Posts by Vanya Erickson
What’s New in May
Hi All! I’m Back! I just returned from New York, where I was doing research for Driven, my historical novel based on my grandmother’s experiences as a Red Cross ambulance driver during WWI. My sister Margery was my travel buddy, and it was thrilling to experience this together – as we searched for evidence of…
Read MoreWhat’s Happening in April
Dear posse! I hope you’re all well! Have you heard of the Bay Area Book Festival? It’s held each spring in Berkeley CA, a fun-packed gathering of authors and readers. You’ll hear famous and just-discovered authors (like me!) That’s right… Other Cool Happenings: I’m thrilled to announce that I’ll be speaking on a fabulous panel…
Read MoreWhat’s Happening in February
Dear posse! I have always had a love affair with the spoken word – even harbored a secret wish to be a voice-over artist. I’ve spent decades dramatically reading aloud to children and interspersing sound effects as I taught. I can thank my mother and grandmother for that! But when it came time to record…
Read MoreVietnam Vet
I stepped out of Bookshop Santa Cruz clutching my new purchase – a used book about shell shock. I hugged it like a baby, excited to get home and do research for my historical novel. As I skirted a group of down-vested window shoppers, I saw a man huddled alone in the cold, holding up a cardboard sign: ‘Help a Vietnam vet?’ His face was hopeful, and his hands shook.
Read MoreWhat’s Happening in December
Dearest posse! Thank you all for your support in bringing Boot Language out into the world. From the launch party in August to last week’s successful radio tour and everything in between, thank you for your part in it. What an outstanding writer/reader community this is! Here we are at the end of December, and…
Read More50,000 Words to Go
In the wee hours of the morning on a bitterly damp day in a train car hidden in a lush forest north of Paris, WWI came to an end. It was agreed by Allied and German powers that on the eleventh hour of the eleventh day of the eleventh month, fighting would cease. Americans called it Armistice Day, the day impromptu parties erupted in city streets all around the world.
Read MoreWhat’s Happening in October
Hi posse! I love synchronicity, or as Carl Yung called it “meaningful coincidences.” A few days ago, I read an article by a well-known writing guru that warned authors about the “questionable” trend of including book club questions in the back of their books. She went on to say she never included them in hers,…
Read MoreWhat’s Happening in September
Hi posse! What a great launch party! I’ll never forget standing at the edge of the balcony listening to the seagulls while watching my “worlds” meet each other for the first time. I confess I was a bit nervous, but in no time they were laughing and chatting with new and old friends, teachers, writers,…
Read MoreWhat’s Happening in August
Hi posse! Just two weeks until launch! I hope you can join me in lovely Santa Cruz on August 24th for my big THANK YOU launch party for everything you have done to help Boot Language become a reality. Over the last six years there has been lots of hard work behind the scenes: mentors…
Read MoreYou Can Go Home Again
What is it about our childhood home that pulls at us? Why the urge to step inside one more time? This is what went through my mind as I drove down the highway on my way to work, and impulsively turned onto the road that would bring me to the neighborhood where I grew up. What was I looking for? Some remnant of the past? A clue to something that I missed?
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