Happy Summer to all!
Here in the northern hemisphere we are flush with the sun’s most abundant light today. I’m not generally an early riser, but with first light seeping into Maine’s sky not long after 4am, I find the call of day tantalizing, even it’s only to walk barefoot out the door to pick up the morning paper.
IN TODAY’S NEWSLETTER:
· I have lots to celebrate, both in my writing life and my personal life. See news below.
· Opportunities to attend The Field House book presentations with slides and audio around Maine this summer and fall.
· Two wonderful publications to watch for this summer.
· I also have sad news, and I think I’ll start here. My heart is full today, remembering our dear old dog, Clara, who died on Friday. It is the first time Jonathan and I have been dogless since our honeymoon in 1983, when we found a stray, smuggled him into the country from Canada, and lived with her for 16 years. Clara was the sixth dog since then, and the last…for now anyway. We’ll see if this empty house becomes easier over time. I paid tribute to her in today’s blog post:
https://www.robincliffordwood.com/blog/good-dog
NEWS
· The Field House won two Maine Literary Awards in their May ceremony. Big excitement! Though I had a strangely ambivalent response to the news over the ensuing days. https://www.robincliffordwood.com/blog/wishing-hoping-winningand-what-makes-me-happy
· The Field House also won a National Indie Excellence Award, so it has been a very rewarding spring for Rachel Field and me.
· She Writes Press is publishing a beautiful book this month – June 28th. It is an anthology of creative responses to hardship, called Art in the Time of Unbearable Crisis (see cover image attached). I was honored to be included among its contributors, and I am amazed at the work they have put into pushing the speed of publication to feed the hearts of those still reeling in the uncertainties and difficulties of our world’s present condition. Look for it online on June 28th!
· I have an essay about living in Rachel’s house coming up in the summer issue of Décor Maine magazine. It’s a beautiful magazine, featuring Maine and Mount Desert Island in particular at its summer best. Keep a lookout for it in late July/early August, on newsstands and online.
· Sean Farjadi interviewed me for his lovely podcast, Stories That Empower, just over a year ago, and the interview was finally published on May 1, 2022. Here’s the link, in case you’re interested: https://storiesthatempower.com/2022/04/29/247-robin-wood
· On a personal note, Jonathan and I have three – count ‘em, three! – grandchildren on the way. Two in August, one in October. I have a lot of writing plans, but they will be slipped in between Grammy visits. Life continues to reassert itself in beautiful ways.
UPCOMING EVENTS:
JULY
All my best,
Robin
Here in the northern hemisphere we are flush with the sun’s most abundant light today. I’m not generally an early riser, but with first light seeping into Maine’s sky not long after 4am, I find the call of day tantalizing, even it’s only to walk barefoot out the door to pick up the morning paper.
IN TODAY’S NEWSLETTER:
· I have lots to celebrate, both in my writing life and my personal life. See news below.
· Opportunities to attend The Field House book presentations with slides and audio around Maine this summer and fall.
· Two wonderful publications to watch for this summer.
· I also have sad news, and I think I’ll start here. My heart is full today, remembering our dear old dog, Clara, who died on Friday. It is the first time Jonathan and I have been dogless since our honeymoon in 1983, when we found a stray, smuggled him into the country from Canada, and lived with her for 16 years. Clara was the sixth dog since then, and the last…for now anyway. We’ll see if this empty house becomes easier over time. I paid tribute to her in today’s blog post:
https://www.robincliffordwood.com/blog/good-dog
NEWS
· The Field House won two Maine Literary Awards in their May ceremony. Big excitement! Though I had a strangely ambivalent response to the news over the ensuing days. https://www.robincliffordwood.com/blog/wishing-hoping-winningand-what-makes-me-happy
· The Field House also won a National Indie Excellence Award, so it has been a very rewarding spring for Rachel Field and me.
· She Writes Press is publishing a beautiful book this month – June 28th. It is an anthology of creative responses to hardship, called Art in the Time of Unbearable Crisis (see cover image attached). I was honored to be included among its contributors, and I am amazed at the work they have put into pushing the speed of publication to feed the hearts of those still reeling in the uncertainties and difficulties of our world’s present condition. Look for it online on June 28th!
· I have an essay about living in Rachel’s house coming up in the summer issue of Décor Maine magazine. It’s a beautiful magazine, featuring Maine and Mount Desert Island in particular at its summer best. Keep a lookout for it in late July/early August, on newsstands and online.
· Sean Farjadi interviewed me for his lovely podcast, Stories That Empower, just over a year ago, and the interview was finally published on May 1, 2022. Here’s the link, in case you’re interested: https://storiesthatempower.com/2022/04/29/247-robin-wood
· On a personal note, Jonathan and I have three – count ‘em, three! – grandchildren on the way. Two in August, one in October. I have a lot of writing plans, but they will be slipped in between Grammy visits. Life continues to reassert itself in beautiful ways.
UPCOMING EVENTS:
JULY
- Tuesday, July 12, 6:00pm - Live book event in Islesboro, Maine, Islesford Community Center.
- Sunday, July 17, 2:00pm - Live book event in Denmark, Maine, Denmark Arts Center.
- August 9, 2:00pm IN PERSON - Tuesday forum, Brewer, Maine.
- August 11, evening, 6:30-7:30pm, Seal Harbor Fire Department Community Room, hosted by Seal Harbor Library, Seal Harbor, ME.
All my best,
Robin
Happy spring, book readers, friends, and family
I hope you are all well. Today’s notes include celebrations, opportunities, upcoming events in Maine and Massachusetts (I’d love to see you!), and two Rachel Field poems that welcome spring: one in frolic, one in poignancy.
Happy Birthday to The Field House!
(on May 4 – but early celebrations are at hand!)
...I’m excited to announce two very special upcoming promotions…
The first lasts for only 72 hours, April 1-3.
I am one of 14 authors collaborating on a spring/summer extravaganza. For three days, all 14 books will be available on Kindle for .99¢. This is an incredible deal and won’t last long, so I hope you’ll take advantage of the great deal.
It would be great to see a new surge (the good kind) of interest in The Field House for its birthday, so please share this offer far and wide (you can share the link below on social media).
What a great opportunity to stockpile books for your summer reading or to give Kindle books as gifts (see below). Your friends will thank you!
Here is the link you’ll be able to use, April 1-3:
bit.ly/woodrobin
(each book on the graphic you will see is a link to its Amazon page)
Want to send a Kindle book as a gift? It's easy!
Look for the “Buy for Others” box on the right-hand side of each book’s Kindle page, pick a quantity, then click Buy for Others. On the next page, fill out the delivery information. You can even schedule a delivery if you want to send it at a later date!
The second promotion is through my publisher, She Writes Press, and will run from April 1-11.
To celebrate the 1-year birthday of The Field House and its sister books, SWP is hosting a “Shower Your Shelf With Books” sale. This promotion had 52 fabulous books for .99¢ each on Kindle – that’s a book a week for a year, for only .99¢ per book! I have enjoyed every She Writes book I’ve read, so you’re in for a treat (and so am I!). This offer, too, is time-limited – April 1-11 – so please let all your book-loving friends and acquaintances know about the sale.
SIGN UP HERE FOR FIRST ACCESS TO THE 52-BOOK 99 cent SALE
https://www.bargainbooksy.com/spring-22-ebook-sale-signup/
And while you're browsing Kindle...
Did you know that three of Rachel Field’s novels are available for .99¢ on Kindle (Amazon)? I recommend all of them – Time Out of Mind (national best seller), All This and Heaven Too (became a best-picture-nominated film), and And Now Tomorrow (her last novel). Having read The Field House, which provides you with insider insights and familiarity with Rachel’s history, you will find extra resonance in Rachel Field’s work.
**
2 SPRINGTIME POEMS FOR YOUR ENJOYMENT:
Rachel Field responded to beauty alternatively with delight or pain, as this pair of poems illustrates. One is infused with her characteristic playfulness. In the other, the speaker is beset with the painful reminders that spring lays bare.
Spring Signs
From Branches Green
Now is the time that hills put on
A smoky blue, untinged with green,
When sorrel-red and cinnamon
In brief possession hold the scene;
When robins, orange breasted, shiver,
And wrens and burnished grackles scold;
When every brook is a rushing river,
And crocus companies brave the cold;
When freshly painted cars speed by,
And dogs and children skip and caper; --
Now is the time when such as I
Must set down rhymes on sheets of paper!
Not Every Bud….
From Fear is the Thorn
Now that April is over;
Now that May is begun
I must bind my heart with sober thoughts
Lest petals in the sun
Should prove too prodigal and frail;
Lest flowering plum and pear
And peach trees wrapt in rosy mist
Should take me unaware.
I must remember roots in the dark,
And, even as I stare,
Whisper, -- “Not every bud that blows,
Not every bud may bear.”
Best wishes to all, and happy reading!
**Robin
(remember – please unsubscribe at any time if your crowded inbox is stressing you out. Just reply to this email and let me know)
**
Upcoming events – I hope to see you there!
APRIL
February/March newsletter 2022
Greetings to all from sparkling, sub-zero Maine!
Today's offerings:
Acadia Senior College down on MDI (Mount Desert Island, Maine) invited me to propose a class for their spring session related to Rachel Field and The Field House.
The result is a 4-week class that will meet online on Friday mornings, 9:30 to 11:30, beginning on March 18th. We will look at biography-, memoir-, and fiction-writing as alternative ways to interact with history. The course will be a combination of readings, discussion, and writing exercises. If you're interested, or know someone else who might be - register here, starting tomorrow, Feb. 2, 2022:
https://www.acadiaseniorcollege.org/courses/SP22Wood
Upcoming events
FEBRUARY
A poem:
Spread Love
Before you spread your avocado mash upon your toast,
spread some love upon the ones you care about the most.
Remember as you spread some peanut butter on your bread,
spread your love to little ones with pats upon their head.
Instead of spreading gossip or the latest nasty rumor,
spread a loving attitude with laughter and good humor.
Spreading lies or hate or fear does damage to the brain.
Cultivate more love; it magic’ly allays the pain.
Cast your seeds of love as far and wide as they can go.
Watch as love starts taking root, its urge to spread and grow.
While folding back the spread that keeps you warm in bed tonight,
spread your heart with loving thoughts to help your dreams take flight.
Someone out there – listen, now – is spreading love to you.
Their arms spread wide, they clasp you close and fill you, through and through
with all the hopes and dreams you’ve harbored since your life was new,
to reassure you, love’s alive, and strong, and fierce, and true.
May you find warmth and companionship, good food and sunny days during winter's residency. Contact me any time. I always love to hear from you.
**Robin
November/December 2021 newsletter
Warm wishes to friends, family, and book supporters -
Yesterday, Thanksgiving Day, was flooded with sunshine here in central Maine. The rain pattering steadily on the roof today is expected to turn into snow before morning - our first fresh blanket of the season. I don't know about you, but I'm ready for the quiet, darkening evenings of winter, when we’re cozy indoors with a good book.
Here’s what I have for you today:
· Some wonderful news about The Field House
· Photos of closing weekend on Sutton Island, including wild seas, mossy woods, the house by evening, Rachel Field’s bedroom with the sleigh bed she slept in, and the “studio” room where she did her writing. (sent on Google docs)
· A Thanksgiving poem I wrote several years ago. Though we’re past Thanksgiving Day, its call to “find a quiet spot” is relevant throughout the celebratory days of December. I hope you enjoy it.
· Upcoming events related to The Field House, which is still enjoying brisk sales, though the pace of book promotion has (thankfully) slowed down.
· Other writing news
Field House news:
· Three cheers! The Field House was a finalist in the 2021 American Book Fest Best Book of the Year awards.
· Great review in the Portland Press Herald
https://www.pressherald.com/2021/10/24/in-an-unusually-told-biography-writer-rachel-field-lives-again/
· And another in Maine Seniors Magazine https://www.meseniors.com/2021/11/15/kindred-spirits-the-field-house-connection/
· Amazon reviews are now over 100! So many thanks to all of you who helped us get there.
· Above you’ll see a beautiful ad that’s coming out in Kirkus Reviews Magazine in December. I’m hoping it might generate some holiday gift sales for The Field House. Spread the word! Do you have readers on your gift list?
Poem:
Find a Quiet Spot
Even while you scrub a dish or stir a boiling pot,
Or panic when the food is cold that should be steaming hot,
Or seek that thing that's always there and suddenly it's not,
And guests are due at five but come at seven on the dot...
While all the ruckus roils around you, find a quiet spot.
You may be lighting candles, peeling carrots in the sink,
Or toasting at the table as your family shares a drink,
Or playing silly games like "Inky Pink" or "made ya blink,"
Or airing out the dog room to alleviate the stink...
But find a quiet moment, and remind yourself to think.
Your quiet spot might only be a place inside your mind;
An isolate escape -- before or after you have dined.
For just one pointed moment, leave complexity behind,
And maybe through good fortune, in that solitude you'll find...
A deep and true, abiding, loving thanks--the finest kind.
In other news –
People often ask me, “What are you working on now?” The answer is poetry. I’ve been taking a class from Nadia Colburn online. She is fabulous, smart, and encourages writers to align their craft with their entire selves – mind, body, and spirit. I’ve been generating a lot of raw material through this online class, and hope to wade through a lot of revision work this winter.
In fact, I have a Christmas-themed poem coming out in December on a webzine called “Lighten Up Online.” Keep an eye out for it!
What are your plans for the winter? Any projects to keep you occupied in the cold months? I’d love to hear from you.
October 11, 2021 newsletter
Greetings to all of you from Sutton Island - friends, family, readers, and book supporters! I have news, links, and one of Rachel Field's most beloved autumn poems to share with you.
If this is your first time receiving my newsletter, welcome! I will periodically share photos, poetry, links, and updates with readers (a few times a year, maximum once per month) relating to events surrounding my first book. You'll also be the first to know about my upcoming projects and publications as they arrive.
It's nice to be reminded, on a brilliant blue October day, that the interior landscapes of your island can be as glorious as the surrounding views, which tend to monopolize all the attention. Jonathan and I are savoring the last days of the season before draining pipes, stowing porch furniture, and tucking our dear Field House in for the winter.
The Field House book version, on the other hand, will continue its activities through the winter months. Here are some updates, treats for you, and the upcoming schedule:
Updates:
Something Told the Wild Geese
by Rachel Field
Something told the wild geese
It was time to go,
Though the fields lay golden
Something whispered, "snow."
Leaves were green and stirring,
Berries, luster-glossed,
But beneath warm feathers
Something cautioned, "frost."
All the sagging orchards
Steamed with amber spice,
But each wild breast stiffened
At remembered ice.
Something told the wild geese
It was time to fly,
Summer sun was on their wings,
Winter in their cry.
Upcoming Schedule:
OCTOBER
2022 events:
JANUARY
MAY
Keep an eye on the website for newly scheduled events or changes in the current schedule. And please continue to spread the word about The Field House to bookstores, libraries, book groups, and wherever readers gather. Your work so far has done wonders - THANK YOU!!
May autumn add its golden light to your days -
**Robin
AUGUST 8, 2021 newsletter
Happy high summer to all!
(or high winter, if you're in the southern hemisphere) --
I have news, links, offers, and photos for you below.
After a very wet July, we are enjoying some beautiful high barometer days in Maine - blue skies, puffy clouds, the uplift of dry, cooler air...heaven! We're hoping for just such a day when our youngest daughter celebrates her marriage in September, both on Sutton Island and in Bar Harbor, Maine. Hooray for young love! I wish you all some sublime days wherever you may be, interspersed with the inevitable hot and muggies.
Thanks to many of you, The Field House: A Writer's Life Lost and Found on an Island in Maine continues to thrive after several wonderful, welcoming book tour events. Here are a few highlights:
Book news:
AUGUST:
Offers:
Does anyone have connections to the Tampa/St. Petersburg, Florida region? I will be at a writer's retreat in Largo, Florida from October 23-28. I'd love to arrange a book event during that time in a library, bookstore, or private venue. Please let me know if you have ideas or connections.
I have a similar query for November 4-8 in Atlanta, Georgia. Got connections in that lovely city? I could do an event on any of those days except Saturday the 6th.
CORRECTION:
I mistakenly mentioned in my last newsletter that I would be at Skidompha Library in Maine. I will not! My event is at York Public Library, in York, Maine, as listed above.
LAST IMPORTANT NOTE - I hold to my pledge that these emails will come a maximum of once a month, likely less by the end of this summer. Even so, I understand the burden of an overloaded inbox. Please let me know if you'd like to "unsubscribe."
If you have made it this far, congratulations and thanks for your attention! Keep in touch, and may you enjoy both the world outdoors and the world inside of books this summer --
Best,
Robin
JULY 1, 2021 newsletter
Hello friends, family, and wonderful book supporters! Community is feeling especially precious right now, and I am grateful to each one of you and everything you have done to help me spread the word about my biography-memoir hybrid: The Field House: A Writer's Life Lost and Found on an Island in Maine. I've included a couple of seasonally relevant poems at the end of this email for your enjoyment, and a recent, first-time photograph of the Field House from on high with Jonathan's new drone camera.
We are in full summer now. My mother-in-law, Lois, turned 90 on the fourth of July. The celebration took place on a cool, rainy Fourth here in Maine, but with all the kids, grandkids, and one great-granddaughter, body heat kept us warm, which felt wonderful after 18 months of Covid isolation. Hooray for the miracle of modern science! If you're still holding out, please get vaccinated, for yourself and all of your precious communities. Here's hoping you all have similar opportunities this summer to reconnect with friends and family at last.
TV interview!
I am VERY EXCITED to tell you that I will be featured on TV this coming Monday - July 12th, 7:00pm. Rob Caldwell of News Center Maine's 207 news show interviewed me a couple of weeks ago, and the edited interview will air on Monday's episode. I'm hoping the show will tempt a new crop of readers to buy a book and learn about the wonderful Rachel Field.
Amazon update
I'm happy to report that my reviews on Amazon are now up to 47, so close to that 50 mark! But I'd still love to reach for 60, so please keep those reviews coming as you finish the book.
If you can publish your review on Goodreads and other bookseller sites as well, all the better. Thank you, thank you!
Bookstore stealth marketing
Now that bookstores and libraries are re-opening, please do stop by your local bookshop or chain (Target, Barnes and Noble, Walmart, Books-a-Million) and ask if they carry The Field House. I know one place you can find it is the Center for Maine Crafts on I-95, at the big rest area in West Gardiner. If you see the book anywhere on a shelf, pull it out and stand it up facing out. Exposure is powerful!
July-August events:
I'm going on-the-road over the next two weeks for some in-person book events! Please pass the word to anyone you know who might live near one of my book talks.
LAST IMPORTANT NOTE - I hold to my pledge that these emails will come a maximum of once a month, likely less by the end of this summer. Even so, I understand the burden of an overloaded inbox. Please let me know if you'd like to "unsubscribe."
JULY --
AUGUST --
Some reading entertainment - poetry and prose!
Check out the Literary Ladies Guide for several write-ups about Rachel Field.
Do-nothing day
by Robin Clifford Wood
Have you ever savored a do-nothing day
instead of regretting, upsetting your way
through the hours with glowers of scolding and shame,
accusing and bruising your mind and your name?
Well here’s a suggestion – I give you permission
to fill one sun’s tracking with acts of omission.
Resist the insistence that says, “go produce.”
Lie around with your hound, live a life on the loose.
I wish you would try it, the quiet, I mean.
Such wonders abound all around you, unseen.
Embrace the staycation that’s stimulus free,
and let your mind wander and ponder “to be.”
Sit at the window and watch for a while
‘til you find you’re unwinding and ready to smile.
Ah – there it is, fizzing like sparks in the room;
your smile’s been there aching to break through the gloom.
Decry all the “shoulds,” wooden raps to the head.
Today is for playing or staying in bed,
for cuddling, muddling, naps and oblivion,
shedding the treadmill of dread you’ve been living on.
Tomorrow, you’ll wake up all rejuvenated.
You’ll shake off the night with your psyche inflated.
You’ll stretch and you’ll yawn with the dawn, bright or gray,
improved by the groove of your do-nothing day.
1st draft February 8, 2021
(after watching “Hamilton” on TV – all those interior rhymes and rhythms felt like a cool challenge)
modified 2/14/21
Summery morning
by Robin Clifford Wood
The threshold of summer, at last, reaches north,
Where summery mornings sing busily forth.
For when they arrive they announce themselves loudly,
With flowers abloom and puffed birds preaching proudly.
The goldfinches flit and the peonies droop;
The bullfrogs harrumph and the tree swallows swoop;
A duck family glides on the still-water pond;
Two muskrats are feasting on lush cattail frond;
The maple leaves, backlit by dawning sun’s rays
Surpass stained glass windows in summoning praise.
My breath catches short and my heart goes ablaze
For all that is lovely in Earth’s glory days.
I wish you all the best of summertime -
**Robin
JUNE 1, 2021 newsletter
Happy June friends, family, and book supporters!
Summer arrives this month, and Maine practically doubles its population with an influx of summer people called by the magic of Maine. That's how Rachel Field and I both found our way here, and eventually "found" each other in an old house on a tiny island off the coast. I'm excited for Rachel's biography to plunge into its first Maine summer.
The Field House has launched with great success! Highlights:
Help me reach 60!
Speaking of Amazon...Here's my one big ask for this month:
Can you help The Field House get to 60 customer reviews on Amazon?
Word on the street says that once you hit 60 reviews (some say 50, but let's aim high), Amazon gives your book significantly higher visibility. As of Monday we were up to 15, so we're 1/4 of the way there!
Can you help The Field House reach that goal? Please post a customer review on my Amazon page, and encourage others to do so as well. Let's make sure Rachel's story keeps getting attention.
A little thank you from me:
Here are some links to past events, articles, and reviews of The Field House that you might enjoy:
Hope you found some time for joy and remembrance over Memorial Day Weekend. Here in central Maine the rain held off, so Jonathan and I got a lot of plants in the ground before a well-needed downpour Sunday night. I love this time of year, except for the blackflies.
Many thanks, as always, for your support and for spreading the word. Word of mouth is a powerful tool, and you guys are crushing it with that so far!
Be well -
**Robin
LAST IMPORTANT NOTE - I hold to my pledge that these emails will come a maximum of once a month, likely less by the end of this summer. Even so, I understand the burden of an overloaded inbox. Please let me know if you'd like to "unsubscribe."
Upcoming events for The Field House:
JUNE --
MAY 1, 2021 newsletter
Happy May Day my friends, family, and book supporters!
I'm feeling grateful to all of you for the overwhelming support I've received over the months leading up to my book launch, now just three days away. Writing is generally a reclusive occupation, but this book promotion effort has prompted me to barrage the airwaves with my presence. I appreciate your tolerance, your companionship, and your good cheer. I sense Rachel Field on my shoulder, adding her thanks as well.
Below I have pasted in an updated schedule of upcoming events. I hope you'll be able to join me for one or more of them.
BIG NEWS!! The Field House has already gone into its second printing, which means that all of your generous efforts have made an impact. Hooray for you and for readers everywhere! The May issues of Down East Magazine and Bangor Metro Magazine both have wonderful features about the book. I am glowing.
Still - the life of a book can be fleeting, so here are some things you can do to help keep the excitement alive:
1. SEND ME PHOTOS!
I am so excited that many of you have already received The Field House in the mail! I love the pictures some of you have sent -- with you holding the book, or with the book in some picturesque setting. Please keep those coming, and let me know if you're okay with me posting your photos on my Facebook/blog/Instagram/etc.
2. POST REVIEWS!!
Book marketing is mind-boggling these days; it's all too easy to get lost in the crowd. Like it or not, there are two HUGE movers and shakers in the business: Goodreads and Amazon. Now that The Field House has hit the shelves, I hope you'll be inspired to read it and to share your reactions. Reviews on those two sites, even just a sentence or two, make a significant impact. Even though Amazon owns Goodreads, Goodreads still attracts many independent bookstore shoppers. I actually love to browse the site for great reading ideas. Here's a privacy tip: you can use an invented name to create your Goodreads account.
If you're able to post a review on Amazon as well (it can be the same review as Goodreads!), that would also give The Field House a big boost. Here are the links to my book on those two sites:
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/55509620-the-field-house
Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Field-House-Writers-Found-Island/dp/1647420458/ref=sr_1_1?dchild=1&keywords=the+field+house&qid=1619903798&sr=8-1
Perhaps one of you will be the first customer reviewer on Amazon!
3. GO PUBLIC!!
When you get the book, read it in public. Post it on social media. Lend it (or give it!) to a friend. Suggest it to a book group, and let people know I'm interested in joining their meetings. I have four book group invitations so far and am looking forward to more, if scheduling allows.
4. JOIN ME AND MY FRIENDS!!
I can't wait for my online events with Christina Baker Kline (May 4), Susan Conley (May 20), and Melanie Brooks (June 30), three fabulous writers and insightful thinkers who will make for lively conversations. I'm working on some surprises for each event. Please join us online. Consider attending some of my other online events listed below as well, or an in-person gathering. I'd love to see you.
So many thanks and best wishes to you in these greening days of expanding light -
**Robin
LAST IMPORTANT NOTE - I hold to my pledge that these emails will come a maximum of once a month, likely less by the end of this summer. Even so, I understand the burden of an overloaded inbox. Please let me know if you'd like to "unsubscribe."
Book Events and Links:
MAY --
April 4, 2021 newsletter
Happy April Friends and Family!
One month from today, May 4, is launch day for The Field House: A Writer's Life Lost and Found on an Island in Maine. What a wonderful, whirlwind trip it's been since July of 2019 when I signed my publishing contract with She Writes Press. I have butterflies most days now - both the nervous kind and the elated kind.
For those who may have missed earlier emails, The Field House is a biography-memoir hybrid about once-renowned writer Rachel Field. Field died suddenly and unexpectedly in 1942. When Jonathan and I bought Rachel's beloved summer house on an island off the coast of Maine in 1994,I had no idea how deeply Rachel would insert herself into my life. Every summer I dwelt among her former possessions, shared her love of moss-carpeted forests under spiky stands of spruce trees, the sound of gulls and bell buoys, the rhythm of moonrise, sunrise, and pulsing tides.
Here's what Kirkus Reviews had to say about the book:“
[Wood’s] passionate prose and carefully curated primary sources will certainly convince readers that Field is not a writer to overlook. An eloquent, detailed tribute to a less well-known but inspiring author.”
Opportunities you may be interested in:
1. Card in the mail! If you would like to receive a lovely postcard in the mail, send me your physical address and I'll be sure to get one to you. It would look great on your refrigerator!
2. Pre-orders I'm told that some folks who pre-ordered from Amazon have already been notified that their books are coming soon. Apparently Amazon is famous for jumping ahead, so you may get a book before the official launch date. If you haven't ordered yet, I encourage you to order through your local bookstore or through Bookshop.org or Indiebound.org. But Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Google Books, and many other sites carry the book.
3. Book group visit! I love chatting with book groups. If your book group reads The Field House, contact me with the date and time and let's try to connect online
4. Book events:
Check robincliffordwood.com for link updates and other details as event dates approach.
Whew! Looking forward to seeing and hearing from you.
Thanks again for your support.
**Robin
PS -- Please do let me know if you'd like to be removed from this email group. I don't want to add a burden to anyone's overburdened inbox!
I hope you are all well. Today’s notes include celebrations, opportunities, upcoming events in Maine and Massachusetts (I’d love to see you!), and two Rachel Field poems that welcome spring: one in frolic, one in poignancy.
Happy Birthday to The Field House!
(on May 4 – but early celebrations are at hand!)
...I’m excited to announce two very special upcoming promotions…
The first lasts for only 72 hours, April 1-3.
I am one of 14 authors collaborating on a spring/summer extravaganza. For three days, all 14 books will be available on Kindle for .99¢. This is an incredible deal and won’t last long, so I hope you’ll take advantage of the great deal.
It would be great to see a new surge (the good kind) of interest in The Field House for its birthday, so please share this offer far and wide (you can share the link below on social media).
What a great opportunity to stockpile books for your summer reading or to give Kindle books as gifts (see below). Your friends will thank you!
Here is the link you’ll be able to use, April 1-3:
bit.ly/woodrobin
(each book on the graphic you will see is a link to its Amazon page)
Want to send a Kindle book as a gift? It's easy!
Look for the “Buy for Others” box on the right-hand side of each book’s Kindle page, pick a quantity, then click Buy for Others. On the next page, fill out the delivery information. You can even schedule a delivery if you want to send it at a later date!
The second promotion is through my publisher, She Writes Press, and will run from April 1-11.
To celebrate the 1-year birthday of The Field House and its sister books, SWP is hosting a “Shower Your Shelf With Books” sale. This promotion had 52 fabulous books for .99¢ each on Kindle – that’s a book a week for a year, for only .99¢ per book! I have enjoyed every She Writes book I’ve read, so you’re in for a treat (and so am I!). This offer, too, is time-limited – April 1-11 – so please let all your book-loving friends and acquaintances know about the sale.
SIGN UP HERE FOR FIRST ACCESS TO THE 52-BOOK 99 cent SALE
https://www.bargainbooksy.com/spring-22-ebook-sale-signup/
And while you're browsing Kindle...
Did you know that three of Rachel Field’s novels are available for .99¢ on Kindle (Amazon)? I recommend all of them – Time Out of Mind (national best seller), All This and Heaven Too (became a best-picture-nominated film), and And Now Tomorrow (her last novel). Having read The Field House, which provides you with insider insights and familiarity with Rachel’s history, you will find extra resonance in Rachel Field’s work.
**
2 SPRINGTIME POEMS FOR YOUR ENJOYMENT:
Rachel Field responded to beauty alternatively with delight or pain, as this pair of poems illustrates. One is infused with her characteristic playfulness. In the other, the speaker is beset with the painful reminders that spring lays bare.
Spring Signs
From Branches Green
Now is the time that hills put on
A smoky blue, untinged with green,
When sorrel-red and cinnamon
In brief possession hold the scene;
When robins, orange breasted, shiver,
And wrens and burnished grackles scold;
When every brook is a rushing river,
And crocus companies brave the cold;
When freshly painted cars speed by,
And dogs and children skip and caper; --
Now is the time when such as I
Must set down rhymes on sheets of paper!
Not Every Bud….
From Fear is the Thorn
Now that April is over;
Now that May is begun
I must bind my heart with sober thoughts
Lest petals in the sun
Should prove too prodigal and frail;
Lest flowering plum and pear
And peach trees wrapt in rosy mist
Should take me unaware.
I must remember roots in the dark,
And, even as I stare,
Whisper, -- “Not every bud that blows,
Not every bud may bear.”
Best wishes to all, and happy reading!
**Robin
(remember – please unsubscribe at any time if your crowded inbox is stressing you out. Just reply to this email and let me know)
**
Upcoming events – I hope to see you there!
APRIL
- Tuesday, April 26, 6:30-7:30pm - Bangor Public Library - IN PERSON. In conversation with Jennifer Dupree, PREMIER BOOK LAUNCH celebrating Dupree's novel: The Miraculous Flight of Owen Leach.
- Tuesday, May 3, 2-3pm - Ellsworth Library Book Group - guest author event.
- Saturday, May 21 (midday, tba) - tea on the lawn, Manchester Public Library, Manchester-By-The-Sea, Massachusetts.
- July 12, 6:00pm - Book event in Islesboro, Maine, Community Center
- July 17, 3:00pm – Book event at Denmark Arts Center, Denmark Maine
- August 9, 2:00pm IN PERSON book talk, Tuesday Forum, Brewer, Maine.
- August 11, evening, (tba), Seal Harbor Library
- October 20, 7:00pm – Book talk in Bremen, Maine.
February/March newsletter 2022
Greetings to all from sparkling, sub-zero Maine!
Today's offerings:
- Why I love February, a winter-lover's reflection.
- A link to the registration page for, "creative ways to interact with history."
- News and upcoming events for The Field House and Rachel Field. **Take note that one of these events features The Miraculous Flight of Owen Leach, a novel by sister-writer, Jennifer Dupree. Very exciting to be on the other side of the conversation!**
- last year's Valentine poem, in case you missed it.
- Photographic evidence of winter beauty in Maine.
- This morning my car thermometer said -4 degrees; last Thursday we hit -12. When it dips below zero, Clara the 14-year-old lumpy labrador opts out of our back field loops, but we can forgive her that. I, on the other hand, enjoy the cold, especially when we have brilliant sunshiny days like today, or when there's 18 inches of fresh snow retaining its lightness and sparkle. There's magic in a handful of snowflakes, glinting in the sun. It tastes like childhood.
- That doesn't mean I don't love fires in the woodstove and time to hang indoors with no pressure to go anywhere.
- Great month for reading books.
- Short month - goes by fast! Savor it.
- License to consume chocolate. It keeps us warm.
- The continued expansion of daylight.
- Family birthdays - we have three!
Acadia Senior College down on MDI (Mount Desert Island, Maine) invited me to propose a class for their spring session related to Rachel Field and The Field House.
The result is a 4-week class that will meet online on Friday mornings, 9:30 to 11:30, beginning on March 18th. We will look at biography-, memoir-, and fiction-writing as alternative ways to interact with history. The course will be a combination of readings, discussion, and writing exercises. If you're interested, or know someone else who might be - register here, starting tomorrow, Feb. 2, 2022:
https://www.acadiaseniorcollege.org/courses/SP22Wood
Upcoming events
FEBRUARY
- Feb. 16 - Kennebec Historical Society book talk, 6:30pm. "Rediscovering Rachel Field - The extraordinary book journey that led to The Field House", Presented by Robin Clifford Wood, Location: Tune in to Facebook Live through Kennebec Historical Society's FB page.
- Tuesday, March 15, (11:15am - 12:15pm) - book talk, Old Town Library; IN PERSON (check website for changes)
- Fridays, March 18th-April 8th, Acadia Senior College course: "Biography, memoir, and fiction: creative ways to interact with history."
- Tuesday, April 26, 6:30-7:30pm - Bangor Public Library - IN PERSON. In conversation with Jennifer Dupree, pre-launch event celebrating Dupree's novel release: The Miraculous Flight of Owen Leach.
- Tuesday, May 3, 2-3pm - Ellsworth Library Book Group - guest author event.
- Saturday, May 21 (midday, tba) - tea on the lawn, Manchester Public Library, Manchester-By-The-Sea, Massachusetts.
- mid-July (tba) Book event in Islesboro, Maine.
- August 9, 2:00pm IN PERSON book talk, Tuesday Forum, Brewer, Maine.
- August 11, evening, (tba), Seal Harbor Library
A poem:
Spread Love
Before you spread your avocado mash upon your toast,
spread some love upon the ones you care about the most.
Remember as you spread some peanut butter on your bread,
spread your love to little ones with pats upon their head.
Instead of spreading gossip or the latest nasty rumor,
spread a loving attitude with laughter and good humor.
Spreading lies or hate or fear does damage to the brain.
Cultivate more love; it magic’ly allays the pain.
Cast your seeds of love as far and wide as they can go.
Watch as love starts taking root, its urge to spread and grow.
While folding back the spread that keeps you warm in bed tonight,
spread your heart with loving thoughts to help your dreams take flight.
Someone out there – listen, now – is spreading love to you.
Their arms spread wide, they clasp you close and fill you, through and through
with all the hopes and dreams you’ve harbored since your life was new,
to reassure you, love’s alive, and strong, and fierce, and true.
May you find warmth and companionship, good food and sunny days during winter's residency. Contact me any time. I always love to hear from you.
**Robin
November/December 2021 newsletter
Warm wishes to friends, family, and book supporters -
Yesterday, Thanksgiving Day, was flooded with sunshine here in central Maine. The rain pattering steadily on the roof today is expected to turn into snow before morning - our first fresh blanket of the season. I don't know about you, but I'm ready for the quiet, darkening evenings of winter, when we’re cozy indoors with a good book.
Here’s what I have for you today:
· Some wonderful news about The Field House
· Photos of closing weekend on Sutton Island, including wild seas, mossy woods, the house by evening, Rachel Field’s bedroom with the sleigh bed she slept in, and the “studio” room where she did her writing. (sent on Google docs)
· A Thanksgiving poem I wrote several years ago. Though we’re past Thanksgiving Day, its call to “find a quiet spot” is relevant throughout the celebratory days of December. I hope you enjoy it.
· Upcoming events related to The Field House, which is still enjoying brisk sales, though the pace of book promotion has (thankfully) slowed down.
· Other writing news
Field House news:
· Three cheers! The Field House was a finalist in the 2021 American Book Fest Best Book of the Year awards.
· Great review in the Portland Press Herald
https://www.pressherald.com/2021/10/24/in-an-unusually-told-biography-writer-rachel-field-lives-again/
· And another in Maine Seniors Magazine https://www.meseniors.com/2021/11/15/kindred-spirits-the-field-house-connection/
· Amazon reviews are now over 100! So many thanks to all of you who helped us get there.
· Above you’ll see a beautiful ad that’s coming out in Kirkus Reviews Magazine in December. I’m hoping it might generate some holiday gift sales for The Field House. Spread the word! Do you have readers on your gift list?
Poem:
Find a Quiet Spot
Even while you scrub a dish or stir a boiling pot,
Or panic when the food is cold that should be steaming hot,
Or seek that thing that's always there and suddenly it's not,
And guests are due at five but come at seven on the dot...
While all the ruckus roils around you, find a quiet spot.
You may be lighting candles, peeling carrots in the sink,
Or toasting at the table as your family shares a drink,
Or playing silly games like "Inky Pink" or "made ya blink,"
Or airing out the dog room to alleviate the stink...
But find a quiet moment, and remind yourself to think.
Your quiet spot might only be a place inside your mind;
An isolate escape -- before or after you have dined.
For just one pointed moment, leave complexity behind,
And maybe through good fortune, in that solitude you'll find...
A deep and true, abiding, loving thanks--the finest kind.
In other news –
People often ask me, “What are you working on now?” The answer is poetry. I’ve been taking a class from Nadia Colburn online. She is fabulous, smart, and encourages writers to align their craft with their entire selves – mind, body, and spirit. I’ve been generating a lot of raw material through this online class, and hope to wade through a lot of revision work this winter.
In fact, I have a Christmas-themed poem coming out in December on a webzine called “Lighten Up Online.” Keep an eye out for it!
What are your plans for the winter? Any projects to keep you occupied in the cold months? I’d love to hear from you.
October 11, 2021 newsletter
Greetings to all of you from Sutton Island - friends, family, readers, and book supporters! I have news, links, and one of Rachel Field's most beloved autumn poems to share with you.
If this is your first time receiving my newsletter, welcome! I will periodically share photos, poetry, links, and updates with readers (a few times a year, maximum once per month) relating to events surrounding my first book. You'll also be the first to know about my upcoming projects and publications as they arrive.
It's nice to be reminded, on a brilliant blue October day, that the interior landscapes of your island can be as glorious as the surrounding views, which tend to monopolize all the attention. Jonathan and I are savoring the last days of the season before draining pipes, stowing porch furniture, and tucking our dear Field House in for the winter.
The Field House book version, on the other hand, will continue its activities through the winter months. Here are some updates, treats for you, and the upcoming schedule:
Updates:
- Our daughter's wedding on Sutton and in Bar Harbor was heavenly, despite the four-hour power outage on the island during the rehearsal dinner. (see blog post)
- A belated Happy Birthday to Rachel Field, who loved to celebrate September 19th on Sutton Island. (see blog post with archival photos)
- Award! The Field House got a lovely feather in its cap when it was awarded a Gold Medal in the 2021 Readers' Favorites Awards. Read more and see the wonderful review here.
- Amazon update: The Field House is up to 88 ratings!! So many thanks for your support. Can we push it over 100?
- Newsletter archive - I have added a newsletter archive to my website. Please visit for reminders, links, offers, poetry, or photos that you might have missed.
- The Field House has gone into its fourth printing! Once again, many readers were faced with back order delays, so if you're interested in gifting the book for the holidays, please get your orders in early.
- If once you have slept on an island / You'll never be quite the same... I couldn't include the entire poem in my book but I have two charming versions of it here.
- Reminder - As long as my personal book supply lasts, I will honor my offer to send (to a single address) 6 copies of The Field House for the price of 5.
- "Something Told the Wild Geese" is one of Rachel's most haunting, beautiful poems. At least two musicians have put the poem to music. You'll find the poem at the end of this email, and here are links to the enchanting musical interpretations by Sherri Porterfield and Darin Lewis.
Something Told the Wild Geese
by Rachel Field
Something told the wild geese
It was time to go,
Though the fields lay golden
Something whispered, "snow."
Leaves were green and stirring,
Berries, luster-glossed,
But beneath warm feathers
Something cautioned, "frost."
All the sagging orchards
Steamed with amber spice,
But each wild breast stiffened
At remembered ice.
Something told the wild geese
It was time to fly,
Summer sun was on their wings,
Winter in their cry.
Upcoming Schedule:
OCTOBER
- Friday, Oct. 22-Thursday, Oct 28 - writer's retreat, Largo, Florida.
- Tuesday, Nov. 2, 6:00-7:00 - IN PERSON event at Orono Library
- Tuesday, Nov. 9, 2:00pm - book group, private
- Tuesday, Nov. 16, 2:00-3:00pm - book group, private
- Wednesday, Nov. 17, 7:00pm, author talk at Vose Library, Union Maine (either in person or hybrid, tba)
- Saturday, Nov. 20, 10-11am - online panel with Maine Writers and Publishers Alliance: "Perspectives on Non-Traditional Publishing."
- Tuesday, Dec. 7, 5:30pm - Southwest Harbor Library event, online or hybrid, tba. To register, go here: https://swhplibrary.libcal.com/event/8421350
2022 events:
JANUARY
- Jan 14-15 Robin teaches at the Stonecoast MFA residency, Freeport, Maine
- January (?) date, TBA - 7:00pm online event hosted by Chappaqua Public Library, Chappaqua, NY (Robin's home town!)
MAY
- Tuesday, May 3, 2:00pm - Ellsworth Library Book Group - guest author event
Keep an eye on the website for newly scheduled events or changes in the current schedule. And please continue to spread the word about The Field House to bookstores, libraries, book groups, and wherever readers gather. Your work so far has done wonders - THANK YOU!!
May autumn add its golden light to your days -
**Robin
AUGUST 8, 2021 newsletter
Happy high summer to all!
(or high winter, if you're in the southern hemisphere) --
I have news, links, offers, and photos for you below.
After a very wet July, we are enjoying some beautiful high barometer days in Maine - blue skies, puffy clouds, the uplift of dry, cooler air...heaven! We're hoping for just such a day when our youngest daughter celebrates her marriage in September, both on Sutton Island and in Bar Harbor, Maine. Hooray for young love! I wish you all some sublime days wherever you may be, interspersed with the inevitable hot and muggies.
Thanks to many of you, The Field House: A Writer's Life Lost and Found on an Island in Maine continues to thrive after several wonderful, welcoming book tour events. Here are a few highlights:
Book news:
- The Field House, Kindle version, hit Amazon's top 10 bestseller rank this month a couple of times in "Biographies and Memoirs of Authors" (including today, 8/8/21).
- My TV spot on News Center Maine went beautifully (despite a freight train delay and parking ticket...gah!). You can watch the clip here: link: https://www.newscentermaine.com/article/news/local/207/maine-writer-rachel-field-once-had-fame-acclaim-and-fortune-now-shes-all-but-forgotten/97-02ed81c0-e2b5-44b0-8f4e-1046e8e9f2aa
- I had an excellent "homecoming" visit to Rachel's childhood town of Stockbridge, Massachusetts, where I shared the stage with the original Hitty doll who starred in Rachel's Newbery-winning book (see link for story and pictures!) https://www.robincliffordwood.com/blog/stockbridge-revisiting-rachel-fields-roots
- 30 people in Sorrento, Maine organized a lively presentation, with quiz questions, discussion topics, door prizes, and frozen margaritas! Unforgettable hospitality (photos below)
- A book talk on Great Cranberry Island, Sutton's next-island neighbor, brought me full circle. My research began there in 2008, and I gave my earliest talks about Rachel Field in the same room of the Cranberry House 10 and 12 years ago. So many thanks to Phil and Karin Whitney, and Sophie the summer intern, for all your efforts (photos below).
- As of today, The Field House has 59 reviews on Amazon! Bravo and many thanks to everyone who has contributed. Now that 60 is in sight, let's aim for 100!! (and don't forget to re-post your review on Goodreads if you would be so kind)
AUGUST:
- Thursday, Aug 12, 6-7pm - online author talk, sponsored by Ellsworth Public Library. Register in advance here:https://networkmaine.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZwsce6qqzgvGNO0qGzqjD3GPEZOol5JTGtW
- Wednesday, Aug. 18, 6pm-7pm - IN PERSON and streamed live author talk, and Q and A, sponsored by Bangor Public Library. You Tube link: https://www.youtube.com/user/bangorpubliclibrary
- Saturday, Sep. 3-5 - Wedding weekend for author's daughter! Events on Sutton Island and in Bar Harbor, Maine.
- Tuesday, Sep. 14, 7:00pm - book group author visit, private.
- Thursday, Sep. 16 - Author talk at Winterport Library, Winterport, ME
- Friday, Sep. 17, 11:00am - Author visit, Penobscot Shores Retirement Community, Belfast, ME.
- Wednesday, Sep. 22, 7:00pm - IN PERSON event at York Public Library in York, Maine.
- Wed, Sep. 29 - evening, book group author visit; private.
Offers:
- Any book group that puts The Field House on their calendar in 2021 may contact me for personalized bookplates for your group and a set of discussion questions. I'd also love to attend remotely or in person if scheduling allows.
- For anyone on my mailing list who purchases 5 books in 2021 (for friends, family, a book group, to a single address), I will send a 6th book for free, inscribed by me and accompanied by a hand-painted bookmark by A. K. Watercolor of "ThreadNwater,"
- I'm also happy to send a personalized bookplate to anyone on my mailing list.
Does anyone have connections to the Tampa/St. Petersburg, Florida region? I will be at a writer's retreat in Largo, Florida from October 23-28. I'd love to arrange a book event during that time in a library, bookstore, or private venue. Please let me know if you have ideas or connections.
I have a similar query for November 4-8 in Atlanta, Georgia. Got connections in that lovely city? I could do an event on any of those days except Saturday the 6th.
CORRECTION:
I mistakenly mentioned in my last newsletter that I would be at Skidompha Library in Maine. I will not! My event is at York Public Library, in York, Maine, as listed above.
LAST IMPORTANT NOTE - I hold to my pledge that these emails will come a maximum of once a month, likely less by the end of this summer. Even so, I understand the burden of an overloaded inbox. Please let me know if you'd like to "unsubscribe."
If you have made it this far, congratulations and thanks for your attention! Keep in touch, and may you enjoy both the world outdoors and the world inside of books this summer --
Best,
Robin
JULY 1, 2021 newsletter
Hello friends, family, and wonderful book supporters! Community is feeling especially precious right now, and I am grateful to each one of you and everything you have done to help me spread the word about my biography-memoir hybrid: The Field House: A Writer's Life Lost and Found on an Island in Maine. I've included a couple of seasonally relevant poems at the end of this email for your enjoyment, and a recent, first-time photograph of the Field House from on high with Jonathan's new drone camera.
We are in full summer now. My mother-in-law, Lois, turned 90 on the fourth of July. The celebration took place on a cool, rainy Fourth here in Maine, but with all the kids, grandkids, and one great-granddaughter, body heat kept us warm, which felt wonderful after 18 months of Covid isolation. Hooray for the miracle of modern science! If you're still holding out, please get vaccinated, for yourself and all of your precious communities. Here's hoping you all have similar opportunities this summer to reconnect with friends and family at last.
TV interview!
I am VERY EXCITED to tell you that I will be featured on TV this coming Monday - July 12th, 7:00pm. Rob Caldwell of News Center Maine's 207 news show interviewed me a couple of weeks ago, and the edited interview will air on Monday's episode. I'm hoping the show will tempt a new crop of readers to buy a book and learn about the wonderful Rachel Field.
Amazon update
I'm happy to report that my reviews on Amazon are now up to 47, so close to that 50 mark! But I'd still love to reach for 60, so please keep those reviews coming as you finish the book.
If you can publish your review on Goodreads and other bookseller sites as well, all the better. Thank you, thank you!
Bookstore stealth marketing
Now that bookstores and libraries are re-opening, please do stop by your local bookshop or chain (Target, Barnes and Noble, Walmart, Books-a-Million) and ask if they carry The Field House. I know one place you can find it is the Center for Maine Crafts on I-95, at the big rest area in West Gardiner. If you see the book anywhere on a shelf, pull it out and stand it up facing out. Exposure is powerful!
July-August events:
I'm going on-the-road over the next two weeks for some in-person book events! Please pass the word to anyone you know who might live near one of my book talks.
LAST IMPORTANT NOTE - I hold to my pledge that these emails will come a maximum of once a month, likely less by the end of this summer. Even so, I understand the burden of an overloaded inbox. Please let me know if you'd like to "unsubscribe."
JULY --
- Monday, July 12, 7-8pm. Television interview with Rob Caldwell on Maine's 207 news show. Tune in here to watch or to view the recording after the fact: www.newscentermaine.com/207
- Friday, July 23, 6:30-8:00pm - IN PERSON author presentation and conversation at NorthEast Millerton Library, Millerton, NY.
- Saturday, July 24, 3:00pm - IN PERSON author talk and book signing at Stockbridge Library, Stockbridge Massachusetts.
- Wednesday, July 28, 6:00pm - IN PERSON book group event at Sorrento Public Library, Sorrento, Maine, open to the public.
- Thursday, July 29, 6:30-7:30pm - online author presentation hosted by Rockland Public Library. For a link to the Zoom event, please email elewis@rocklandmaine.gov by 4 p.m. on July 29 and identify the event you are interested in attending in the subject line.
AUGUST --
- Sunday, Aug. 1, 2:00pm - IN PERSON book talk and signing at the charming shop, Leaf and Anna, in Brooklin, Maine.
- Friday, Aug. 6, 3-5pm - IN PERSON author event at Great Cranberry Island Historical Society on Great Cranberry Island, Cranberry Isles, Maine.
- Thursday, Aug 12, 6:00pm - online author talk, sponsored by Ellsworth Public Library. Link will be posted on my website.
- Wednesday, Aug. 18, 6pm - IN PERSON! author talk/Q and A, sponsored by Bangor Public Library. This will likely be a hybrid event, so stay tuned for link information.
Some reading entertainment - poetry and prose!
Check out the Literary Ladies Guide for several write-ups about Rachel Field.
Do-nothing day
by Robin Clifford Wood
Have you ever savored a do-nothing day
instead of regretting, upsetting your way
through the hours with glowers of scolding and shame,
accusing and bruising your mind and your name?
Well here’s a suggestion – I give you permission
to fill one sun’s tracking with acts of omission.
Resist the insistence that says, “go produce.”
Lie around with your hound, live a life on the loose.
I wish you would try it, the quiet, I mean.
Such wonders abound all around you, unseen.
Embrace the staycation that’s stimulus free,
and let your mind wander and ponder “to be.”
Sit at the window and watch for a while
‘til you find you’re unwinding and ready to smile.
Ah – there it is, fizzing like sparks in the room;
your smile’s been there aching to break through the gloom.
Decry all the “shoulds,” wooden raps to the head.
Today is for playing or staying in bed,
for cuddling, muddling, naps and oblivion,
shedding the treadmill of dread you’ve been living on.
Tomorrow, you’ll wake up all rejuvenated.
You’ll shake off the night with your psyche inflated.
You’ll stretch and you’ll yawn with the dawn, bright or gray,
improved by the groove of your do-nothing day.
1st draft February 8, 2021
(after watching “Hamilton” on TV – all those interior rhymes and rhythms felt like a cool challenge)
modified 2/14/21
Summery morning
by Robin Clifford Wood
The threshold of summer, at last, reaches north,
Where summery mornings sing busily forth.
For when they arrive they announce themselves loudly,
With flowers abloom and puffed birds preaching proudly.
The goldfinches flit and the peonies droop;
The bullfrogs harrumph and the tree swallows swoop;
A duck family glides on the still-water pond;
Two muskrats are feasting on lush cattail frond;
The maple leaves, backlit by dawning sun’s rays
Surpass stained glass windows in summoning praise.
My breath catches short and my heart goes ablaze
For all that is lovely in Earth’s glory days.
I wish you all the best of summertime -
**Robin
JUNE 1, 2021 newsletter
Happy June friends, family, and book supporters!
Summer arrives this month, and Maine practically doubles its population with an influx of summer people called by the magic of Maine. That's how Rachel Field and I both found our way here, and eventually "found" each other in an old house on a tiny island off the coast. I'm excited for Rachel's biography to plunge into its first Maine summer.
The Field House has launched with great success! Highlights:
- Between the May 4 launch event with Christina Baker Kline, the May 20 talk with Susan Conley, and several others, we have reached many hundreds of readers. Thanks again to Christina and Susan for your wonderful presence and enthusiasm.
- My books sold out at my first in-person event at Edythe Dyer Library!
- Many talks, interviews, reviews, and presentations are coming up! Please join me - the more the merrier! (See calendar with links below)
- In Amazon's "new release" categories, as of today, The Field House is #19 in Author Biographies, #34 in Women in History, and #41 in Biographies and Memoirs of Women.
- The second print run of The Field House should be available for shipping on June 4, for those of you who have been waiting patiently for backorders from independent booksellers. Sales remain brisk!
- BIG NEWS -- I'll be live on Maine Public Radio on June 4th at 11:30am! The Field House has been chosen to be part of MPBN's "Summer Reads" special feature on Maine Calling with Jennifer Rooks.
- As launch month comes to a close and a growing number of people have read The Field House, I'm overwhelmed with gratitude for all the wonderful support and effusive feedback coming in for the book.
- Amazon bought many copies of The Field House and has plenty still in stock, so please let people know that they can always find the book there (though I remain an avid advocate of independent booksellers!).
Help me reach 60!
Speaking of Amazon...Here's my one big ask for this month:
Can you help The Field House get to 60 customer reviews on Amazon?
Word on the street says that once you hit 60 reviews (some say 50, but let's aim high), Amazon gives your book significantly higher visibility. As of Monday we were up to 15, so we're 1/4 of the way there!
Can you help The Field House reach that goal? Please post a customer review on my Amazon page, and encourage others to do so as well. Let's make sure Rachel's story keeps getting attention.
A little thank you from me:
Here are some links to past events, articles, and reviews of The Field House that you might enjoy:
- YouTube video of the May 4 launch talk with Christina Baker Kline: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pTJdUtg26mU
- Down East Magazine feature: https://mainehomes.com/rachel-field-sutton-island-home/
- A most excellent book review (my favorite) in The Maine Edge by Allen Adams: https://www.themaineedge.com/style/the-field-house-a-writers-life-lost-and-found-on-an-island-in-maine
- "Heeding the Call of a Mentor From the Past" article by me for Literary Ladies Guide: http://booksbywomen.org/heeding-the-call-of-a-mentor-from-the-past/
- "Looking to Find Your Voice? Let the Story Lead You" article by me for Book Babble: https://bookclubbabble.com/looking-to-find-your-voice-let-the-story-lead-you-guest-post-by-robin-clifford-wood/
Hope you found some time for joy and remembrance over Memorial Day Weekend. Here in central Maine the rain held off, so Jonathan and I got a lot of plants in the ground before a well-needed downpour Sunday night. I love this time of year, except for the blackflies.
Many thanks, as always, for your support and for spreading the word. Word of mouth is a powerful tool, and you guys are crushing it with that so far!
Be well -
**Robin
LAST IMPORTANT NOTE - I hold to my pledge that these emails will come a maximum of once a month, likely less by the end of this summer. Even so, I understand the burden of an overloaded inbox. Please let me know if you'd like to "unsubscribe."
Upcoming events for The Field House:
JUNE --
- Thursday, June 3, 7am - online author talk with Bangor Rotary Club
- Thursday, June 3, 7pm - online author talk/Q and A with RCW, sponsored by Jesup Library (Bar Harbor, ME). Register online here: https://www.jesuplibrary.org/events/wood
- Thursday, June 3, 8:30pm - book group, remote call-in (private)
- Friday, June 4, 11:30am - Maine Public Radio, live call-in to Jennifer Rooks for Maine Calling's special feature: "Summer Reads." Robin will talk about The Field House and what she has on her own summer reading list. Participate by emailing talk@mainepublic.org, calling 1-800-399-3566 or tweeting @mainecalling.
- Monday, June 7, 9:30-11:30 - Book group visit (private)
- Tuesday, June 8, 7:00-8:00pm, Book group visit (private)
- Tuesday, June 15, 6-7pm - online author presentation hosted by Camden Public Library Email: jpierce@librarycamden.org to request a Zoom link to attend.
- Wednesday, June 30th, 6pm - online book event, RCW "in conversation" with author Melanie Brooks, sponsored by Windham Library. Email: rmarcotte@windhammaine.us to request a Zoom link to attend.
MAY 1, 2021 newsletter
Happy May Day my friends, family, and book supporters!
I'm feeling grateful to all of you for the overwhelming support I've received over the months leading up to my book launch, now just three days away. Writing is generally a reclusive occupation, but this book promotion effort has prompted me to barrage the airwaves with my presence. I appreciate your tolerance, your companionship, and your good cheer. I sense Rachel Field on my shoulder, adding her thanks as well.
Below I have pasted in an updated schedule of upcoming events. I hope you'll be able to join me for one or more of them.
BIG NEWS!! The Field House has already gone into its second printing, which means that all of your generous efforts have made an impact. Hooray for you and for readers everywhere! The May issues of Down East Magazine and Bangor Metro Magazine both have wonderful features about the book. I am glowing.
Still - the life of a book can be fleeting, so here are some things you can do to help keep the excitement alive:
1. SEND ME PHOTOS!
I am so excited that many of you have already received The Field House in the mail! I love the pictures some of you have sent -- with you holding the book, or with the book in some picturesque setting. Please keep those coming, and let me know if you're okay with me posting your photos on my Facebook/blog/Instagram/etc.
2. POST REVIEWS!!
Book marketing is mind-boggling these days; it's all too easy to get lost in the crowd. Like it or not, there are two HUGE movers and shakers in the business: Goodreads and Amazon. Now that The Field House has hit the shelves, I hope you'll be inspired to read it and to share your reactions. Reviews on those two sites, even just a sentence or two, make a significant impact. Even though Amazon owns Goodreads, Goodreads still attracts many independent bookstore shoppers. I actually love to browse the site for great reading ideas. Here's a privacy tip: you can use an invented name to create your Goodreads account.
If you're able to post a review on Amazon as well (it can be the same review as Goodreads!), that would also give The Field House a big boost. Here are the links to my book on those two sites:
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/55509620-the-field-house
Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Field-House-Writers-Found-Island/dp/1647420458/ref=sr_1_1?dchild=1&keywords=the+field+house&qid=1619903798&sr=8-1
Perhaps one of you will be the first customer reviewer on Amazon!
3. GO PUBLIC!!
When you get the book, read it in public. Post it on social media. Lend it (or give it!) to a friend. Suggest it to a book group, and let people know I'm interested in joining their meetings. I have four book group invitations so far and am looking forward to more, if scheduling allows.
4. JOIN ME AND MY FRIENDS!!
I can't wait for my online events with Christina Baker Kline (May 4), Susan Conley (May 20), and Melanie Brooks (June 30), three fabulous writers and insightful thinkers who will make for lively conversations. I'm working on some surprises for each event. Please join us online. Consider attending some of my other online events listed below as well, or an in-person gathering. I'd love to see you.
So many thanks and best wishes to you in these greening days of expanding light -
**Robin
LAST IMPORTANT NOTE - I hold to my pledge that these emails will come a maximum of once a month, likely less by the end of this summer. Even so, I understand the burden of an overloaded inbox. Please let me know if you'd like to "unsubscribe."
Book Events and Links:
MAY --
- Tuesday, May 4, 7-8pm - online book launch celebration; RCW "in conversation" with bestselling author Christina Baker Kline, co-sponsored by Left Bank Books (Belfast, ME) and Bangor Daily News. To register – click here: tinyurl.com/BDNRobinCliffor
- Wednesday, May 5, 7-8pm - Big Blend Radio, a lively podcast interview (prerecorded) with Lisa Smith and Nancy Reid. Here's the link that will allow you to tune in live. You can also use this link to hear the recorded interview any time after it airs: https://www.blogtalkradio.com/big-blend-radio/2021/05/05/big-blend-radio-robin-clifford-wood--the-field-house
- Friday, May 7th, 4-7pm - IN PERSON outdoor reception at Edythe Dyer Library in Hampden. Author talk, Q and A, book sales and signing
- Tuesday, May 11th - interview with Citywide Blackout podcast (recorded for later broadcast, TBA)
- Wednesday, May 12th - 7-7:15pm - Podcast interview on “Stories That Empower” with Sean Farjadi; sponsored by enlightenednegotiation.com. Use this link: https://us04web.zoom.us/j/74098839867?pwd=VUQrYzQwdXZ3aHlleTIzeHNDN2hrZz09
- Sunday, May 16th, 8:00pm - Tune in to the Facebook live Stone House Readers series, where Robin will be one of three featured writer-presenters.
- Thursday, May 20th, 7pm - online book event, RCW "in conversation" with author Susan Conley, sponsored by Print: A Bookstore (Portland, Maine). Register here: https://zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_ThJI8P8hTmeNcrxamUEyXg
- Sunday, May 23, 10-11am - In-person at the Unitarian Universalist Society of Bangor, guest speaker about story.
April 4, 2021 newsletter
Happy April Friends and Family!
One month from today, May 4, is launch day for The Field House: A Writer's Life Lost and Found on an Island in Maine. What a wonderful, whirlwind trip it's been since July of 2019 when I signed my publishing contract with She Writes Press. I have butterflies most days now - both the nervous kind and the elated kind.
For those who may have missed earlier emails, The Field House is a biography-memoir hybrid about once-renowned writer Rachel Field. Field died suddenly and unexpectedly in 1942. When Jonathan and I bought Rachel's beloved summer house on an island off the coast of Maine in 1994,I had no idea how deeply Rachel would insert herself into my life. Every summer I dwelt among her former possessions, shared her love of moss-carpeted forests under spiky stands of spruce trees, the sound of gulls and bell buoys, the rhythm of moonrise, sunrise, and pulsing tides.
Here's what Kirkus Reviews had to say about the book:“
[Wood’s] passionate prose and carefully curated primary sources will certainly convince readers that Field is not a writer to overlook. An eloquent, detailed tribute to a less well-known but inspiring author.”
Opportunities you may be interested in:
1. Card in the mail! If you would like to receive a lovely postcard in the mail, send me your physical address and I'll be sure to get one to you. It would look great on your refrigerator!
2. Pre-orders I'm told that some folks who pre-ordered from Amazon have already been notified that their books are coming soon. Apparently Amazon is famous for jumping ahead, so you may get a book before the official launch date. If you haven't ordered yet, I encourage you to order through your local bookstore or through Bookshop.org or Indiebound.org. But Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Google Books, and many other sites carry the book.
3. Book group visit! I love chatting with book groups. If your book group reads The Field House, contact me with the date and time and let's try to connect online
4. Book events:
- Official online book launch celebration:
- Tuesday, May 4, 7:00pm – RCW in conversation with bestselling author Christina Baker Kline, co-sponsored by Left Bank Books (Belfast, ME) and Bangor Daily News.
- To register, click here: tinyurl.com/BDNRobinClifford
- May issue of Down East Magazine will feature The Field House and RCW; interview and write-up by Sarah Stebbins.
- May issue of Bangor Metro magazine will also feature The Field House and RCW in an interview by Kaylie Reese.
- Wednesday, May 5 - Tune in to Big Blend Radio for a lively pre-recorded podcast interview with Lisa Smith and Nancy Reid (time and link TBA).
- Friday, May 7th, 4-7pm - IN PERSON outdoor celebration/reception in Hampden at Edythe Dyer Library. Author talk, Q & A, book sales and signing. I might even bring cookies.
- Wednesday, May 12th, 7-7:15pm, Podcast interview on “Stories That Empower” with Sean Farjadi; sponsored by enlightenednegotiation.com.
- Thursday, May 20th, 7pm - online book event, RCW in conversation with author Susan Conley, sponsored by Print: A Bookstore (Portland, ME) - link TBA.
- Sunday, May 23rd, 10am – Unitarian Universalist Society of Bangor invited me to be a guest in the pulpit, talking about the power of story. Contact: https://uubangor.org/
- Thursday, June 3, 7pm. online author talk, Q & A with RCW, sponsored by Jesup Library (Bar Harbor, ME) - link TBA.
- Monday, June 7, 9:30-11:30 Book group visit (private)
- Wednesday, June 30th, 6pm - online book event, RCW in conversation with author Melanie Brooks, sponsored by Windham Library. Contact/register: rmarcotte@windhammaine.us
- Wednesday, Aug. 18, 6:00pm, online author talk/Q & A, sponsored by Bangor Public Library - link TBA.
Check robincliffordwood.com for link updates and other details as event dates approach.
Whew! Looking forward to seeing and hearing from you.
Thanks again for your support.
**Robin
PS -- Please do let me know if you'd like to be removed from this email group. I don't want to add a burden to anyone's overburdened inbox!
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