The Wellstone Center in the Redwoods

A beautiful morning here at the end of Amigo Road, and a great conversation with writer Sean Madigan Hoen, here in residence this psat week - http://seanmadiganhoen.com - who mentioned he'd been binge-reading Madison Smartt Bell. This led to much discussion the writer and Madison the guy. And mention of this piece I wrote on Madison the musician. https://indyweek.com/news/anything-goes/

Steve's Latest Book, Inspired by the Death of Our Friend, Pedro Gomez of ESPN - https://mailchi.mp//nemesis-knight-author-talk-feb22-49367

Writers: Has it happened to you? Yesterday, for example, Steve had a pretty good writing day on a book with deadline looming, only to get the dreaded spinning colored beach ball! on the comptuer screen! Oh no! Computer restart required, two hours of work lost! What writers have had similar experiences? Tell us your stories. And next time that happens, keep in mind: It can always be worse. Take the case of John Steinbeck, for example. His dog ate half his manuscript! Via https://lithub.com: "My setter pup [Toby], left alone one night, made confetti of about half of my [manuscript]. Two months work to do over again. It sets me back. There was no other draft. I was pretty mad, but the poor little fellow may have been acting critically." The book? "Of Mice and Men"

Join Steve Today Talking "Now What?" With Dusty Baker, Christopher Buckley, Joan Walsh and Marcos Breton - https://mailchi.mp//nemesis-knight-author-talk-feb22-23258

Very sad day here at the end of Amigo Road - we lost Butterfingers last night (a predator), so this (yesterday) was the last time I ever milked her (just after Coco had a quick lesson). Like all goats, Butterfingers had her contrary moods (right, Josh), but she and I had been through a lot together and I'll miss our conversations. Now, back to the grave digging ...

We've updated the Pete the Poet page. I hope some of you who joined our Monday evening Bookshop Santa Cruz event will check out the page, and, if so moved, leave a comment about what in Pete's poems connects with you. "Pete’s poems worked best when he read them himself, the music of his pain coming alive with a kind of low key jazz beat, the exasperation underneath the words ebbing and flowing and sometimes Unknown-3exploding into a full-fledged rant, but above all a chord of hope or optimism sounding somewhere in the lines, but in the years after Pete’s death in 2017, we came to believe the power of the poems does come through, even without Pete here to read them aloud to us." http://www.wellstoneredwoods.org/i-wish-i-was-billy-collin/

Thanks to Chorel Centers, Casey Coonerty Protti, and Bookshop Santa Cruz for hosting a wonderful event last night honoring Pete the Poet, the late Pete McLaughlin. Thanks so much to all of you who helped get out the word -- and the more than 100 of you who took part. A very special event. Bookshop has copies in stock for anyone who wants to pick one up.

Tonight at 6 - Pete the Poet, Virtual Bookshop Santa Cruz Event - https://mailchi.mp//nemesis-knight-author-talk-feb22-23205

Fascinating Times story on phishing in publishing.