Patty Mayeux Blog

I’ve just returned from a glorious writers’ retreat in Carmel-by-the-Sea. The days were infused with author talks, book launches, writing time, sharing time and celebrations big and small. I was surrounded with fellow travelers along the same writing path, many of them miles ahead of me. How did I get so lucky? Was I crashing the party? Were they being nice to let me tag along? Would they realize I had no backstage pass? Such doubts plague writers, probably all creatives. I had to remind myself I did belong there. It all started with one domino. I signed up for the Kauai Writers’ Retreat in 2020 but didn’t actually go in person until 2022 (you can imagine why). That first domino bumped into another one, tipping over as I met writers and then another domino tipped when I learned about writing camps and retreats and online cafés. Domino after domino continue to topple as I make stronger commitments to my own journey; writing, revising and writing some more, sending off stories and queries, even gathering rejections. Each day, every topple is a step toward deep and lasting connections with others who share my journey. All because of one domino.