Sausalito Tree House Study
I rented a fabulous tree house in Sausalito overlooking the San Francisco Bay while working on The Eight. Read more about the tree house here.
At left is a shot of the interior of the tree house in the 1980s with original manuscript of The Eight in the foreground.
Palo Alto Study
Katherine in Karl’s study in California
Writing in Karl’s study in Palo Alto, wearing my official ‘DipSea’ T-shirt. The DipSea is an annual race from San Francisco Bay, over the top of Mountain Tamalpais (2500 feet high) to Stinson Beach on the Pacific Ocean.
The story is: It started one day when a bunch of guys were sitting around at a restaurant in Mill Valley and someone said “It’s hot today; whaddya say? Let’s go for a Dip in the Sea! Last one there has to buy the beer.”
It’s now a famous tradition. I’ve hiked the route often. Mt Tam is a sacred mountain for native peoples and for the Buddhists: it’s very magical to go there alone. But during the DipSea, there are hundreds of runners and race fans; I met Robin Williams there one year when he was a runner. I used to drive the coast road and give my friends a lift back home at the race’s conclusion.
Blue Ridge, Virginia Study
Here are photos of me working in my atrium studio in the Blue Ridge Mountains of Virginia, on A Calculated Risk and The Magic Circle.
The seahorse on my shirt from Puerto Vallarta, at right, is a hippocampus, my favorite part of the brain! Surrounding me in the study are talismans protecting me while I write. The talisman in front of me is always on my desk, it’s the god Hermes, also known as Mercury. Hermes is my favorite god – and on his fingertip he usually has a button that says ‘Don’t Panic.’
Hermes is the Messenger and is the only God in Greek in mythology who can travel through all the realms. He is the Messenger of the Gods on Olympus (Heaven), he is the Messenger to Mortal Men, and he can also travel into Hades (the Underworld).
