"I do not like to write—I like to have written."—Gloria Steinem

Also an avid musician and gardener, Sara recorded two CDs of original songs, Love Song To Myself and Just for the Song, as well as a book of poetry, Garden Grown, inspired by the mistakes she has made in her garden. She writes a regular gardening column, The Imperfect Gardener, for an Oakland neighborhood newspaper. Her essays and poetry have appeared in Peregrine, Cottage Gardener, East Bay Express, Oxygen, Green Prints Magazine, Restless Me Travel Magazine, Legal Secretary, Inc. and Lawdragon. She is currently at work on a collection of essays inspired by her relationship with gardening. Visit her at www.adinasara.com.

When did you start writing?

I always wrote—songs, poems, short essays—from the time I was a young girl. I kept them hidden in drawers so no one would see them. Once in a while I'd pull something out and read it aloud.

Why did you choose your particular genre?

I think the genre chose me. I am a musician and my first serious writing was in the form of songs. Songwriting requires very short, tight use of language, and rhythm is as important as meaning. I enjoy the sounds that words make and when I write prose, I am very aware of the cadence of the words. I prefer writing short pieces like essays and poetry. If it takes me more than three pages to make a point, I feel like I've gone on too long.

What inspired you to choose your subject matter?

I started working in law offices in 1978. I kept scraps of writing in my desk, to help keep me sane. The work was often demeaning, demoralizing and frustrating, and writing about it helped make the experience more tolerable, even gave it meaning. At a certain point, I realized I had collected a volume of essays and poems centered around the dramas of office life. A friend suggested I look at what I had collected over the years, and that's how I discovered I had already written a book's worth.

How difficult / easy has your experience been as a published author?

It has been neither difficult nor easy – I am moving slowly and steadily at a pace that feels right to me. I don't expect overnight success and am thrilled with the positive responses I have received from readers so far. The value of my book is its ability to inspire and support people who feel stuck in unsatisfying careers. There are a lot of talented people out there doing work they have to do. I wrote this book for them as much as for myself. As long as the book continues to find those readers, I'm in no hurry.

What advice would you give other aspiring authors?

Write what you know first. Let people you trust read it. Allow yourself to consider their questions and criticisms without losing sight of your own vision. Do not compromise with yourself. Write because it is what you have to do, not for recognition and certainly not for reward but because you have something you want to say and no one but you can say it.

Are you a WNBA-SF member and published author? Would you like to share your story with WNBA-SF? Contact newsletter editor Patricia Lynn Henley (wnbaeditor@vom.com) about the Member Profile section of BookWorm.

Holiday Charm
By Mary E. Knippel

On behalf of WNBA-SF, I would like to thank Elizabeth Pomada and Michael Larsen, our gracious hostess and host, for the wonderful Holiday bash on Dec. 13. They welcomed members to their home filled with holiday decorations, tasty treats and high spirits. We each brought a book to exchange at the party and I suggested it be something we loved and share why we chose that particular book.

We all know reading books changes lives (so does writing them!) and my offering, Simple Abundance by Sarah Ban Breathnach, has changed mine. It was originally published in 1995 and is enjoying a 10th anniversary printing. Affectionately known as, "the pink book," it is a book of 366 essays that encourages women to embrace the beauty of everyday life.

Everyone who attended this wonderful party had a chance to catch up with current members, get reacquainted with esteemed members (five past presidents were in attendance), and learn about fresh faces who have recently joined WNBA-SF.

What a wonderful way to end the WNBA-SF year.

The story "The Plaid Dress" by WNBA-SF member Pamela Reitman was just published in the 2006 issue of The Griffin. Pamela's story is about an Upper East Side matron with Alzheimer's who regrets the many years of estrangement from her now middle-aged daughter (an artist and a lesbian) and decides, despite her faltering mind, to risk a trip to the Lower East Side in order to make amends. The story is a stand-alone excerpt from Pamela's novel (just completed) in which a woman loses her mind but finds her soul. The story is available online at www.gmc.edu/i_services/pubs/thegriffin.html.

WNBA-SF Past President (and current national WNBA Vice President) Joan Gelfand will be the featured reader at 6pm on Feb. 5 at the "All Poets Welcome" series at the Gallery Cafe, 1200 Mason St., San Francisco. Joan will be reading from Seeking Center, recently published by Two Bridges Press, and from Jubilee, a work in progress. An "open mic" session will follow.

Details: This is one of a series of master classes hosted by Ellen Sussman. How do you develop interesting characters, suggest a plot and convey meaning in 750 words or less? Workshop participants will read and write flash fiction, an increasingly popular narrative form that exists somewhere between the traditional short story and the prose poem. Expect to leave the class with at least two completed flash fictions and a list of journals that publish short-short stories. Michelle Richmond is the author of the award-winning story collection The Girl in the Fall-Away Dress, and two novels, Dream of the Blue Room and The Year of Fog (forthcoming). Her stories and essays have appeared in a number of publications. She publishes the online literary journal Fiction Attic, which sponsors the annual Flash in the Attic contest. She teaches in the MFA Program in Creative Writing at California College of the Arts.

Winter Fiction Workshop by Ellen Sussman
When: Feb 8-Apr 12, 6:30-9:30pm, Thursday evenings
Where: WNBA-SF member Ellen Sussman's home in Los Altos Hills
Cost: $500 for 10 classes
Registration: ellensussman@gmail.com

Details: This class will be a mix of critiques of student work, discussion of craft and in-class exercises.

San Francisco Writers Conference
When: Feb 16-18
Where: Mark Hopkins Hotel, San Francisco
Cost: $595
Registration: www.sfwriters.org

This not-to-be-missed annual event brings literary agents, publishers and editors from the West Coast and New York to the historic Mark Hopkins Hotel over President's Day Weekend. The weekend will include more than 40 workshops. Among this year's keynote speakers will be Po Bronson, Why Do I Love These People?, Debbie Macomber, Susannah's Garden and Firoozeh Dumas, Funny in Farsi. Indulge in writing workshops taught by best-selling authors. Meet editors and agents looking for new talent. Take time to network with other writers. Discover cutting edge information on publishing. This is a great place to get serous about your writing career. WNBA-SF members Martha Alderson, Elisa Southard and Teresa LeYung Ryan are scheduled to present at this conference on Feb 16 and many chapter members will be attending.

A Day of Sex and Autobiography
When: Saturday, Feb 17
Two Sessions: 9am-noon, The Joy of Learning to Write Sex Scenes
1-4pm, Writing Fiction From Your Own Live: Truth, Lies, Geography and the Memoir Matter
Where: Ellen Sussman's home in Los Altos Hills
Instructor: Elizabeth Benedict
Cost: $60 per workshop, bring a bag lunch if attending both
Registration: ellensussman@gmail.com (maximum 12 students)

Details: This is one of a series of master classes hosted by Ellen Sussman. Join best-selling novelist and seasoned writing teacher Elizabeth Benedict, author of Almost, The Practice of Deceit, and The Joy of Writing Sex: A Guide for Fiction Writers, for two three-hour workshops on subjects that cut to the core of much contemporary fiction and memoir writing. Come with an open mind, a list of quandaries and questions you want to explore, and a willingness to share them with fellow writers.

Writers Weekend at Asilomar
When: Mar 2-4
Where: Asilomar resort in Monterey
Instructors: WNBA-SF member Ellen Sussman and Tom Parker
Cost: $525 for a shared room, $645 for a single room
Maximum: 24 students
Registration: $100 non-refundable deposit, $250 more due by Feb. 1 and the balance on arrival. Make checks payable to Tom Parker; mail to Helen Caswell, 3089 N. Tracy Blvd. #402, Tracy, CA 95376. Include your e-mail address (essential), request for single or double, and phone number where you can be reached. For more info: contact ellensussman@gmail.com or helencaswell@aol.com.

Details: Develop a sense of community and share writerly concerns through a weekend of workshops, lectures, readings, walks on the beach and writing. Everyone gets a chance to work with Tom Parker and with Ellen Sussman, and have their work critiqued by one of the two. There will be workshops to read and discuss student work as well as evening presentations to explore skills and techniques. On Sunday agent Randi Murray, of the Randi Murray Agency, will join participants for a discussion about what to do when you're ready to find an agent.

WOW! Women on Writing
When: Mar 3
Where: Skyline College, San Bruno
Cost: $60 until Jan. 26; $85 until Feb. 23; $100/door, Students $25 thru Feb 23
Registration & more information: www.smccd.net/accounts/skywow

WOW! 2007 is the fifth annual conference celebrating International Women's Day. This year's keynote speaker will be Ayelet Waldman, author of Love & Other Impossible Pursuits, Daughter's Keeper and The Mommy-Track Mysteries.

Among the many workshops and panel discussions will be "Transforming Grief Into Potent Writing by WNBA-SF members Teresa LeYung Ryan (Love Made of Heart), and Lynn Scott (A Joyful Encounter: My Mother, My Alzheimer Clients and Me).

Conference participants come from the nine Bay Area counties and beyond, bringing together a remarkable range of ages from 11 to 90-something. Skyline College is a center for the intellectual nurturance of women of all ages, extending far beyond the numbers who regularly enroll in courses. The conference brings together faculty, staff, students and community members with culturally diverse writers and artists who introduce new ideas and pedagogies associated with women's studies curriculum in colleges and universities.

Jack London Writers Conference
Sponsored by San Francisco Peninsula Branch of California Writer's Club
When: Mar 24
Where: Crown Plaza Hotel, Foster City
Cost: $150 ($125 CWC members), $95 full time students
Registration & more information: www.sfpeninsulawriters.com

Spend one incredible day with successful authors and teachers, including WNBA-SF's Ellen Sussman. Among the 16 workshops will be: Finding Your Writer's Voice, First Draft/Second Draft, Creating Blockbuster Plots (presented by WNBA-SF's Martha Alderson) Romancing the Page, Moving the Plot Through Dialogue, Writing for Children, Creating Characters that Leap off the Page and more.