How could you not want this? I want this. Two nights at Sheep Mountain Lodge, for cheap! I would bring skis, rum, and a bunch of books: maybe Cloud Atlas, which I’ve been meaning to start, or The Women, or maybe Cold Mountain, which nearly everyone has read except me. Cold Mountain for Sheep Mountain. I like that.
Only three more days until you won’t hear about our fantastic online auction again, but today I have to give you a personal tour.
Item one: the lodge stay. I’ve written often at this blog about my intense desire to hide away somewhere and read. It’s my #1 fantasy, well above the beach resort holiday. (Beaches require shaving. Sheep Mountain does not.) So, yes, I did bid on it. I told myself I’d stop at $100. Just minutes ago, I just went a little above that. (Oops.) But my goodness, it’s a 2-night lodge stay! But now I’m done. I promise. (I have no advantage over anyone else bidding for these items, so I hope it won’t seem less than kosher. And anyway, I’m really done now. Waaah!)
If I had the means to bid for and get them all, I would, and here’s what I would do with them:
The David Marusek pet cameo. I would give this to my mother, now living in Beijing, who would be charmed to discover her dog ‘Buster’ appear in a science fiction novel or story by one of Alaska’s most successful authors. Easier than trying to mail a book or sweater to Beijing, that’s for sure.
The social media consult with internet guru Aliza Sherman. Tough call: keep it for myself, or give to a friend with a new book coming out soon. Fine, I’ll pretend to be more generous than I am and say I would give it to a friend.
The research consult with librarian extraordinaire Michael Catoggio. I’ve had a goldrush novel in the back of my head for a while now. I’d ask him to help with some historical questions to give the idea a chance to grow.
The New York editor’s partial manuscript critique. Easy. This would be for a friend who is celebrating Chanukah as we speak, who is writing a marvelous memoir and wouldn’t mind an opinion besides mine. (I think her manuscript is marvelous.)
The book club talk with Hope Edelman. For my own book club, without a doubt. It would be fun to add a new twist with help from an author phone/skype visit. I’ve already heard Hope speak and I know she is a dynamic person, and the subject of Hope’s books — mother-daughter relations — is a universal.
The five-book collection by Peggy Shumaker. Of course I’d like it for my own library, but I think I’d enjoy even more donating this to my kids’ high school library. Wouldn’t that be a great thing to start: donation of poetry by notable AK writers to Alaska schools?
Thanks for letting me fantasize. To check out the latest bids through Sunday, go to http://stores.ebay.com/49alaskawritingcenter.