I have an addiction to social media. Doesn’t everyone? I mean, look up the definition of “time suck” on Wikipedia and you find a photo of Mark Zuckerberg, with devil horns on his head for creating this hellhole of fake news and starving Farmville sheep. But a funny thing has happened in the last few months. I’m now […] Read more…
I’m really proud to be one of the featured authors at the new book website Celebrate With a Book. I was asked to talk about my “creation story” as a writer. I’d always wanted to be an “author” ever since I first learned what the word meant, but a guidance counselor put an end to my […] Read more…
A lot of my friends are having birthday parties for their children these days—there must have been a lot of fall births several years ago! One of my favorite scenes from True Gold is the birthday party scene, when twins Alex and Aubry turn five, and Rebecca, like most new moms, has—err, overly optimistic expectations […] Read more…
I love reading blog posts by authors dispensing writing advice; I really do. Some of the best writing books are written by authors—many by authors you’ve never heard of (Sol Stein is one). While their books may not be bestsellers, many writers are better equipped to tell you how to write a bestselling novel because […] Read more…
I got a Fitbit for Christmas, and I’m wondering if someone makes a Fitbit for writing. Like, a device you strap on your wrist that counts your words. Instead of 10,000 steps, I’d have to write 10,000 words to win. Actually, I’d have a fit all right if I wrote that many words in a day–that […] Read more…
It’s been a little over a month since I packed up my bags and moved overseas. To be precise, a band of movers came and packed up everything I own, including my desk, put it all on giant crates, and that’s the last time I saw my earthly possessions. Except for my beloved iMac, which […] Read more…
I got tagged by Sara Thorn to play Lucky Seven Snippet. The rules: Go to page 7 or 77 in your current manuscript. Go to line 7 Post on your blog the next 7 lines or sentences – as they are!! Tag 7 other people to do the same Since the current manuscript is a […] Read more…
I’ve spent most of today dealing with repairmen, after a months-long odyssey of broken toilets, showers, water softeners, and blown down fences. This house is getting old, I guess, because it feels like everything is breaking at once. I’m feeling old, too, and worn out, just from talking to people, perfectly nice people, but still… […] Read more…
I’ve heard a lot of good things about Scrivener, the writing software from Literature and Latte. I downloaded a trial version while I was doing NaNoWriMo, but I didn’t want to get into nuts and bolts of it while I was trying to concentrate on writing, so I let it expire. What I did manage […] Read more…
I bet you’re wondering why I’ve been so silent here (actually, I’d put money on the fact that that thought hasn’t even crossed your mind!). It’s because I’m trying to participate in NaNoWriMo, or, as it’s know in complete English, National Novel Writing Month. I’ve signed up for the event in past years, but I […] Read more…