What Am I Doing? A Writer at Eighty — BREVITY’s Nonfiction Blog

By Abigail Thomas I’ve always been curious about why one chooses fiction for one story and nonfiction for another. For me it’s pretty simple—some stories need to be served straight up. That’s nonfiction. Others need more architecture, that’s fiction. It’s a decision best left to the gut. It has been a long time since I […]

What Am I Doing? A Writer at Eighty — BREVITY’s Nonfiction Blog

Just sharing this author’s post because she’s wise.

And because a change has got to come to my site. There is no longer anything I find worthy of sharing in the ongoing saga of who found Fenn’s treasure, or where, or what did the clues in the poem mean…

I’ve been toying with switching over to a literary magazine format for quite awhile. In fact, I only started The Fenn Diagrams as an exercise to learn how to run a blog/website, an author’s website, to be more specific. And now, nine years on, (really?) it’s time to pull the plug. I held on thinking there would actually be some closure, certainly within a year of Forrest Fenn’s death. It hasn’t come. Sadly.

So the annual renewal is about to come due. I don’t know how soon I’ll flip this or how (cold turkey or melding or ???) But, if anyone wants to follow along, I think that the first story I post will be one that I shared with Forrest and he shared with Dal (and possibly Douglas Preston.) Both veterans approved. It was a story about a vet and had already been published in an online lit mag.

After that, maybe I’ll post the short story that won first place in the Minneapolis Writers Workshop Conference. But who knows?

Busy times here.

I’ve got to count all the bees in the hive here in the 100 acre wood.

The only gold I ever found.

Too Many Barbaras

Pirates

So far, I hear,  23 people have claimed to be the treasure finder in communication with Forrest Fenn. One of them apparently has such strong feelings that the chest belongs to her that she filed a lawsuit.  Her name is Barbara (not Karen) and is from the Midwest.

Dive Bombers Daily Drover

Back in 2014, when I did some Q & A with Forrest for this blog, he said he’d take me to his San Lazaro pueblo, his archeological dig.  But, by the time I made my next trip to New Mexico, for a book signing event, it didn’t get arranged.

pueblo close up

[NOT San Lazaro]

I always wondered why.  [By then Cynthia and Jenny K (and Dal, of course) were the direct line of communication from Fenn to the searchers. No problem. Forrest always told me I was too far away.]

Book Signing at La Fonda

Through the gossip mill–yes, there are a lot of rumors out in the searcher community–I thought I might have learned the reason for the “Chill” of the Chase.

 

Swallowtail on Ironweed

Another Barbara.

Also from the Midwest.

Who may or may not have been kinda stalking Forrest.

 

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I sure hate to think that I missed out on the experience because of some other Barbara’s misbehavior.

They’re giving Karens, I mean, Barbaras, a bad name.

And Brians.  And Davids.  Click here.

rattlesnakes

Warning!

Peace.

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The Artist

Good Friday Remembrance

My great-grandmother’s grandfather was an artist. Not sure when he was born, but her mother was born in 1837 in Braunschweig.

Drawing of Christ copy

On the back of the drawing is a tempera (?) painting of the Wetterhorn alp from the glacier-filled valley at Grindelwald.

Wetterhorn

 

Have a blessed Easter.

Fennboree Five (?)

 

 

2019’s Fennboree

  • will be July 5-7th at Hyde (as in Hide?) Memorial State Park just north of Santa Fe.
  • Friday night campfire and hot dog roast at Site # 47.
  • Saturday pot luck at Shelter # 2.
  • More info here.

66,000 Links North of Santa Fe

66,000 Links North of Santa Fe

Last year’s camping was canceled due to the forest fires, but the Fennboree events were held in town. More on that here and here.

T-shirt

Good times.

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Good company.

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Good luck!

Nothing in the Rulebook joins judging panel for Adventure Writers Competition

Son of a son of a sailorWouldn’t it be beyond cool if one of the Fenn treasure hunters won this writing contest?

Oh, the tales they could tell.

nothing in the rulebook

vagabond-images-climate-change Adventure is out there as Nothing in the Rulebook joins forces with Adventure Writer’s competition. Photo credit: Mike Dodson/Vagabond Images

Creative collective Nothing in the Rulebook will thus year join the judging panel of the annual Adventure Writer’s writing competition, a contest widely known for being the only pure adventure writing competition available to writers today.

With a US$1,000 prize up for grabs, writers have until the 30 April 2019 to submit their work to the contest, before the founders of Nothing in the Rulebook will join the Adventure Writers judging panel to sift through entries and pick out a winner, who will be announced on 5 October at the Clive Cussler Collector’s Society convention.

Announcing the news, Nothing in the Rulebook’s Professor Wu said: “we’re delighted to be teaming up with the fabulous team behind the Adventure Writers competition and looking forward to seeking out some exciting…

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Santa Fe: Sharing Cowlazar’s Vlog # 102

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Road Trip Video  by Cowlazars, the guy behind the JDiggins benefit at Collected Works Bookstore. Some great shots of Forrest Fenn’s office museum/library…

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Mr. Fenn signing my TTOTC.

and inner sanctum, aka ‘the vault.’

Stairway for horse and rider

I love his amazing book collection.

Peace, all.

ornament

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Forrest Fenn Turns 88 Today

To the man who hid a treasure chest in the Rockies:

Happy Birthday, Forrest!

purple and red balloons

ΩΩ

It’s hard to believe that it’s been 5 years since a birthday wish for Forrest turned into an invitation to visit his place in Santa Fe. Fascinating man. Astounding collections. I treasure the memory.

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And there were bears…

So (our) Intrepid moved to Alaska last year. First day of my first visit, she puts us on a float plane to the island with the highest density population of bears.

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I was brave. Really. (The forest ranger and guide had their fingers on the bear spray.)

The mama bear had kicked her 2-year-olds out earlier this summer.

Another day, another trip.

glacier

I think I’ll be back.

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