California Dreamin’ on a Late Spring Day

By Susan May 19, 20224 Comments

Soon, I will actually write.Playa Much to say.
For now, my L.A. visit so far.
I have been checking out old beach haunts.
Today, lunch with an old, old friend in Long Beach, maybe the afternoon on Huntington Beach.

Last updated on May 19, 2022

Susan

In 2006, researching for my last literature paper at Oxford, I stumbled onto the late 17th-century court of Queen Mary of Modena, consort to James II. I was intrigued because she had so many female writers in her court—rare for the 17th century. Before heading back to the states, I met with my professor, Peter McCullough, to discuss a book idea stemming from that research. Peter had stunned me with his compliment of my paper—“One of the most beautiful Bread Loaf papers I’ve read . . . The work of an artist by an artist.” He was encouraging about my book idea and later agreed to be one of my Beta readers. Rain Dodging follows my quest for a sense of Mary’s spaces, to breathe the same air, to imagine their lives, visiting palaces and manor houses in England and Scotland and exploring their sublime back roads. Rain Dodging is a kaleidoscope of memoir and mystery, a collage of images and events. As I travel through Britain, I take you on a journey through my life and into a 17th-century royal court. You'll watch the connections unfold, from tales of a troubled childhood to wild days of college and young adulthood, the music scenes in Los Angeles & Nashville, and to my growth as mother, teacher, writer, lover, and solo traveler.

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4 Comments

Antoinette Truglio Martin

May 19, 2022, 5:36 pm

I too find my ground at the shore or in the water. Happy trails.
- Susan
  
  May 19, 2022, 5:54 pm
  
  thanks!!!
Eddie

May 20, 2022, 12:38 pm

I’ve been listening on Scribd to Frank McCort’s books lately, two of which are memoirs. He taught English and was published after a 30 year public school teaching career. He grew up dirt poor, Irish poor. His literary breakthrough came late in life. Frank found his “young Frankie” voice, inspiring him to scribble what became Pulitzer Prize-winning Angela’s Ashes after a distinguished career teaching English in NYC.
I feel you’re on a journey of rekindling identity🙏😂😎
- Susan
  
  May 20, 2022, 2:38 pm
  
  I listened to Angela’s Ashes years ago. I still remember the narrator’s lilting Irish brogue. I have seen such beauty but also incredible poverty and despair as we traveled the backroads. I am curious to reflect when I return home, on how this has moved me foreward. Thanks, Eddie. See you next month!

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