Drifting through the Desert
Spike, Flower, and Sandy walk into a bar…..
Welcome in, as they say in the crystal shops of Sedona,
The “why” of this trip is a doozy. I met a writer in Croatia whose book idea enticed me and I offered to read it when she was ready. Few months later, she emails me to ask if I’m serious. I love books set in or after apocalypses (and hers holds multitudes) so I agree. She offers her guest room in Phoenix with the same free generosity that I offered my editing services. I take her up on her offer with the same eager joy - so a week ago, I found myself escaping a snowstorm, flying turbulent skies, and landing in a flat, strange place I hadn’t been since the early 2000s when I went to Scottsdale for an elaborate country-club wedding.
On that trip, I fit in a few days at the Grand Canyon and a weekend in Sedona.
Of everything I saw the first time around, Sedona was the place I longed to see again.
Here I was in Phoenix, in an Uber going to an address I had just been texted, to see friends that I had met only once after the week we spent writing together—this was the life-loving couple in Vienna who invited me to join them on a tour of Schönbrunn Palace in a horse-drawn carriage. Staring out at the mountains, I recalled with delight/shock/excitement that my filmmaker nephew (his company Fusis does mountain climbing footage) lives somewhere in Arizona. I texted him and turns out he lives in Flagstaff. So we set up a meeting in Sedona—kinda halfway-ish.
Remember Sedona?






This week included: swimming in mineral waters, coffee at red rocks, magic crystals, luxury spa massage, meeting a favorite grad school friend, wine by the firepit, mahi on a mountaintop, Taliesen West, ribs by the fire, hours and hours of literary/book discussions, salmon by a poolside fireplace, drinks on a rustic porch, a mariachi band, a cactus-rich botanical garden, lunch at the Biltmore Hotel, an enormous wagyu steak, and lots and lots of delicious reunions.
What I hadn’t expected was that my hosts here in Phoenix are both leadership and/or business development experts so that I am immersed in a weeklong leadership summit that is literally often on a summit. Whether on a mesa or table top, I am doing value decks, visioning, and strategic planning sessions - it is uncannily like a one-person executive training seminar. It requires copious amounts of caffeine.
I plan to emerge from my Southwest vacation with a renewed sense of self. Are you ready? I am nervous, but I think I’m ready.
Writing
I spent all week editing my host's novel. It is fantastic and the second it gets an agent I will not stop talking about it. I may not stop talking about it even before then. I can’t wait for Apple TV to turn it into a series. No joke, it is easily that good. Better.
Touchdown Sunday night - back to single digit temperatures and piles of unread books.







How great! We just got back from Tucson- that desert sky in winter is magical- night & day-
Wagyu steak! Cooked I hope.