I just finished an excellent cozy mystery series, Getting Sassy and Getting Lucky. Both books star Robyn Guthrie, a forty-something, single woman who is a writer. Robyn is both interesting and amusing. It is hard for me to find a book that makes me laugh out loud. I did with both these books. Robyn is […]
So You Want to Be a Writer
I found this great verse by Charles Bukowski and thought I’d share it. So You Want to be a Writer If it doesn’t come bursting out of you in spite of everything, don’t do it. unless it comes unasked out of your heart and your mind and your mouth and your gut, don’t do it. […]
A Writer’s Dream
Last night I dreamed I was tucked away in the hills of Tuscany, far from Internet connections and traffic sounds. I looked out the window from the small tiled-roofed house where I sat amongst soft chairs and an ancient typewriter. Outside, I breathed in the smells of honeysuckle and lilac. Beautiful Bouganvilla draped over the […]
Sorry, but. . .This Isn’t for Us
Rejection. With trembling hands we open the email only to find the familiar words, “So sorry, but this isn’t for us.” What do you do next? When I began putting my words on paper, I was a young English student. I expected rejection and ridicule. I had no lofty belief that my English teacher would […]
Okay, Let’s Talk Publishing
How many of you want to see your work published? My guess is many of you raised your hands. Some writers write simply for the joy of creating or simply because they must. But, most of us do so because we want our work published–we want others to read our little masterpieces. Now, if you’re […]
How about that Perfect First Draft?
When writers tell me that they hardly edit their work, I cringe. Before I knew more about the creative process, I thought I was the only one who had to work and work to get my drafts decent enough to send out. Now I know that few people, even the best writers, write a first […]
What’s a Cozy Mystery?
Recently a friend asked me, “What’s a cozy mystery?” I suppose we writers think our readers know one genre from another. Perhaps they do not. For those who are interested a cozy mystery is your typical Agatha Christie Miss Marple type of mystery. The protagonist is not a professional sleuth or a police officer. Jessica […]
Agent Dilemma. . .
Writers are wondering about the value of pursuing an agent. As a nonfiction writer, I didn’t need to be agented to gain the attention of a publisher. All I had to do was write a darn good book proposal. Of course, had I had an agent, I might have worked out a better deal with […]
All Right Already!
Yesterday I finished reading two great books, Defending Jacob and Mission Flats, both written by William Landay. I enjoyed Defending Jacob so much that I immediately upon finishing it ordered Landay’s first book, Mission Flats. But, one thing bothered me throughout the reading and began to really gnaw at me the more I read. You […]
Time and Creativity
Today I listened to one of my favorite PRI programs, To the Best of Our Knowledge. This program was about how we change over time. The first segment dealt with slowing things down. Carl Honore, the founder of “slowing life down,” wrote the book, In Praise of Slowness in which he discusses slow travel, slow […]
