Okay, I admit it, I’m a reader and a writer and to make matters worse, I’m married to a psychiatrist, but I’d never heard of bibliotherapy until today. Listening to an episode of To the Best of My Knowledge while walking my dog on this glorious spring afternoon, I learned of the practice of using […]
Archives for April 2014
Guests on Earth–A Review
Lee Smith is one of my favorite Southern authors. Her book Fair and Tender Ladies ranks up there with a book I’d read over and over. Recently she released her latest, Guests on Earth. I must say, I don’t like the title. I understand the reason for it, but that doesn’t make it any better. […]
Animals in Your Stories
I love to read about characters who have pets. Whenever there is a cat or a dog in a book, my interest peaks. I do not, however, like it when animals do things that are superhuman. I don’t like for the animals to talk nor do I like it when they solve crimes. The one […]
Think You’re A Mystery Writer? Take this Quiz
What’s it take to write a mystery? Do you think you can do it? Take this quiz and find out True False 1. Everything I know about mysteries I’ve learned from Law and Order. 2. Blood and gore must be in all mystery-writing for it to be any good. 3. Sitting down to write a […]
First Sentences That Hook
I respect the writer who can grab his or her readers in that very first sentence. Often I underline the first sentence just to see what hooked me. What is it about the first sentence that is so important. As writers, we know that publishers and agents rarely read past the first sentence. If that […]
5 Misconceptions about Fiction Writing
It never ceases to amaze me when I tell someone I’ve written a novel, they say, “I’ve always wanted to write a novel.” It seems everyone seems to believe they, too, can write a novel. All they have to do is put pen to paper. That leads me to think about my 5 misconceptions about […]
The Many Challenges A Writer Faces
Someone asked me what challenges writers face. My gosh, the list is endless. I’ll name the one that I’m sure plagues every artist and writer. In fact Somerset Maugham wrote in Moon and Sixpence, that the biggest stumbling block of every artist is doubt. That statement surprised me coming from such an amazing writer as Maugham. I […]
Where Writers Write
Recently my editor asked the writers to post photos that show where they write. All of us have various work spaces–some neat, some not so neat. My guess is most people don’t think about where their favorite writer writes. Indeed, I have images of Rosamunde Pilcher ensconced in a beautiful room with an antique desk […]
Martha Grimes Spoofs the Publishing Industry
Recently I read The Way of All Fish by Martha Grimes. If you want a good laugh or two, pick it up. Grimes, one of the best crime/mystery writers of our time, created the delicious Richard Jury, Scotland Yard hero, as well as casts of characters that kept readers inthralled for years. In this new […]
