Well, I”m pretty tired. It’s been a manic marathon of talks, workshops, chat, contacts, advice (given and received) and inspiration (ditto). I’ve loved the Geneva Writers Conference. If you ever have a chance to go, do.

One of the things I’ve most enjoyed is my classroom. Although I don’t do much nature writing, I need natural beauty to write. It feeds me, somehow. When I get stuck, I go for a long walk or a drive in the country and I can almost feel myself filling up with joy.

Ages ago, my friend, the photographer Tracy Piper Wright (http://tracypiperwright.co.uk/) and I left London to begin following our artistic careers. We thought we’d be back in town all the time, to meet up, to shop, etc. Actually, we stayed out of town for ages.

Finally, she began going back regularly, for gallery shows. ‘You can’t sh*t,’ she said, ‘if you don’t eat.’

She’s much more elegant in her conversation now, but she was right. You have to feed yourself…feed yourself whatever nourishes you. For me, today, it’s the energy of my students, but also the way the afternoon light makes the cedar trees glow like turquoise neon, and the distant sparkle of the lake.