buy a Heidi Durrow Special from Anna's Cookies as gift or as a gift to yourself. You won't be disappointed!

I met a wonderful young woman in Michigan last week. Her name is Kara. She read The Girl Who Fell From the Sky when Jessilynn of the wonderful McLean & Eakin books handed it to her. She rushed back to the bookstore soon after begging for anything else like The Girl . . . --Kara wasn't in town for the luncheon appearance I did last week, but I really wanted to meet her and thank her. So Jessilynn put in a call to her early on a summer Friday morning and Kara very graciously (and quickly) got herself in gear and came to the bookstore to say hello. She's a lovely young woman: smart, curious, and interested in the world beyond her immediate community. And she's writer--she showed me the journal she always carries with her (yes!) just in case she's got a good idea--and she showed me her second journal--it's one that she shares with her best friend. They each write in it and paste poems or quotes or whatever they want in the journal handing it back and forth when they see each other. "How do you decide who gets it when?" I asked. "Whoever needs it the most gets to have it," she said matter-of-factly. I was so delighted by this idea--first, because in the age of Facebook here were two young women writing still, not for public consumption but for themselves and each other; and second, because they are creating a beautiful record of their friendship. Jessilynn tells me that Kara was very excited to meet me. But truly, Kara, the pleasure was all mine! Thank you for coming by!

I really can't explain what a magical, wonderful time I had in Michigan this past week. The trip started with a reading in Suttons Bay at Brilliant Books. Bookstore owner Peter and his wife took us to a fabulous lunch at Martha's Table and then showed us around their wonderful bookstore. That evening was the reading with wine and cheese and the warmest crowd. I have video I promise to post soon. It was hard to leave Suttons Bay and in fact, the fun continued the next morning at Morsels (if you don't know what a Morsel is you should-delicious) in Traverse City where Peter brought me books to sign. (Thank you for getting up so early!) Then it was on to Petoskey. Wow! It was a luncheon crowd that had paid to come and it was sold out. I couldn't believe it. But Jessilynn Norcross and Matt Norcross of McLean & Eakin do nothing but a first-class event. It was so lovely--the room looked like it was set up for a wedding. I was delighted to meet Barbara S.--the first reader Jessilynn handed the book to in the area--and now a fan of The Girl (there's also teenage Kara, but I'll save that story for another post). About 16 of the folks at the luncheon were from the fabulous Red Cedar Writing Project--educators studying how to teach better teach writing to their students. They had studied The Girl . . . and had awesome questions. (More on that meeting that delightful group too. And there was a contingent of the Goodheart Book Club (I'm not sure that's the official name but they know who they are: Trina, Linda, Linda (not pictured) and *** (oh gosh darn it--I can't remember--please forgive my bad memory). And many many more. I enjoyed the time so much; I'm sure I went on for way too long, but I didn't want to let these folks go. Thank you to everyone who came out. You can be sure that I will return!

This is the place to be--no really it is. Read novelist Ann Patchett's New York Times essay about this place. If you're anywhere near please come join us: Brilliant Books, Suttons Bay, MI, Wednesday at 7pm; and a Luncheon hosted by McLean & Eakin, Thursday at Noon (reservations required).  I am so excited about this trip!