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SOUTHERN OREGON JOURNAL Southern Oregon Journal: A sandal-free day and a face-to-face writer convergence Comment By Peggy Dover for the Mail Tribune MailTribune.com By Peggy Dover for the Mail Tribune Posted Sep. 6, 2015 at 12:01 AM By Peggy Dover for the Mail Tribune Posted Sep. 6, 2015 at 12:01 AM » Social News One morning, I woke from a nightmare land of smoke and cauldron heat to blue skies and monarch butterflies. My room felt cool. Before I opened the door, I noticed the chill and clean smell of early autumn. That aroma reaches deep and flips on my favorite season like lamplight from a country house. I half expected to look down and find myself in oven mitts and an apron because fall flips the baking trigger too. An uncharacteristically cool September leaped into August like an avenger, and I’m not complaining, even if it is temporary. Today, I didn’t wear sandals. I didn’t wear sandals, a T-shirt or shorts. Instead, I embraced our faux fall with open, sweater-clad arms, orange it was, and long jeans. There were socks on my feet. Socks! This was a celebratory pair with oak leaves and perched owls. Even if the current climate is an unabashed flirt, I’ll take my chances and swallow the mood-lifter autumn is for me. It didn’t hurt that I’d planned to turn up the volume on Crosby, Stills and Nash and run up the road about an hour to Quines Creek under cloud cover and mid-60s, where a place calling itself Heaven on Earth in bold letters sits just inside the Douglas County line. On the way, I checked for signals of the real arrival. Leaf color was minimal, but I used my imagination, and it was tantalizing. I overtook a bright semi-load of pumpkins, admissible in any court as proof of corn mazes and pies to follow. I hoped to drive into a good shot of the wet stuff, but it remained to the north, taunting. All right, for now. Although I was hungry and ready to launch into a patty melt, my motive for going there had more to do with meeting my dear author friend, Ann Shorey. As it works out, Heaven on Earth, the restaurant, sits in the Azalea hills midway between our two domiciles. About once a year, we opt for a face-to-face instead of face-to-Facebook cardboardery. I know that’s not a word. Nothing compares with a three-dimensional human — moving, talking, eye-rolling and laughing. And there’s the greeting and parting hugs that say I value you, encourage you, and we’re in this crazy business together. Ann and I are Northwest women and introverted writers who share a love for the good dream quality of cloudy days, rainy afternoons and yearning after that elusive ingredient that births just the right words. It’s the ideal climate for this vineyard. After weeks of smoke and heat choking the creative flow, this getaway does feel like heaven on earth, a tasting anyway. We talked books and writing and changes in the publishing industry for two hours, which is never enough. Hoping it wasn’t tacky, I whipped out an impressive list of publishing houses and editors where my agent had sent my baby (novel). But if you can’t share joys with friends, what fun is there? And Ann is much farther along than I, having had several books published. The writing world has its lulls and waiting times. While we wait for the next direction, we write. Our ideas spilled over, and we divulged some but not too much of our current projects. We don’t want to let slip any spoilers, but telling stories is what we do. It’s hard to keep a lid on it once the aroma escapes. We left the scene, Ann turning north, I to the south, each of us primed with fresh encouragement and purpose. And Fiona’s (my Civic) thermometer never broke 70 degrees until we hit Sunny Valley in mid-afternoon, only the second of September. Peggy Dover is a freelance writer living in Eagle Point. Reach her at [email protected] and visit her Facebook page at Peggy Dover-writer. By Peggy Dover for the Mail Tribune MailTribune.com By Peggy Dover for the Mail Tribune Posted Sep. 6, 2015 at 12:01 AM » Comment or view comments Reader Reaction » STAY INFORMED Email NewsLetter Sign Up Today Sign up for our newsletter and have the top headlines from your community delivered right to your inbox. Southern Oregon Directory Featured Businesses Loading... 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