The Living at Lake Chapala Writing Team

Jim Tipton was a beekeeper and poet in his former Frutis, Colorado, home. His work, poetry and prose, is widely published, including credits in The Nation, South Dakota Review, Southern Humanities Review, The Greensboro Review, Esquire, Field, and American Literary Review as well as various anthologies and other works.

His most recent collection of poems, Letters from a Stranger, with a Foreword by Isabel Allende (Conundrum Press, 1998), won the 1999 Colorado Book Award in Poetry. He is currently working on a new collection of poetry in the ecstatic tradition, The King of Ajijic.

Zofia Barisas was born in Montreal, Canada. She attended the School of the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts before moving to Toronto where she studied Interior Design at Ryerson. She has done house renovations and landscaped gardens in Canada, the U.S. and Mexico. She has traveled through the Americas, Europe and part of North Africa. She is fluent in four languages. She lives at the foot of the mountain in Jocotepec, Mexico, where she writes, paints, reads, bakes bread and enjoys walking up the mountainside along goat paths. You can read some of her work in the new anthology, Agave Marias, published last year by the members of a Lake Chapala writers' group.

Karen Blue escaped the corporate jungle of Silicon Valley in 1997 to search for balance in the cobblestone streets of the village of Ajijic. It was a simple comment at the Ajijic Writers Group that guided Blue to write and publish her first book, Midlife Mavericks: Women Reinventing Their Lives in Mexico.

Blue also authored five years of monthly columns titled "Living in Mexico—From a Woman's Perspective" for the electronic magazine, Mexico Connect before she joined forces with Judy King to co-found Living at Lake Chapala. About two years into the production of this electronic magazine, Blue decided to take retirement more seriously, in order to travel more and spend more time with her grandson. She's been doing an admirable job accomplishing these goals, and yet still occasionally finds time to write a new article for our pages.

Carol Bowman and husband, Ernie Sowers moved to Lake Chapala from PA in Nov. 2006. A social worker and Director of Admissions at a PA Psychiatric Hospital for 35 years, Carol's outlet of travel writing helped preserve her sanity over the years. Visiting 55 countries before retirement, Carol's early articles appeared regularly in Latin American publications Honduras This Week, Tico Times and Belize First Magazine. Since arriving at Lakeside, Carol has been a frequent contributor to El Ojo del Lago, Lake Chapala Review and is proud to now add Living at Lake Chapala to the list. She teaches English at Wilkes Education Center through LCS and became Co-ordinator of that English as a Second Language program in January 2008. Her husband, Ernie, photographer for Carol's articles, is an avid golfer and serves on the Board of Directors of Chapala Country Club.

Jeanne Miriam Breen is from New York City originally, then spent 24 years in San Francisco, and came to Mexico five years ago. She now lives in Chapala and loves it there.

She has written articles for a number of magazines, including Parenting, Natural Health and The Whole Earth Review. A long time ago, she wrote a monthly column in English for a Hispanic magazine in the United States.

Not Content to be a map maker and author of the highly acclaimed book, Western Mexico—A Traveller's Treasury, Tony Burton is also a writer, educator and naturalist who has lived most of his adult life in Mexico—including ten years on the shores of Lake Chapala. Tony revels in leading annual excursions to Mexican places of ecological interest such as the Copper Canyon and especially to Michoacán: the areas around the volcano near Paricutín and the winter home sites of the migratory Monarch butterflies.

Marianne Carlson founded the annual Lakeside event Feria Maestros del Artes in 2002 in an attempt to provide Mexico's struggling artists and artisans with an active venue in which to sell their wares. Marianne, who is an expert in the arts and artisans of Mexico displays and sells many examples of the country's work in her Ajijic gallery, Galería Maestros del Arte, Colon #13.

After 15 years of making her living by creating art and three years as the curator of an art center near Santa Cruz, California, Judy Dykstra-Brown moved to San Juan Cosalá in 2001, determined to spend her time writing. Old habits die hard and she spends an increasing amount of time supporting and publicizing artistic events, particularly those that involve San Juan Cosalá artists.

When Judy lived in South Dakota, Wyoming, Australia, Ethiopia and California she taught English and creative writing, worked for a television production company, was a jewelry maker, metal smith and maker of shadow box scenes. Her writings are found in Agave Marias, a new anthology recently published by 10 Lakeside women writers as well as New Poets In Los Angeles and a number of poetry journals. In 2002, her poetry won first place in the Tennessee Writer's Guild national poetry competition.

Active garden writer and speaker Steven A. Frowine now resides in Ajijic where he continues to write gardening books and serves as a horticultural consultant for various estates in the Lake Chapala area. He holds B.S. and M.S. degrees in horticulture, managed one of the largest orchid collections in the United States and has worked professionally in premier botanical gardens and horticultural businesses throughout the US. Steve has written Gardening Basics for Dummies, Orchids for Dummies, Fragrant Orchids, Miniature Orchids and another orchid book that will be released in August 2008: Phalaenopsis, the Complete Guide to Growing Moth Orchids.

Diane Goldstein and her life partner Ellen Wicker began their new life at Lake Chapala in early June of 2006. Diane's first Living at Lake Chapala article ran in the magazine months earlier and recorded the pair's first impressions of the area. Now that they are here, you can expect to hear more from this expressive and lively pair. Diane has been keeping careful notes about the entire process of moving here, and boy does she have stories to tell! Diane and Ellen were both once social workers in Northern California, but Diane is no newcomer to writing as you'll soon discover.

Former Canadian Snowbird Harriet Hart has graduated from wintering in an Ajijic village home with summers at Kakagi Lake in north-western Ontario. In 2008, she and husband Paul have sold the lake cabin and bought a full-time home at Lakeside. Harriet has been writing for Living at Lake Chapala since early 2004. Prior to her retirement, Harriet was Director of Rehabilitation for the Manitoba division of the Canadian Paraplegic Association, where (for 16 years) she wrote a column in the agency newsletter and then edited it the last two years of her work life. In addition to work-related pieces, she completed two creative writing courses at the University of Winnipeg. She reports that husband Paul and grown son Nathaniel provide her with plenty of great material for her favorite field, creative non-fiction.

Janet Holt is a native Texan who has had a lifelong love affair with Mexico. She and her husband, Mike, have been south of the border many times over the years and one day soon she hopes they can call Lakeside home.

Janet is a gerontologist and licensed professional counselor from Houston whose specialty is helping people through life transitions. In addition to workshops on aging, she has developed a series of continuing education seminars for other counselors related to aging Baby Boomers.

Janet also loves writing. She is nearing completion of her first book about financial literacy, An Investment Guide That Starts from Scratch. She has written extensively for a travel newsletter and will see her essay in print in an anthology titled, I Didn't Get Old Being Stupid due to be released in January.

Typical of many Lakeside residents, Sandy Jeronimo's life North of the border was filled with adventures and travel. Her several careers included stints as a toy buyer and free lance writer for magazines such as Women's Day and Family Circle. Now in her second year at Lakeside, Sandy is continuing her artistic and journalistic interests.

A regular contributor to Living at Lake Chapala, Teresa Kendrick is a professional journalist, writer and press consultant. Teresa recently published a second edition of her extremely popular guide book to Lakeside, Mexico's Lake Chapala and Ajijic: The Insider's Guide. She edited Don Adams' well-known book, Head for Mexico: The Renegade Guide. You'll find more of her work in The Agave Marias. Her other recent project is Tales from La Maracuyá.

Before Teresa moved to Mexico in 1994, she was involved with the arts, public relations and publicity for galleries, museums and other events.

In 2005, Michael G. McLaughlin sold most of his worldly belongings in Sacramento, moved to Lake Chapala, and never looked back. His days are now filled with perfect weather, time to write and Spanish language lessons. OK, and maybe a margarita or two.

His short stories have appeared in the Orlando Sentinel newspaper, Aphelion (Australia), La Fenetre (French), Prose Toad, The Piker Press, Long Short Story, Turbular, Gold Dust (United Kingdom) Taj Mahal (India) Searchlights/Landing Lights, Barfing Frog Press, Piker Press, The Harrow, Write Side Up, Pens on Fire, New Graffiti, Shine and Sun Dog.

While a captive in the United States he founded, directed and performed with a small comedy theater, appeared in television commercials and worked in many lackluster jobs to pay the bills. Presently he performs with an improvisational comedy troupe in Mexico called Spanglish Imposition—the only English speaking troupe between Tijuana and Terra del Fuego.

Bill Mesusan and his wife Julie Mesusan came to Lakeside in October 2005; they bought a house in Villa Nova just in time to celebrate their 29th wedding anniversary in Ajijic. Bill retired in 2004 after a successful 23-year career in local (California) government. His last position was as a Senior Management Analyst for Santa Clara County (Silicon Valley in California) Roads and Airports Department. In additional to the articles he is currently writing, Bill is researching and writing a nonfiction novel, Still Waiting for Justice: A Journey into the Legend of Joaquin Murrieta which relates the true story of California's most famous outlaw. When the Mesusans received an enticing offer on their Villa Nova home, they accepted it and returned to California where they can be closer to their daughters and grand-cats. They now enjoy extended Lakeside vacations while Bill researches upcoming articles for Living at Lake Chapala and area print magazines.

One of the long-time residents of Lakeside, Dale Palfrey has experienced it all. Her husband was owner and head-master of one of the area's private schools for many years, Dale and Wayne's children are now in their teens and have grown up here at Lakeside, and all the while Dale has been studying the culture, customs and traditions of Mexico to share in her free-lance articles in the Guadalajara Reporter, Mexico Connect and many other venues.

When Phyllis Rauch and her Austrian husband Georg drove from the U.S. to Mexico in 1967, it was a two-month journey that changed the lives of this talented and artistic couple. Phyllis and Georg ended up living in Guadalajara for three years while Phyllis was a tri-lingual guide for the 1968 cultural Olympics. Although they spent the next seven years in Laguna Beach, California, where Phyllis was branch librarian at the San Clemente library (during the Nixon years) they yearned to return to Mexico.

When the couple returned to Mexico in 1976 it was to build their dream home on a hillside overlooking Lake Chapala near the village of Jocotepec. There Georg has continued creating fabulous works of art, Phyllis has grown to love art, gardening and writing and the couple has also managed Los Dos Bed and Breakfast on their one-acre property. Recently Phyllis edited and translated the book The Jew with the Silver Star which Georg wrote about his life in the Austrian army during WWII.

Lorraine Russo was on hand, as Executive Chef, to open the new kitchen and the La Ruso dining room of when Ajijic's La Nueva Posada opened their doors in August 2000. Commenting on her life and experiences, Lorraine said, "It's been a wild and exiting journey traveling from my Italian grandmothers' New Jersey kitchens to my position and life here at Lake Chapala. "Along the way I studied interior design in Greenwich Village in New York City and then attended the Culinary Institute of America in New York. Over the years, I've had a booking company and managed musicians and night clubs, had my own antiques business, gourmet restaurant (Lorraine's), barbeque place and a steak house, most in Austin, Texas."

The talented couple of Joan Alita Ray and Clay Swinburn moved to Mexico just a few years ago. Joan Alita Ray retired from a career as a newspaper and magazine publisher in Alaska and Portland, Oregon. During her 50 years in Alaska, she also wrote articles for print and electronic media about that state's unique people and culture. Clay Swinburn enjoyed teaching history and currently is working on a pair of books that share his interest in Mexican and Texas history. Joan and Clay have lived in their Ajijic home long enough to have become embroiled in interesting remodeling projects during the spring and summer of 2006, and then undaunted have undertaken the construction of a granny flat back in Portland. When they get the cement debris and saw dust out of their hair they'll be back with more articles.

Sometimes a very special story brings a writer to our pages. Jeanne M. Scoville is a Registered Nurse with a B.S. specializing in wellness, preventive medicine and social gerontology (the study of aging) and a special miracle to share with our readers. We've presented it as a holiday gift in the December 2006 issue. Jeanne is a world traveler who has studied natural medicine and healing with the indigenous elders and curanderos (healers) of many different cultures and many lands. Another of her careers had her producing documentary films, including "Nine Initiations On The Nile." This film is an initiation journey conducted by Barbara Hand Clow, a Cherokee Medicine Woman with Hakkim, an indigenous Egyptian tribal leader and archaeologist who has lectured at the University of Chicago. They travel with a group of students to the Great Pyramid in Egypt as well as to various temple sites along the Nile. Jeanne now lives in Jocotepec where she feels she has come home.

A social worker and psychotherapist by profession, Alison Solomon has taught graduate psychology in several universities and been published in newspapers, magazines and anthologies. She has written advice columns for several publications and has chapters in numerous professional texts. Here at Lakeside she has jumped right into local activities, lending her expertise to the planning committee of the annual writers conference and serving as lay leader for the Lake Chapala Jewish community.

It's never too late to take the plunge and move to Lake Chapala. Writing team member Tom Stephenson made the move he'd been dreaming about for years in August 2006 when he arrived from San Juan Capistrano, California with a pair of suitcases at the age of 88. Tom has an fascinating resume of achievements, experiences and former homes around the world. He was a weekly newspaper columnist back in California and jumped right into the mainstream of Lake Chapala activities and wrote his first article for Living at Lake Chapala before most folks have their bags unpacked. After living most of his life out of the U.S., Tom is adjusting quickly to life in Mexico, and has much wisdom to share with other expats. These days he's publishing his own delightful bits of wisdom from his view point in the Lake Chapala Review.

Shirley Thayer worked for 25 years in the non- and for-profit sectors in the fields of communication, administration and fund raising. She wrote hard news, features and a thrice-weekly column for a Southern California daily newspaper where she also coordinated community news coverage. She went on to have her own communications business providing writing, editing, advertising, marketing and fund raising services for non-profits. She briefly published her own weekly newspaper with a focus on positive, community coverage and co-authored a book published by Prentice Hall.

Shirley grew up in Connecticut and lived in Southern California and Central Oregon before moving to Chapala in early 2008. She has long loved the Mexican culture and life style and finds herself very much at home in Chapala.

Elsa Wasserman was formerly a school psychologist, high school principal, national school improvement consultant, and mental health counselor, to name a few highlights in a multi-faceted career. "Right now," she says, "I'm in my seventh iteration as a non-fiction writer here at Lakeside writing "personal essays" to which readers can relate. My other big interests are my three children, their spouses, and my grandchildren. I am taking my six grandchildren on a cruise to Alaska in June. That should provide the stuff for a great and funny article.

Marvin West, mostly retired after just 42 years with Scripps Howard newspapers, is senior partner in an international communications consulting company. His regular columns entitled "Westwords" have appeared in Mexico Connect's e-magazine. Eventually he plans these articles will become his fourth book, Mexico? What you doing in Mexico?

Christy Wiseman visited Lakeside in 1960 during the summer trip to Guadalajara with two college friends and the Mexican aunt of her friend, Susanna Delgado. That trip was a life-changing experience for Christy who discovered her passion in learning cultural differences and studying language. Christy taught French and English at the high school and community college levels for 33 years while raising three sons and taking more than 25 tour groups to France and to England. Christy and husband Beau moved to Lakeside after a two-week trip. Beau has rekindled his interest in music and plays with a local group while Christy writes, quilts, enjoys music, auctions and expos and eating out.

Travis M. Whitehead is currently researching and writing a book about the artisans of Michoacán. Travis moved to Morelia in March 2008 and has spent his time exploring the villages of the state, visiting the artisans in their workshops and learning about their techniques and daily lives. His book seeks to reveal similarities between the artisans and readers in the United States while telling the "story behind the story" of their crafts.

Travis became interested in the artisans during a 9-year stint as a reporter for The Monitor newspaper in McAllen, Texas, where he wrote three packages of articles about the craftsmen of Michoacán: the Day of the Dead crafts festivities in Patzcuaro, the Domingo de Ramos crafts fair and competition in Uruapan, and the guitar festival in Paracho. Those experiences captivated his heart and compelled him to write a full length book.

Travis worked as a US Army photo-journalist in Panama, and in Iraq after the first Gulf War in 1991 where he managed the civilian press during the Kurdish refugee operation.