Saying Goodbye to Tybee Island (and each other)

gang at dinnerWhat an incredible week. It was a long 6 hour drive for those of us traveling from the Raleigh area, but soooo worth it. We stayed at Mary Kay Andrews adorable Breeze Inn. She usually makes that long drive up to  our neck of the woods, so it was time for us to go to her. There must be something in the air at Tybee that made us work like crazy. I bottled some of whatever it is and brought it home with me to keep me going.

Here we are at dinner last night. That’s Alex Sokoloff, Sarah Shaber, me, Mary Kay and Margaret Maron.  

One thing we realized is that we need a new name for ourselves. We used to call ourselves The Scribblers, but don’t like how “light” that sounds. We also call ourselves the Weymouth Seven because we often meet at the Weymouth Center for the Arts for our retreats. . . but sometimes we don’t, so we need a name that doesn’t lock us in to one locale. We’re open to suggestions!

19 Comments

  1. brenda on March 7, 2010 at 3:15 pm

    I have not been able to discover if S. Shaber has a new Shaw mystery out. I hope she was working on that!!!! You were all with good company-all five of you…as to a name…I have no clue…One of your posts “And then there were five” sounds intriguing but that sounds like the Agatha Christie mystery…

  2. brenda on March 7, 2010 at 3:20 pm

    I also like Maron’s D. Knott series (you can tell I like mystery series…) I have enjoyed M. K. Andrews also…I think Alex. S. writes mysteries…I like some of them-do not like books with ghosts, etc…but no one could forget THE HARROWING…whew…

  3. Diane Chamberlain on March 7, 2010 at 11:28 pm

    I’m hoping the ladies will stop by and tell you what they’re all working on. Lots of good projects coming up!

  4. Mary Kay Andrews on March 8, 2010 at 11:28 am

    My work in progress has a working title called SUMMER RENTAL. Scheduled for publication summer 2011, it’s the story of three old friends spending the month of August in a summer rental at Nag’s Head. Great energy at our writer’s retreat will hopefully translate to great books for all five of us!

  5. Sarah Shaber on March 8, 2010 at 11:47 am

    Professor Shaw is on sabbatical! My agent is shopping a historical suspense novel set in Washington DC during WWII.
    I’m working on a “drawer project” now–a project I’d put aside, but now I think it might be marketable.

  6. Alexandra Sokoloff on March 8, 2010 at 1:47 pm

    Brenda’s right, I write mysteries with ghosts or other – possibly! – supernatural elements.

    THE UNSEEN, the book I set at our regular and haunted retreat mansion, the Weymouth Center in Southern Pines, comes out in paperback in May, and my newest one which all the retreaters helped me with is BOOK OF SHADOWS, a thriller in which a Boston homicide detective has to team up with a beautiful and enigmatic witch from Salem, to solve what looks like a Satanic murder. That’s out in June. Up next – well, let me see how much work I get done this week! 😉

    I miss everyone already.

    – Alex

  7. Diane Chamberlain on March 8, 2010 at 2:15 pm

    It’s so much fun to work on our books together. When we report in each day of a retreat, we can see the stories growing and the excitement mounting.

  8. Diane Chamberlain on March 8, 2010 at 2:23 pm

    I asked my Facebook friends for name suggestions for the group. The ones rising to the top: Prose Buds; The Fiction Faction; The Write Sisters.

  9. Margo on March 8, 2010 at 2:52 pm

    I love this group!…you are all such amazing writers and friends…I love that you share brainstorming and other writing skills and help with each others pros and cons of the novel in progress…Mary Kay, Alexandra and Sarah, thank you for sharing your WIP’s on Diane’s site…I look forward to seeing these books in print in the near future.
    As to re-naming your group…I’m going to think on it for a few days…

  10. Margaret Maron on March 8, 2010 at 4:26 pm

    What a fantastic week! Got so much done. Figured out a lot of missing plot elements for the Deborah Knott book that comes out August 2011. (No title yet.) Began work on a Book Club kit for CHRISTMAS MOURNING that comes out in November of this year.

  11. Margo on March 8, 2010 at 4:47 pm

    I’ll watch for your books too Margaret! (-O:

  12. brenda on March 8, 2010 at 7:08 pm

    Wow-I can’t wait until 2011 for Knott book…the others sound fantastic also…great great…as to a name-I think The Write Sisters sounds good…Fiction FAction sounds like a math group…Prose Buds-little kids…Mary Kay-come on-2011…Nag’s Head-best friends…okay I like that. Sarah-I love Shaw, but I also enjoy (much) historical fiction. Alex-that book will be intriguing-I am getting ready to teach THE CRUCIBLE…I might have to read yours with the lights on…It is amazing that you three have shared with us. I hope you will remind us on this site when your books are due–I will buy them…Diane-your WIP-has the name changed or is it still the same? Can’t wait for these books.

  13. Margo on March 8, 2010 at 10:48 pm

    Brenda…I like THE WRITE SISTERS…sounds perfect!…I agree with Brenda, I hope all of you will remind us on Diane’s website when your books are released…I’ll probably buy all of them! (-O:

  14. Ann on March 9, 2010 at 8:48 am

    This blog is fantastic – where else could I find so much good news from some of my favorite writers??? Looking forward to each of the books mentioned today. Thanks!

  15. brenda on March 9, 2010 at 6:30 pm

    Margo. I agree..The Write Sisters…so great…also-can you believe we get to read these books???Finally, some new releases. In the meantime, Diane, isn’t it less than three months for your new one?

  16. Diane Chamberlain on March 9, 2010 at 9:19 pm

    Yes, Brenda, The Lies We Told will be out the end of May, but it makes me nervous to think about it because I have so much to do before then (finish this book and write the proposal for the next). I want the days to drag on sloooowly.

  17. Margo on March 10, 2010 at 9:10 am

    Diane, I’m not going to think of a name for your group because I LOVE Brenda’s suggestion…THE WRITE SISTERS…absolutely perfect in my opinion!!
    I can hardly wait for THE LIES WE TOLD…Diane, I know you want time to slow down but your fans are soooooooo anxious for this book…I hope it’s out for Memorial Day Weekend!!

  18. brenda on March 10, 2010 at 5:53 pm

    The Write Sisters came from Diane’s My Space or wherever…but I do like it the best. Diane-let’s get this straight: LIES WE TOLD comes out soon.. Midwife’s Confession-the one you are finishing…and then a proposal for ANOTHER BOOK on the way…good grief. I totally feel like I have missed a lot with Midwife…did we discuss names, etc. etc. ?????? Have you blogged about this novel more than I think?

  19. Diane Chamberlain on March 10, 2010 at 10:25 pm

    Here’s the list:
    SUMMER’S CHILD reissue March 30
    CEE CEE WILKES in massmarket paperback the end of April
    THE LIES WE TOLD the end of May
    CYPRESS POINT, which will now be titled THE SHADOW WIFE, reissued November
    KEEPER OF THE LIGHT reissued early 2011
    THE MIDWIFE’S CONFESSION May 2011
    KISS RIVER reissued late 2011

    Yikes! And I do have some names to work out in TMC, so I’ll post about it soon. Thanks for the nudge!

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