Posts Tagged ‘author’
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…
Read MoreRevising 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…
Read MoreAre you healthier eating organic?
Since one of the protagonists in Sweet Salt Air (my coming book) is a die-hard locavore, I was naturally interested in this. Not that a locavore necessarily eats organic. By definition, a locavore buys and eats food that is locally produced – food produced by local farmers and sold in local markets – but since…
Read MoreHow to control food cravings
I asked you all about food cravings in yesterday’s SPEEDY BD SURVEY, and there were some really interesting replies. The most frequent? Chocolate. So, let’s talk about food cravings. Do you get them? I do. There are times when I am desperate for a fried egg on buttered toast. Or a sizzling steak. Or yes,…
Read MoreHelp me choose my new author photo
I recently had new photos taken. This is always stressful for me, which is one of the reasons I was a photographer once upon a time. I far prefer being behind the camera than before it. But books need photos, and I have a compulsion to keep them current. That said, it isn’t a simple…
Read MoreAre those rave book reviews legit?
I’m referring to “reader reviews” at online bookstores, and I’ve always been a little envious, to tell the truth. I don’t get many reader reviews of my books – at least, not as many as some of my competition get. I always figured it was because I didn’t solicit them. I mean, I prize your…
Read MoreWorking through the books in my beach bag
Actually, it’s not a beach bag, simply what would be in a hypothetical beach bag if I was to read at the beach as opposed to the lake, where comfortable, non-sandy, tree-shaded chairs abound. I had read Home, by Toni Morrison, the weekend before, but last weekend was for Gillian Flynn’s Gone Girl. And mind…
Read MoreSUMMERLAND: a recommendation
When I asked you Facebook fans for book recommendations, Summerland was mentioned several times. So I read it, loved it, recommend it. Here’s why. Sense of place. The setting is Nantucket, where the author, Elin Hilderbrand, has lived since 1984, and she knows the island well. From the very first page, you’ll see it, smell…
Read MoreMy summer reading list
I ask you what you’re reading many a Tuesday in the SPEEDY BD SURVEY, and you have every right to ask me back. The answer? I can’t read much when I’m working on a book, but now that Sweet Salt Air is done and summer here, my to-read pile is growing. At the top is…
Read MoreI believe! I believe!
I’m a fiction person, which isn’t to say I don’t read the newspaper or watch the evening news, but simply that my entertainment of choice involves pretend. Add to that magical elements that sometimes creep into my own work, like the coyotes in Escape, the wishes in Three Wishes, and the herbs in Sweet Salt…
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