Any Virginians here?// Holiday get-together?? (cf. post 129)

vagough · May 24, 2013

Alpha Echo said:
Crazy! Prince William County here!

What mrsmig said -- hi, and welcome! :hi:

You are either down the road to the west or to the south of us!

mrsmig said:
Hi, Alpha!

I haven't done anything with the Writer's Center, though I sometimes read a blog by a writer who either works there or does lots of stuff there, I can't recall which (though it must say something about me that I can't recall).

Have any of you tried one of the writers' groups that are out there in various Virginia locations? I've seen a few in meetup.com but have hesitated about joining any of them yet. I'm in a small virtual writers' group, and that has been nice. But I also wonder about the face-to-face groups.

ebbrown · May 24, 2013

WriterTrek said:
Heh, heh, heh... read the title wrong.

Welcome Virginian! XD

Me too. I'll admit it. I thought they were looking for virgins.

Uhm, yeah...stepping away now to find my spectacles

Carry on.

thothguard51 · May 24, 2013

Virgins? In Virginia?

ebbrown · May 24, 2013

oh shyt. Thread derail...

C.T. Richmond · May 25, 2013

Well, to be honest, I was really disappointed in it. It was called "Self-Publishing: The Pros and Cons" (or something like that) and I felt the instructor really wasn't well

versed in the subject. I felt I'd already learned more than she knew just by reading the AW threads on the subject. I emailed the Center's management and they very kindly (and promptly) refunded the class fee, with apologies.

I'd like to try taking another class - they offer some courses that sound interesting - but I haven't had a confluence of spare cash and spare time yet.

Ah, thanks for your feedback, mrsmig! I really appreciate it!

articshark · May 29, 2013

If any of the peeps in the Fairfax/DC area want to meet for coffee or something, I'd be totally up for it.

Not that I wouldn't go to a conference or anything, I just haven't planned my life that far in advance. lol I can barely think about what I'm having for dinner before I actually start cooking it or decide to go out.

vagough · May 30, 2013

articshark said:
If any of the peeps in the Fairfax/DC area want to meet for coffee or something, I'd be totally up for it.

I'd be interested! Weekends are much better for me than weekdays because of work. What would you have in mind?

Cheers!

mrsmig · May 30, 2013

I'm game. My schedule's pretty tight for the next month but I've got holes in it here and there.

P.S. Vagough, sorry about the loss of your kitty. That was a sweet blog you wrote about her.

Namatu · May 30, 2013

I'm in Arlington County.

Wolfdreamer25 · May 30, 2013

I live in VA too.

articshark · May 30, 2013

vagough said:
What would you have in mind?

I'm not really sure of anything exactly. But maybe we can all throw out some dates and coffee places. Not to pimp my town or anything but we just a cool coffee joint that isn't Starbucks. lol I haven't been yet, so this would be a great excuse.

https://www.facebook.com/AmericanBistroAndCoffeehouse

And any Tues/Thurs or Sat is good for me.

ETA: A cool coffee joint in a used/new bookstore would be cool too. If anyone knows of one. We had TidalWave in Alaska and I am missing a place like that here in VA.

vagough · May 30, 2013

articshark said:
I'm not really sure of anything exactly. But maybe we can all throw out some dates and coffee places. Not to pimp my town or anything but we just a cool coffee joint that isn't Starbucks. lol I haven't been yet, so this would be a great excuse.

https://www.facebook.com/AmericanBistroAndCoffeehouse

And any Tues/Thurs or Sat is good for me.

ETA: A cool coffee joint in a used/new bookstore would be cool too. If anyone knows of one. We had TidalWave in Alaska and I am missing a place like that here in VA.

Great! Putting out a few dates sounds like a good way to start.

Once I'm back in VA tomorrow evening (sniff, beach week is ending!), I'll look at my calendar to see which Saturdays would be open and will post those. For Tues/Thur, were you thinking of evening hours, or...? (I work during the day.)

mrsmig said:
I'm game. My schedule's pretty tight for the next month but I've got holes in it here and there.

P.S. Vagough, sorry about the loss of your kitty. That was a sweet blog you wrote about her.

Thanks very much, mrsmig.

articshark · May 30, 2013

vagough- on Tues/Thurs, I free days or evenings. I would prefer evenings cause those two are my writing days. lol And I will keep doing some internet searching to see if there are any coffeeshop/bookstore combos. There has to be, right? Or have we started seeing the slow decline in brick and mortar bookstores?

articshark · May 30, 2013

Ohhh, I found a list of coffeeshops. There is one in Leesburg that serves coffee AND sushi. OMG. And there is one in Arlington that is suppose to be somewhat literary.

http://www.northernvirginiamag.com/guides/coffee/

vagough · May 30, 2013

articshark said:
Ohhh, I found a list of coffeeshops. There is one in Leesburg that serves coffee AND sushi. OMG. And there is one in Arlington that is suppose to be somewhat literary.

http://www.northernvirginiamag.com/guides/coffee/

Oooh, Arlington or Alexandria would work for me. I used to live in both and know the neighborhoods well. Will check out the posting more tomorrow, once I'm back from the beach. Cheers!

Namatu · May 30, 2013

articshark said:
OMG. And there is one in Arlington that is suppose to be somewhat literary.

http://www.northernvirginiamag.com/guides/coffee/

Are you talking about Busboys and Poets? Lots of (free after 6 pm or so during the week and always on weekends) parking in the area and a pretty good menu.

A Saturday would be best for me, but if we meet at Busboys, I can probably make it during the week!

articshark · May 30, 2013

Namatu said:
Are you talking about Busboys and Poets? Lots of (free after 6 pm or so during the week and always on weekends) parking in the area and a pretty good menu.

A Saturday would be best for me, but if we meet at Busboys, I can probably make it during the week!

I am talking about Busboys and Poets.

I don't have a real preference for where as long as the when is good. I think Saturday seems to be the preferred day. Maybe during the week is a conflict with other things, like work.

mrsmig · May 31, 2013

Welcome, Namato and Wolfdreamer. :welcome:

I've been to Busboys & Poets in Shirlington. The food is decent - can't speak for its coffee as I'm a tea drinker. It tends to be busy on the weekends, particularly when there's a show running at Signature Theatre (right across the street). There are a couple other coffee places within two blocks - a Caribou and a Best Buns, although neither has much seating - as well as every kind of eating establishment one could want.

My free time in the coming month is a little on the spotty side, but I'm free on Tuesday, 6/6 and Thursday 6/11. Some Saturdays and Sundays I'm available after 6 PM.

Namatu · May 31, 2013

mrsmig said:
Welcome, Namatu and Wolfdreamer.

Thanks, mrsmig!

I've been to Busboys & Poets in Shirlington. The food is decent - can't speak for its coffee as I'm a tea drinker. It tends to be busy on the weekends, particularly when there's a show running at Signature Theatre (right across the street).

I can always get there ahead of everyone and warn them of a larger party coming. It's not much of a drive for me.

JSSchley · May 31, 2013

Washingtonian here! And I love me some Busboys...

Also if any of you lovely AW Virginians find yourself with a book being carried by B&N, I'm your gal. I just found out an AWer whose book I was already making jump over the B&N Simon and Schuster snafu is also local, and so I've gotten in even more stock and keep moving it around to better locations in the store with "Local author" signage, so...I like to work as much handselling magic for "my" people as possible. (Happy to say by PM which store I'm at, but I'd rather not put it in a post. But if you find yourself in a store and notice that somehow almost every AW book is faced out or staff-recced...that might be the one!)

Linda Adams · May 31, 2013

I'm also from Northern Virginia, fairly close to DC. My critique group would not forgive me if I didn't plug them: http://www.cvswriters.com/ They meet in Ballston.

vagough · Jun 1, 2013

Welcome, Wolfdreamer25, JSSchley, and Linda -- glad you found us!

I've seen Busboys before (we are theater-goers, so I know the area). Like mrsmig, I'm a tea drinker but as long as hot (or cold) tea is an option, I'm perfectly happy.

I can be available Saturday afternoons or evenings this month; we're aiming for an overnight to Charlottesville but that's flexible. And I could make Tuesday (6/6) or Thursday (6/11), since those days work for mrsmig. It's no problem at all for me to take a couple of hours off and come into Arlington.

What about others?

Now, off to make my second mug of tea, since I had a touch of insomnia this morning and have been awake since the disgustingly (for Saturday) early hour of 5:30. Cheers!

mrsmig · Jun 1, 2013

JSSchley, you sound like good people! I was on the opening staff of DC's first B&N (the one at Seven Corners) and worked there for about a year, mostly in the music department. I always look for the Staff Recs whenever I'm in a B&N.

Linda, thanks for the link to your group. Looks interesting!

articshark · Jun 1, 2013

Y'all pick the best time and date. Let's do Busboys. I am on it!!!! lol

vagough · Jun 1, 2013

articshark said:
Y'all pick the best time and date. Let's do Busboys. I am on it!!!! lol

Me, too. I think if we wait for the perfect time and perfect place, we'll be waiting a long time. Perhaps if we aim for something in June, then we can have another go at it later in the summer and be able to capture more people. And we could perhaps alternate locations -- something closer in one time, something further out the next, since the distances in Ffx are so big and the traffic so bad.

What do others think?

mrsmig and Namatu, you're closer to Busboys than the rest of us. What are your thoughts?

Cheers!

Any Virginians here?// Holiday get-together?? (cf. post 129)

Traveling down the Query Road...

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shoes are like crack

Traveling down the Query Road...

shoes are like crack

shoes are like crack

Traveling down the Query Road...

Lost in mental space.

shoes are like crack

Write. Write. Writey Write Write.

Lost in mental space.

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Write. Write. Writey Write Write.

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Traveling down the Query Road...