THE LIGHT BETWEEN OCEANS: a book recommendation

Judi, one of my readers, recommended this to me in a recent blog comment.  I had already read several reviews of this book, but saw her recommendation at the moment when I needed something new. What a good read! The Light Between Oceans is set in the 1920’s, as was Rules of Civility, which I…

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Are you a typo freak?

Inevitably, when each of my books first comes out, I get notes from readers catching typos.  “ Doesn’t anyone proofread anymore?” they ask plaintively. The answer?  YES!  I carefully read through looking for errors, as do my editor, my agent, my assistant, and more people at the publishing house than I care to count.  And still, when the…

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RULES OF CIVILITY – a book recommendation

Another one, you say?  Wow, do you read fast!  I do, but only when I’m not writing, and since right now I’m hovering in the twilight between Sweet Salt Air and my next book, I have time.  As always, this isn’t as much a book review as a recommendation.  I can only tell you what I like. …

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Lean on me

Do you remember that song?  “Lean on me … when you’re not strong … I’ll be your friend … I’ll help you carry on …”  It was written by Bill Withers in 1972 and is still being played, and no wonder.  The message is right there in the words, no pussy-footing around.  I also think…

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A DISCOVERY OF WITCHES: a recommendation

I actually want to talk about two books – A Discovery of Witches and its sequel, Shadow of Night.  Please note, this isn’t a book review, simply a recommendation of two books that I’ve enjoyed reading.  Both were written by Deborah Harkness, and they have totally caught my fancy. If that phrase is old-fashioned, it’s…

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Revising SWEET SALT AIR

Here’s how it works.  The author writes her book and sends it to her editor, who reads it, thinks about it, reacts to it, hopefully loves it – but also comes up with a few recommendations to make it even stronger. Sounds great, doesn’t it? Well, it isn’t always.  Authors have egos.  We have pride and fears.  Let me…

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