The proposal for my new Work-in-Progress, AFTER THE STORM, crossed the finish line yesterday morning. Oh, joy! I managed to keep it to 16 pages. I was aiming for 10, but since I usually write proposals that are anywhere between 40-70 pages, I am thrilled. I’ve emailed the proposal to my agent and my editor,…

I keep a running list of topics I want to blog about. One of those topics is self-publication. By that I mean you pay the publisher to get your book into print instead of the publisher paying you. I have several friends who have done this, and I have no problem with it as long…

Every once in a while, something I’ve written (or am in the process of writing) strikes too close to home. That’s the case right now as I (try to) finish the proposal for the sequel to BEFORE THE STORM. Those of you who read my blog as I worked on BEFORE THE STORM know it was…

The Book: I’m home from New Jersey, back to serious work, and just finished reading this fantastic book. It had been gathering dust on my bookshelf for about a decade, ever since it was an Oprah pick way back when. At 900 pages, it simply wasn’t calling my name. I’m not sure what made me pick…

I’m spending the week with my sister in New Jersey. I have my laptop set up in her sunroom and I’m STILL working on the proposal (a synopsis/outline written for my editor to give her a sense of the book) for my new Work-in-Progress. Here’s my problem: I want to write a shorter proposal than usual–say 10…

This was one of those movies that made me want to toss my fledgling Work-in-Progress in the trash. I keep reminding myself The Lookout and my WIP are not the same kind of story so I’m not being fair to myself to compare them, but wow. This is one good movie. Starring Joseph Gordon-Levitt and…

Cellular Culture: Let’s talk…Originally uploaded by sirchuckles Grr. I’ve griped about this before, but it’s time to gripe about it again: contrived non-communication in movies and fiction. We watched THE NATURAL last night. I remember liking this movie quite a bit when it first came out. I still like it. Great story. But my pet…

CollesanoOriginally uploaded by lorca56 This has nothing to do with writing, but my brother Rob told me about a site some of you may already be familiar with: Flickr.com. You can upload your photographs to share with friends, but better yet (at least to me) you can search for photos, many of which can be legally uploaded…