Hi Reader,

This morning I woke up eager to siteground

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A few months ago I relocated to my parents' property in Morgan Hill, California, between San Jose, the capital of Silicon Valley and Gilroy, the Garlic capital of the world.

Mom and Dad are just into their 90s and still healthy, mobile, and amazingly active though starting to need a little help. After the fire, they rebuilt the house, and it's fully accessible, with wide doorways, hallways, and bathroom showers, so they can age in place instead of moving to a facility.

I needed a separate residence, so we purchased a spacious 5th-wheel RV that’s almost the size of my former Santa Cruz apartment. RV life comes with its quirks—like managing gray and black water tanks, slideouts, electricity hookups and back-up propane—but I definitely get the appeal of this mobile lifestyle, even if the RV is sitting still. What do you know about RV life? I sure could use some tips!

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Life in Morgan Hill

Morgan Hill has changed a lot since my high school days. My Dad, an IBMer, transferred our family to California from North Carolina. I was 16 and I spent my two remaining high school years at Live Oak High. Back then, the town had one small grocery store, a couple of Mexican restaurants, the one-screen Granada Theater, Eric's DeliCafe, a Round Table pizza, and lots and lots of orchards and farms.

Morgan Hill was then known as the mushroom capital of the world. Getting to school required driving by the mushroom farm, which, now modernized, used to be a series of long, dilapidated, low-ceilinged buildings full of cow manure. Phew! Farther down the road toward Gilroy the air reeked of garlic. And everywhere, the orchards fragrantly flourished.

Since my time here the town has sprouted mega-mansions and small, crowded neighborhoods, and townhouses are being built along the railroad tracks. The farmer's market used to be held in a dusty lot but now it's as chichi as Los Gatos. Yet there are still swaths of land for farms and pastures, especially down the road toward San Martin, which is still rural except for a classy club and golf course nestled into the western hills.

Morgan Hill now boasts a mix of rural charm and modern indulgences—microbreweries, wineries, even a combo flower shop and champagne bar. Specialized Bicycle headquarters are here, too. I took a Specialized Rock Hopper to France and West Africa, purchased another one when I came home, and have ridden it for 30 years. I finally upgraded to an e-bike that zips me to the trails at Uvas Reservoir in 15 minutes. Paddleboarding at Coyote Reservoir has also been a serene joy.

I'm not quite ready to get back on a motorcycle after my ordeal in Baja. The KLR is still for sale, and I'm eyeing the new fully automatic models... Honda’s DCT bikes or maybe a maxi scooter. Stay tuned!

On Writing

My Own Work

I'm still writing my China stories and also working on other travel stories as I go through old journals and photos that resurfaced when I moved. There's some very fun stuff about Senegal, Albania, and Nice, that I had all but forgotten. I'm posting irregularly on Substack in Fragments & Frontiers.

Helping Other Writers

The Writing & Publishing Circle community I set up last year continues to gather steam with its free community and resources. I've loved teaching alongside memoirist and novelist Linda Joy Myers, too. Our new course, Bring Your Characters to Life dives into crafting voice, mannerisms, and character nuance.

Independent Publishing, Marketing, and Promotion

Finally, I’m opening another cohort of Your Publishing Compass, my yearlong program for indie authors. It includes craft classes, AI training, community, and coaching support to help you market and publish with confidence. Get on the waitlist if you're aiming to finally finish and publish your book. Got a friend who needs to finish and publish their book? Please let them know!

Books I Recommend

I'm deep into audiobooks and always appreciate a good narrator. Got recommendations? Hey, friend me on Goodreads so we can recommend books to each other. Here are all my reviews. I want to mention these... forgive me if I'm repeating myself. I just love these books.

• Favorite narration by far: Death of the Author by Nnedi Okorafor [my review on Goodreads]
• Neal Stephenson's Termination Shock a close second for narration.
• Tom Lake by Ann Patchett with Meryl Streep narrating [My Goodreads review]
• Demon Copperhead by Barbara Kingsolver [My Goodreads review]
• The Little Friend by Donna Tart [My Goodreads review]
• The Tenth of December by George Saunders [short stories]
• Alice Munroe's Runaway [short stories]
• Station Eleven by Emily St. John Mandel, which is also a stellar made-for-tv series.

These are books I've read and then read again at least once, whether in print, ebook, or audio. Are there books you've read twice, or over and over again? Tell me!

What's up with you?

Are you traveling? Writing? Settling into something new? Got tips about RV life? A book you want to recommend? Hit reply and let me know what you’re up to or what’s inspiring you lately. I’d love to hear from you!

Thanks for being part of the journey,
~ Carla