Shy Barbara Kingsolver

At a Q and A session at the San Miguel Writers Conference yesterday, Barbara Kingsolver said she is the last person in the world who wanted to be famous.  About fame, she said, "I´m sort of afraid of it.  I´m a shy person.  I do not like being on television." 

Kingsolver said that she grew up in Eastern Kentucky where people told stories but frowned upon talking about oneself.   "She´s parading herself around," Kentuckians would comment about anyone who anyone who wished to call attention to herself.  "Imagine how being in front of a public feels to me," Kingsolver noted.  "When I go on book tour," Kingsolver said, "I think, I´m evangelizing for literature."

In the photo is Jody Feagan, founder of the San Miguel Writers Conference, author Barbara Kingsolver and me at a Welcome to San Miguel cocktail party on Friday. 

Barbara Kingsolver Talk

"Novels being in a million different places," said Barbara Kingsolver tonight in a keynote address to some 800 people at the San Miguel Writers Conference. Moi, being one of them. Here are some more of the things she said after declaring that Mexico was her favorite country on earth.

- "The novel beings the way a forest begins. One acorn drops in the mud and begins to grow. Then one falls in a stream. Then a mesquite seed drops."
- "All I can do is pay atteniton to what is growing,"

- After talking about all the growth sprouting from the seeds that fall, Kingsolver said, "I will manage this forest. I will make it what I want."

- About literature, she said, "I believe we should expect from literature an immense complexity."

- "It should be a timeless place where we should experience magnifigance."

- "The Lacuna is the most difficult book I have ever written."
- "The Lacuna. I attempted to explore every meaning of that beautiful word. The Lacuna. It can be a tunnel through rock or bone or time."

Then, I must admit , I had to leave to pick up my kids from the equestrian center where they ride. Otherwise I´d be reporting more. But what I heard was great!

San Miguel Writers Conference

OK, here I am back to writing about writing, although the 2010 San Miguel Writers Conference is big news in town. The word I´ve heard is that more than 600 people have bought tickets to hear Barbara Kingsolver´s address on Friday night. That´s conference-goers and community members.

I myself will be attending all the lectures and workshops that my schedule teaching school and working in our business, Jasmine Day Spa, allow. Next week, I assistant-teach the Teen Writers Workshop with Betsy James. We´ve got 20 teens signed up and will be focusing on science fiction and fantasy this year.

I will be sure NOT to miss my appointments with two, yes, praise be, two agents. One will look at my memoir, to which I still hold the rights even though it´s up on Amazon. The other, an agent for children´s and young adult books, will critique my fledgling Young Adult manuscript. I get 10 minutes with each!

The Hardest Part

I´m trying to write a synopsis for my Young Adult novel Dear Annette, to submit with my first twelve pages to the Meet The Children´s Books Agent competition for the San Miguel Writers Conference, which means of course, I have to know Where the Story Is Going!

It´s hard.

I have lots of great scenes but an airtight plot? hahahahahahahaha

Back to it.

Big News, Big Name

Imagine the aroma of a Lavender Festival! Held last week at the Marsh estate in San Miguel and hosted by The Lavender Queen Herself, Jeannie Ralston, author of The Unlikely Lavender Queen, and photographer husband Robb K. to raise money for their lavender project which provides a sustainable business for local campesinos. While sipping a lavender margarita, I was approached by author, Susan Page who heads up the Author´s Sala here in San Miguel.

"I have the best news ever!" Susan gushed.

Can´t be a new baby, I thought. You´re going on a cruise? It´s going to rain in central Mexico soon?

"Guess who we got to keynote at the Writers Conference?" Susan began to hyperventilate.

"Who?" I obliged, but I was beginning to get excited too. Then I thought, nah, with a buildup like this, it´s likely to be disappointing.

"Barbara Kingsolver!"

OK. Susan had me. I was speechless. Then I caught the aroma of lavender on a passing breeze, and breathed deeply.

"Susan. Wow!" This is how you know I am a writer; I use big words.

Barbara Kingsolver! I read The Poisonwood Bible about a year ago, and thought, this writer is a heavyweight.

WoW!

The San Miguel Writers Conference takes place February 19-23, 2010 in beautiful San Miguel de Allende. For more information, go to www.sanmiguelworkshops.com.