Books as the Enemy
Lately I’ve had a couple of conversations with friends and acquaintances about books, but not in a good way. These women echoed themes I’ve heard over the years–that some people have an adversarial relationship with books. Last night, for instance, I was talking to a woman when I dropped off my girls at their activity. […]
Final (?) Edits
My publisher sent me the latest round of edits for Big in Japan–and there’s hope this will be the last. I’m poring over the lines, looking for typos and flubs, and I can start to feel the energy of this-book-is-really-going-to-be-in-print! The MS is 322 pages in Word, and I’m on page 133 of this read-through, […]
Meridian Article Posted
Just felt glad to have my article posted in Meridian, an online magazine. It’s my third article for them this year, and it’s pretty exciting. My cool friend Erin McBride has been helping funnel my work onto that site, and I really appreciate her. She’s quite the amazing girl–so accomplished and so well-spoken. Her political […]
Tweaking the Villain
This morning I was outside and watched nature’s comedy hour as two small birds plagued a huge, black bird. Wherever the bigger bird flew, they dogged it, swooping after the black bird, and when it finally landed on a telephone pole, they divebombed it and pecked its head before it finally snapped at them and drove […]
Bug Ingestion & Other Healthy Habits for Writers
This morning marks the first scorpion of the spring. Indoor scorpion, that is. Ugh. This came after my morning run when I was zipping along the rural road smelling the fresh mown hay and accidentally ingested a little bug. Delicious. However, the chance to smell the cut alfalfa was worth it. I’d eat two bugs […]
Story Map! (Biting my Thumbnails Instead of the Bellagio)
So, I finally got my scene outline finished for my current novel. I was having a hard time keeping track of it, so I finally got a big piece of paper and wrote in little blurbs a thumbnail of each scene. Next I’m going to draw a line that takes me through them in order […]
Three Things I Learned from a NYT Bestselling Author
Chris Stewart is many things–most famously a New York Times Bestselling author. But he’s also a candidate for U.S. Congress, a world-record setting pilot, the owner of an environmental consulting firm, and a husband and father. But, lucky for me, he’s also my uncle. I’m aware of how fortunate I am to have such a […]
“Writers Unite to Fight Cancer” Writing Contest Opens! Check it Out!
A writing friend of mine has started this fantastic group to help raise funds for cancer research. She’s involving lots of authors and writers, and they’ve started a writing contest this year. It’s legit. Sharpen your pencils and enter! This is a great cause, and a win will look fabulous on a query letter. Go […]
The Value of Critique Partner (today!)
It’s just great to have a critique partner who “gets” your vision for your book. This morning I begged Megan to get over here and help me with the outline of the scenes. I was stumped and stalled and needed a sounding board. She hasn’t read the whole rough draft (and neither have I! Not […]
Scary Fishing!
My publisher Jolly Fish Press posted this on Facebook earlier today: “Within a day of Big in Japan’s first press release, the publicity room is a frenzy. None of us are prepared for such an influx of reviewers requests and their slim deadlines. Why are our ARCs not here yet?” In some ways this is […]
