Be inspired by nature on the Fall Equinox
Join Julie Simon with writing guests Jeff Southard and Ken Lassman at Harmony Farm for a writer’s retreat on the Fall Equinox, 2025.
Cost: $200 (half paid to reserve your spot by August 15)
Questions? Contact Julie Simon at (304) 654-3992
Schedule
Saturday, September 20th
12:30 to 12:45 Write one word on a leaf, place on tree
12:45 to 1:15 Who are you? Why are you here?
1:15 to 2:15 Ken Lassman will guide us on a 20 minute exploration of the property. Return and write about nature.
Break
2:30 to 3:30 Make a list of nine words and write something from that nine-word word bank
3:30 Share something you have written previously or today
4:30 Optional Sound Meditation with Paul Rudy
5:30 Dinner
6:30 to 7:00 Grab Bag Writing
7:00 to 7:30 Oui Si (a game)
7:30 Fire Gazing
Sunday, September 21st
7:00 to 8:00 Breakfast
8:15 to 9:15 What have you been reading lately?
“We writers need to read to learn our craft. If you don’t have time to read, you don’t have the time (or the tools) to write.” -Stephen King
Break
9:30 to 10:00 Discuss good journal style writing
10:00 to 11:00 Jeff Southard: Writing historical novels, and how to write a good Letter to the Editor
11:15 to 12:15 Write a six-word autobiography
12:30 to 1:00 Check in with one another before we depart
About Julie Simon
Never “should” on yourself, but you should come to this workshop. Julie Simon is a retired recreation center director and church music director. Bachelor Degree in Music Therapy from Mount St. Joe on the Ohio. While living in West Virginia for fifteen years, she was a part of a writer’s group for ten years and attended conferences for writing. Julie has created and facilitated nine retreats in West Virginia. There was a retreat in Ohio where Julie retreated for the first time in her life. She had such a good experience, she decided to offer retreats for others. Affirmation Massage is the name of her own massage practice and she currently works at the Unity of Lawrence Church building.
Guests
Jeff Southard is a fifth-generation Kansan born in Wichita. During his time as an undergraduate at the University of Kansas, one of his majors was medieval history with an emphasis on the Byzantine Empire. Although he followed in his father’s footsteps and became an attorney, he always retained an interest in the subject. Now retired, he can devote more time to that fascinating yet rarely-studied period in history. He has published five historical novels set in 11th Century Constantinople, with the sixth, Year of the Bat, coming out later this year. All concern the adventures of Justin and Sophie, a husband and wife crime fighting team. Jeff lives in an historic neighborhood in Lawrence, Kansas, with his wife Peggy and their dog. He rejoices in KU basketball, has not yet given up on KU football, is active in his church and the community, and takes great pleasure in being with his children and grandchildren. He also has some degree of local notoriety for his letters to the editor in what passes for the local newspaper.
Ken Lassman is a fifth generation, lifelong resident of Douglas County and is author of Wild Douglas County (2007) and Seasons and Cycles: Rhythms of Life in the Kansas River Basin (1985), and has a weekly online nature calendar at Kaw Valley Almanac. Ken is also an occupational therapist working with Minds Matter, LLC. He is the recipient of the Imagination and Place Environmental Award in 2007, and participates in local organizations such as the Lawrence Ecological Teams United for Sustainability (LETUS). He leads free nature walks at the Prairie Park Prairie on the third Saturday of the month and has given presentations to a wide number of organizations over the last four decades.