Who said writing a book is easy? I’ll tell you who. The man who sold me my first computer. I had been writing genre fiction at the time, and when I explained to him what that was, he said, “Ah-ha, this computer will make it easy. A few clicks and you can change names, eye color, and places – and, presto, you have a new book.” How wrong he [...]
"Well Behaved Women Rarely Make History." I saw this last week on a mug in my local CVS, and it brought back memories of a tee-shirt I had with the same message until dozens of washings decimated the words. I still have an apron whose bib reads, "Every mother is a working mother." That one dates back to when I started writing and people asked if I worked, when more [...]
There’s good news and bad news. The Good News Twilight Whispers, one of my earliest mainstream novels, is making its debut as an e-Book at the end of this month – on January 30, to be exact. The bad news? I can’t stand the title. I’ve been struggling with it since this book was first published, so many years ago. It’s especially upsetting to hate the title when I love [...]
When was the last time you made a New Year’s resolution you actually kept? Think about it. And be honest. What resolution have you made in, say, the last five years that you’ve actually seen all the way through? If you’re anything like me, you’re stuttering, trying to come up with one. Because the resolutions we make for ourselves are all wrong. They are large and lofty – usually things [...]
Well, I don't really hate my camera. I actually love it. I just hate the selfies it takes. They’re awful – make me look tired and old. From what I read, I’m not alone in selfie-hate. From what I read, there are scientific explanations for the notorious badness of selfies. From what I read, the most adamant selfie-takers use apps that automatically make them look better. I tried one of those [...]
I didn’t always listen to audiobooks. I’m very much a visual person, who needs a map in my hand. When it comes to books, I like to hold them. I like being able to skip back and forth when I’m confused. I even like being able to read the ending before I reach it, so that I can focus on the process rather than worry about how it ends. Bottom [...]
Incubating. What does that mean, someone recently asked. This person had first asked if I was taking a break, now that my new book is finished and in production. Lord, no, I said. Writing is what I do. It’s what I think about when I’m up the creek without a paddle – e.g., in the dentist’s waiting room, in the supermarket checkout line, or lying awake at two in the [...]
An awful thing happened yesterday. At two in the afternoon, I lost my Internet connection. Oh, my Wifi still had full signal, but Comcast was not reaching it. This wasn’t a total surprise. I’d been hearing trucks outside my window during the few hours preceding that and figured work was being done in the neighborhood. So I waited a few minutes, then tried again. Nothing. I waited a little longer, [...]
This summer of 2017 has been amazing for me in a totally unexpected way. My nine-year-old granddaughter went to sleep-away camp for the very first time – 3½ weeks at a girls’ camp in Vermont. Every night, her camp posts several hundred photos taken that day, so that parents can see their daughters in action. Thanks to my son and daughter-in-law linking me in, I’ve been checking out photos each [...]
I’m playing with words again, but, hey, that’s what being a writer is about. And now, with another Fourth of July here, the concept of patriotism comes front and center. By definition, ‘patriotism’ means vigorous support for one’s country. And while I’m not one for marching in a parade brandishing guns, certainly not one for blind support of our leaders when I think they are wrong, I do like to [...]
