When books mirror life
I have a childhood friend, living far away now, who swears she knows what’s going on in my life from my newest book. She is certainly right where Blueprints is concerned. During the early months of the writing, in real life I was gutting and redoing the bathroom off my bedroom – totally fitting when…
Read MoreWhere’s your comfort zone?
I had a heart-to-heart once with the guy who does my hair. He’d been doing it for a long time, but we were increasingly at odds about style, cut, and color, with him urging me in one direction and my urging him in another. Finally, seeming exasperated, he said, “Barbara, you need to get out…
Read MoreHow we got a cover for BLUEPRINTS
If you’re reading this blog, you’re currently looking at the cover of my new book, BLUEPRINTS, which debuts this coming June. What do you think? Does the cover draw you in? This isn’t an idle question. It’s one that my publisher and I have been asking ourselves since this cover became “the one.” We…
Read MoreGiving Thanks
Exit polling done during last week’s election shows widespread discouragement and dissatisfaction. And yes, I understand that the economic heyday of the past hasn’t returned. But there’s still much to be grateful for. This is one of the things for which I fault our leaders. Politicians paint a dismal picture of anything and everything…
Read MoreI have a title!
Book titles arrive different ways. Some crop up at the get-go, even before I start writing a book. Others come when my publisher reads the opening of the book and a word or phrase pops up that is perfect. Others take longer to find. My preference? I like having a title early on. It helps…
Read MoreLet’s Talk Eggs
Do you eat ’em? Not so long ago, we were told to limit our intake. Too much cholesterol, they said! Not healthy, they said! But now, recent studies are showing that the cholesterol in eggs isn’t all bad. Take a look at this article. Interesting, huh? Clearly, you should eat eggs in moderation, just like…
Read MoreMockingbirds
Just finished my next book! I’ve been working on this baby for more than a year, and that doesn’t count the months before I started the actual writing, when I focused on research. This book – no title yet – demanded a lot of research. I had to learn about the tools a carpenter would…
Read MoreNovel salad
There will be six of us for dinner Saturday night, including a couple of really good cooks, meaning that if I try to compete, I fail. So what to serve? I may write good books, but a gourmet cook I am not. My gut tells me that it’s best to go with simple and…
Read MoreMy Maine Childhood
I’m a Maine-summer girl. Some of my earliest memories are from visiting my dad’s sister’s place on Lake Sebago or my mom’s father’s cooperage in Portland. Then my mother died, and I was sent away to camp. If that sounds cruel, listen up. I was eight when my mother died. And back then, believe it…
Read MoreNotice any changes?
The new, gorgeous, trade paperback edition of Sweet Salt Air is now on sale! It’s the second generation, so to speak, which means it’s been improved upon. The changes are subtle. You may not notice them unless you study both editions side by side. I’m telling you about the changes here, so that you’ll know…
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