Well, if you’ve been following my blog for a number of months, you know the various problems I’ve had with the character Lori, formerly known as Sue Ellen, right after she was known as Joanna. 🙂 (An aside here: John says “never let them see you sweat” when it comes to protecting one’s professional image.…

While in New Jersey, I finished a book John recommended to me: THE VOYAGE by Philip Caputo. This is definitely not my usual fare, but I was engrossed by the coming of age story of three teenaged boys in the early twentieth century. At the beginning of summer, their father shocks them when he puts…

Wow, a whole week with my sister! We haven’t spent that much quality time together since we were kids, and she couldn’t stand me then so that wasn’t a lot of fun. While in New Jersey, I got to see my older brother Tom  and even my little brother Rob and his wife, Terri, who were…

I’m in New Jersey for the week, staying with my sister, and my Internet access is limited, so I won’t be blogging as much as usual. Right now, I’m typing this in the Madison, NJ Opium Den. I’m also working on the WIP while I’m here, writing in my sister’s lovely sunroom with a view of trees and…

I was sitting on the porch this afternoon, planning the speech I’m giving tonight (If you’re near Cary, NC–stop by the Page Walker Arts and History Center at 7 pm), which got me thinking about my imagination. It’s overly active and always has been. I wonder if that’s true of all fiction writers? When John and…

Would you believe I’ve rewritten the outline for the work-in-progress yet again? Since I’ve made a couple of dramatic changes in the story, I wanted my agent to have the most up-to-date outline as she and her co-agents begin selling the book overseas. I don’t think I’ve ever revised an outline this many times, but the story…

    A definition of Writer’s Block from Wikipedia: Writer’s block is a phenomenon involving temporary loss of ability to continue writing, usually due to lack of inspiration or creativity. I think I had true writer’s block only once. That was in 1991, when my twenty-year marriage came to a sudden, shocking and abrupt halt brought…

Thanks to those of you who sent me the following item from Publishers’ Lunch–the daily online subscription “newsletter” that carries the latest deals made with publishers, among other news of  interest to the professional book community. The title will almost certainly change, but it’s nice to see it in print for now. “Author of THE SECRET…

This is non-fiction–not my usual fare–but it was recommended by a friend and I thoroughly enjoyed it. It’s the spare memoir of a German girl whose family moved to West Papua, New Guinea so her father could study the language and culture of the Fayu tribe. The Fayu was made up of several warring sects,…

Have you seen this lovely movie? I adored it. As a matter of fact, John and I liked it so much that we watched it two nights in a row.  First, it is neither comedy or drama. I guess the word “dramedy” would best describe it. I don’t want to give too much away, so…