Cead mile fajlte

      So this is home.

And I built it myself, technology challenged person that I am.  Now that’s a wonder.

There is something wonderful about being able to build our own home: use our creativity to make a sanctuary, our imagination to make a safe place that exists in our mind and heart.  It’s from that place of home that our cups are filled and we can become our best selves.

Sometimes a story or book can be such a home, a place to live while reading or hearing it.  Homes of that sort for me include the stories of Ulysses, Beowulf, Hansel and Gretel; books by writers like Chaucer, Shakespeare, Austen, Dickens, Kipling, Tolkien, Salinger, E.B. White, Diana Wynne Jones, Frank Delaney and of late, Kate DiCamillo and Susan Fletcher.  I return over and over again because they hold something that I need and cherish.  They encourage, refresh, and fill me with wonder.

Opening the cover of a book is like opening a door.

Can going to a website possibly be the same?  I don’t know.  But I am building this home, this website, with the hope that it will be a creative space – for me – and for you when you come to visit.

So welcome!  Cead mile fajlte in Gaelic: a hundred thousand welcomes.  Come in any door.  They are everywhere, you know, doors – even among rocks and cliffs, trees and meadows . . . even on computers and in our hearts.  Join the conversation by leaving your comments.  I look forward to talking.

About me

My name is Claudia Finseth, and I’m a writer.

I write for children and for adults.  I write fiction, non-fiction and poetry.  That is to say, I’m pretty much all over the map.  There are so many ideas to write about, so many adventures to have in writing, so many feelings to capture, so why would I want to limit myself?

I love everything about writing.  I love the brainstorming, the rough-drafting, the rewriting, and the polishing. Writing helps me stay sane, it keeps me serene, it feeds my quirky soul.  When I am not writing I get cranky.  Trust me, you don’t want to be around me then.  It’s not a pleasant experience.

I live in Washington State with my husband Rick, who is originally from Canada.  We have two grown children, two children-in-law, and a granddaughter, as well as various informally adopted family.  It’s nice that we can make our own family just like we can build our own home.

Most writers I know have animals, and I’m no exception.  For years Jake the golden retriever and Isabelle the calico cat kept me company while I wrote in my little study at home.  They grew old, and are gone.  Now Finn has come to live with us.  He’s also a golden retriever and quite a character. Animals are perfect writer’s companions, because they seldom interrupt the voice of the story or disrupt the stream of imagination.

Do you like to write?  I hope so, but some people really hate it, mostly because they’ve had bad experiences or been told they are lousy at it.  If writing scares you, just think of it this way: writing is talking on paper.  If you can talk, you can write.

Writing in a journal might save your sanity or even your life sometime.  It has mine.

ps — I am sure animals would enjoy writing if they only had opposable thumbs.