Fiddleheads!

They’re back!  DH and I were strolling through Whole Foods the other night when I spotted a precious sign.  Fiddlehead Ferns, it read – and there they were, packed in a bin with tiny ice chips to keep them crisp. For the uninitiated, fiddleheads are the immature, unopened fronds of a fern that, when harvested…

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The pre-reqs of public speaking

What makes a good public speaker?  A strong voice?  Lotsa guts?  The gift of gab? If you guessed any of these, you’d be right, but they’re the tip of the iceberg – literally, only the part you see.  When I talk before a group, there’s much more involved, and since I’m flying across the country…

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What, me? Preorder?

Well,  I don’t do it all the time, but here I am, asking you to preorder the paperback of Escape, which goes on sale Tuesday.  So let’s take a minute to discuss the pros and cons of preordering. Pro.  You don’t risk forgetting; the book is on your doorstep the day it goes on sale.…

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When characters are name-callers

Here’s another thought for those of you who are interested in the kinds of things a writer has to consider. In a single stretch of dialogue, how often should the characters call each other by name?  I’ve been hypersensitive about this lately, because I just read another book that, IMHO, did it very wrong. Here’s…

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Why I love FIFTY SHADES OF GREY

Surely by now you’ve heard friends talk of this book, and if you haven’t yet, you will.  Consider me a friend.  And here’s my talk. I love the characters.  Ana may be sexually naïve at the start of the book, but she has spunk and wit.  She takes on Christian as no other woman has;…

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