We come from six different countries. Our "day jobs" cover the spectrum from literature professor to student to waitress to pastor. Our creative interests vary from memoirs to film scripts to short stories. But we all have one thing in common: We like to write.

For the last six months or so, I've been getting to know a small circle of aspiring artists who -- like myself -- have long enjoyed writing as a hobby, but who are now looking to improve their skills and put their stuff "out there" a bit more. We found each other through a collective of international writers in the city of Amsterdam called wordsinhere (and through word-of-mouth, as things developed), and there are now ten of us who meet together as a "fiction critique group" every other Monday evening, in a small cafe in the Jordaan.

Last night, we met in the home of one of the members of our group, where we were treated to an Indian Tea and some wonderful homemade Indian snacks. A number of the members from our group couldn't make it yesterday (so unfortunately, they didn't make it in the pictures), but we really had a fun time together.

I'm going to miss being involved in the group this summer, while I'm gone in the United States...