Fun Retreats, Private Workshops and Exciting News!
Dears, I’m taking a deep breath here. I’ve never done a newsletter before but the time seems ripe. I have some fun and exciting things ahead and thought that this would be a nice way to share. I know you are all busy and promise not to send these out more than once or twice a year.
Retreats:
First, let me tempt you with the retreats. Do you want to jump start a story you’ve been longing to tell? Or just looking for a place to start? These retreats will be the places where you can pause from everyday life, explore your own ideas and maybe even start to realize one of your dreams. With this in mind, I’ve teamed up with the wonderful folks at Indagare Travel to bring you two fantastic writerly getaways.
This past February, I led a group to the glorious Chableresort in the Yucatan peninsula of Mexico. It was so successful that we are going to do a repeat this coming fall – October 3-7. Here you can be in nature, relax at the spa, eat amazing food, and find the space to write and commune with like-minded people who will surely become friends.
“I have known Mary Morris for years, both as a mentor and friend. She is a gifted writer and a wonderful teacher. She is insightful, focused and fun. Her goal always seems to be to help the student find the story they want or need to tell. I would take a workshop with her again in a heartbeat.”
Chiwoniso Kaitano, Executive Director, MacDowell
And then, from April 14-20, 2024, I will be leading a literary tour/retreat to Paris and then to an incredible estate, the Domaine des Etangs, for a few days to write and workshop. For the first three days, you will have to opportunity to explore in one of the most beautiful cities in the world. Indagare has teamed me up with Francophile Amy Kupec Larue, who is a specialist in history, art and gardens. Amy will curate and guideus on some wonderful walking tours and museum visits. And, of course, there will be meals. And then we will travel by train down to the estate where you can process all that you have seen. This is going to be an absolutely fabulous trip.
For more information, please visit - www.indagare.com
The link on the Indagare Insider Journeys page should be up soon!
Private Workshops and Mentoring
For the past couple of years, I’ve been leading some private workshops both in fiction and memoir and I love doing these generative workshops. Two are more or less ongoing but I have some spaces to fill if you are interested. And I plan to launch a third that will probably be mixed genre in the year ahead.
If you are interested in any of these workshops and/or working with me individually, please DM me or email me at mmorris348@yahoo.com and we will talk about terms and how to set this up, etc.
New Novel
And, saving the best for last, my new novel, THE RED HOUSE, will be published in September 2024 (before we have to start listening to debates, worrying about primaries and whatever insanity is to come) by Knopf Doubleday. The story in a nutshell: Thirty years ago Laura’s mother went missing. Suddenly out of nowhere, it seems Laura received a phone call from the detective who has stayed on her mother’s cold case for decades, Laura decides to go missing herself. She takes leave of her rocky marriage, a pointless affair, and her day job as a real estate stager and heads to Italy where her mother was born. Laura hopes to find if not her mother, then some trace or remnant, some clue as to why she disappeared. “Her story if you will.” In the end Laura will find much more than she ever imagined and it will transform her forever. Set in southern Italy, THE RED HOUSE is a contemporary novel with deep historic roots. As my very own editor said, think Elena Ferrante meets true crime.
Northern Lights
And Something Fun!
On August 3, 2023, I am going to have three of my watercolors in a show in Chelsea. The exhibit is called Blue Moon and it’s all little pieces – 12X12. This is the first time I’ve shown my work so I’m pretty excited and weirdly nervous. It’s at Blue Mountain Gallery, 547 W. 27th St., NYC, 6-8 pm. Hope to see some of you there!
On the road . . .
Dates:
- August 3rd, 2023 Blue Moon Exhibit
- October 3-7th, 2023, Chable Retreat
- April 14-20th, 2024, Paris Retreat
- September 2024, release of The Red House
So lots going on. I’ll keep you posted though not too often (I promise).
Stay cool, be safe, enjoy your summer.
Mary