This and that.

I haven't left the house today, nor have I changed out of my pyjamas. I'm sick. Sickety sick sick. The flu that we've all been playing with for weeks (can we pass the same flu around and back and forth?) got me.

This is made much more comfortable by the fact that we found ourselves a little place for the time that we're here in Pai, Thailand. (About a month and a half.) I was shocked to find it so quickly, on our second day here. A little short-term rental, with a big living space and two bedrooms, and a tiny kitchen. You can't really call it a kitchen- it has a single camp stove burner and a sink, but it'll work.

I have lots to tell and show, but for today, I wanted to let you know about Linda's review of The Eve Tree. Linda is someone I wish I was able to spend more time with. We got to know each other last summer when Chinua and I were in Santa Cruz for three months. She's a creative, incredible person.

Has it been a year? Time goes so quickly. Anyways, Linda's review is here.

The Eve Tree is a fabulous book, but I don't want to give anything away. Finding out along the way is so amazing. I will tell you this, though, Rachel has a way of writing that makes me feel like I know the characters. I can smell the fire and feel the anxiety and keep reading past bed time to find out what is going to happen next. There are so many emotions in this story ranging from deep, committed love, fear, grief, and anger. It's quite artful the way it all comes together.

Thanks, Linda.

Also, speaking of The Eve Tree, here's something that connects in a roundabout way. The setting of my book had a very real inspiration, as the book loosely based on a real fire in Humboldt County. The friends of mine who told me the story about the fire on their land blog at The Ranch on Salmon Creek. They were early readers and had many ideas that took shape over the years I was working on it.

Beyond book stuff, they are some of my best friends, some of the most wonderful people I know. And maybe some of you remember Renee, another of my best friends... my dear Renee who danced on the beach and lights up life for everyone around her?

She recently started a new blog and bought a new camera, and she recently visited the ranch, two fortunate things for us, because she took a set of photos during her visit that made my heart go "ping!" when I saw them. Besides the fact that I wish I could have joined in the visit, and the fact that the photos express so much of what I feel about the ranch and Tj and Mark, I can't wait to see more of Renee's photos. She's a talented girl, in so many ways. It's awesome to see one more talent unfolding.