Sneak Peek!
I know the release of Secrets She Left Behind is still months away (last week of May), but I wanted to give you a sneak peek at the cover. I love it! Love the colors and the evocative mood. Secrets She Left Behind is the sequel to Before the Storm, but will easily stand alone for…
Read MoreUsing Real Disasters in Fiction
My current work-in-progress requires a disaster. Hurricane Katrina would work. So would 9-11. But I can’t bring myself to use those tragic events. I’m even uncomfortable using this image from Katrina. It simply feels too soon, with too many of the hurricane’s victims still in pain. I recently finished reading Wally Lamb’s wonderful new book, The Hour…
Read MoreResolutions for the New Year
I’ve got plenty! We’re closing in on 2009, and I think it’s going to be a good one for me, and I hope for all of you as well. I know many people pooh-pooh New Year’s resolutions, but I love them. I love that “fresh start” each year. So I’m going public with mine, in…
Read MoreHappy Holidays!
Eating Our Way Through New Jersey
As I wait to hear on my latest book proposal, John and I decided to take a pre-holiday, visiting-relatives-trip to New York and New Jersey. It’s been great, complete with a (small) snowstorm last night. Although John grew up in Virginia, many of his relatives are on Long Island, and I lived in New Jersey until…
Read MoreTrusting the Author
I’m reading The Hour I First Believed by Wally Lamb. Love, love, love this book. (Don’t tell me how it ends–I’m not done yet!). At more than 700 pages, it’s quite a tale, involving the Columbine shootings, a couple of Katrina victims and myriad other real and imagined events. However, I constantly find myself turning…
Read MoreReleasing a Book into the Wild
I’m not a big fan of used books, for obvious reasons (just in case it’s not obvious. . . neither author nor publisher makes money on the sale of a used book, and the only way an author will get a new contract is by making money for the publisher, and the only way readers…
Read MoreGood Day, Bad Day, Funny Day
The Good Day: I had lunch with two fellow writers, Brenda Witchger and Sarah Shaber. We talked about Sarah’s work-in-progress, which is going to be so good, and the synopsis for what we lovingly call Bren’s “vinyl book” (the vinyl refers to old records), which is going to equally wonderful. And we had terrific humongous…
Read MoreThe Boy on the Bike
Okay, this post is not about a boy on a bike. Not really. It’s about what it’s like to live inside my head. I’m certain I’m not alone. I bet most fiction writers have a head like mine. Probably many other creative types, as well. And definitely most neurotics. This morning, I was reading the paper at…
Read MoreGiving Thanks
As I wait to hear from my publisher, I think it’s time for me to focus on all I have to be thankful for. It’s always easy to dwell on what’s wrong instead of what’s right, isn’t it? So here goes: I’m employed, when so many people are not. What a difficult holiday season it…
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