Splendid Isolation and a donation!

In a couple of weeks I am leaving for a month's writing retreat in California. As there are over 100 applicants for each place I was excited to be chosen as the residency is really highly rated, in beautiful surroundings and is awarded at no cost to the writer (how fantastic is that!). There is even a gourmet chef to cook for you!

This morning I received a letter from a charitable trust for playwrights and they are giving me a very generous donation - enough to pay all my travel costs and cover any lost income while I'm away. This will make a big difference to me and I am so grateful for their help.

I have also been commissioned to write an article about my time there for the Writer's Guild magazine here in the UK (Writer UK).

I'm going to visit San Francisco afterwards so will be away from my husband and home for almost six weeks which will be a bit weird but I love to travel and am looking forward to the experience and meeting the other artists. I'm going to try and write the first draft of a new play when I'm there and finish a screenplay and try REALLY hard not to treat it as a free holiday.

I'm just feeling lucky today which is a rare occurrence so I thought I would share.

Thanks for your good wishes. I was so pleased when I got the offer of funding today, one less thing to worry about. I am kind of curious to see what impact self imposed exile for a month will have on my writing and being in the countryside. You know, all that stuff about mother nature and isolation being inspiring for writers. I am hoping it doesn't turn me even more work shy than usual.

I think the idea is that you go hiking in the hundreds of acres surrounding the ranch but I am scared of the wildlife. Scariest thing I have ever encountered is a slow moving badger but I read one writer's account of being there and being stalked by a mountain lion!!!!!!!! What else do they have lurking about out there? Arming myself with various kitchen implements before a hike is a surefire way to mark myself out as the residency oddball but rather that then being a wildlife ready meal.