Yay Gwen Yay Yay Yay!

My dear writing pal (and every other kind of pal) Gwen has been accepted to the Banff Arts Centre for the studio program. For those of you down south you probably don't know what that means - to those of us writers and artists and musicians in Canada it is a fabulous thing. We all want to go but sometimes we pretend we don't care when we get rejected for the zillionth time. We mutter that they must be looking for 12 yr. old genius punkers because they sure ain't looking for white-haired wise ones like we are. But Gwen got in! She found out a few hours ago and I just found out and I can't stop grinning and chuckling and raising my fist in the air and giving some unknown universal muse the bump. This means that for five weeks she'll work with 24 other participants and a fabulous faculty to get her manuscript READY to fly. She'll eat drink and sleep writing up in the mountains - the Rockies - the real Rockies - and be treated like the total treasure she is. OMIGOD - she'll be insufferable when she gets back, I know - it'll be 'when I was at Banff this and when I was at Banff that' just like I would be!! I am so thrilled for her and I hope when I'm a grown up writer I get to go. It's like Hogwarts for artists of every sort! Good on ya my dear friend!