I just got back from a five-day residential workshop* at Hollins University, called Tinker Mountain Writers Workshop. Although I didn’t realize until I got there, Annie Dillard attended Hollins and wrote her iconic Pilgrim at Tinker Creek when she lived in the area.
Tinker Mountain
It’s a beautiful place that I didn’t get to explore because I was inside most of the day talking fiction and craft! But the landscape of the area (the Blue Ridge Mountains) and of the school itself were both inspiring.
View from the porch of the main administration building, Hollins University
I was in a workshop of eight writers called “Advanced Novel” with author/professor Fred Leebron, and got excellent feedback on the first chapters of my historical novel-in-progress, Clio Rising. We did various exercises related to the future marketing of our novels, like writing the log line and back cover copy. To whet your reading appetite, here’s the log line I came up with for Clio:
In 1980s New York, a newly out gay woman embarks on a job as companion to a literary giant of the “Lost Generation,” a closeted lesbian who accomplished just one great book.
Now it’s on to revision!
*My attendance at TMWW was made possible by a Regional Artist Project Grant from the Arts and Science Council – Charlotte/Mecklenburg and the North Carolina Arts Council.
The Queerest Places 
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