#amwriting literary influences literature time travel fiction time traveling heroines Time-travel novel Writing

Which authors would you erase from history?

As I work on another time travel story, I find myself thinking deeply about what it would mean for the present to change the past. This is the kind of thing I ponder in my best thinking places — where running water or wind is involved. That’s why I dictate more and more poetry and prose on my phone. I think well in the shower, washing dishes, or walking my dog. Today I found myself…

Continue reading

#amwriting fantasy novel helping Ukraine writers #amwriting #writinglife writers in war writing fantasy

To Bravery – Writers in War

Writers in Wartime We’re all watching a shocking invasion unfold. I’ve been following Ukrainians who live with explosions, sirens, and possible sudden flight. One of them is a writer. I’m wondering what I can do to help. This morning, I went to my favorite writing channel on Youtube, the Self-Publishing Formula podcast and watched an interview with Ukrainian science fiction writer Anton Eine. I was moved to see that my favorite writing community is helping…

Continue reading

#amwriting dogs Elizabeth Barrett Browning Writing Writing life

Dogs, Cats, and Their Writers — a Love Story

Why Writers Love the Company of Pets Creative people spend a lot of time alone. For many of us, the silent presence of another being is both soothing and a spur to imagination. Dogs, cats, and their writers — a love story. Do you have a furry, feathered, or finny writing companion? On social media I see so many pics of dogs, cats, and their writers. Also birds and fish. My tiny terrier, Terry, is…

Continue reading

#amwriting book idea historical fantasy National Novel Writing Month paranormal romance science fiction time travel fiction

National Novel Writing Month & Choosing a Book Idea

National Novel Writing Month We’re in the international month of goal-oriented novel writing called National Novel Writing Month, or as some of us veterans call it, NaNoWriMo. I’m not in a place to race into the many words of a new novel. I’m working toward finishing edits on my next, Undoing Time, the story of a privileged young woman who winds up time traveling as a spy for the American Revolution, with the help of…

Continue reading

#amwriting characters friendships between women memoir memoir essay

Ann Patchett’s Heart-Stopping Memoir of Friendship

Ever since I read Ann Patchett’s novel Bel Canto and her luminous memoir about a friendship, Truth & Beauty, Patchett has been one of my heroes. She has a way of reaching into your heart and wrenching the “truth and beauty” from deep within you. Whether the story is tragic or not, I feel uplifted by the depth and vividness of her characters and the compassion she brings to their stories.

Continue reading

#amwriting ghost story novels set in italy speculative fiction time travel fiction women's fiction

Cover Reveal – The Invisibles, A Novel

It’s a magical realism novel of estranged sisters, one ghost, and an impossible sacrifice. That’s the premise of my new book, THE INVISIBLES. And it now has a cover! I’m thrilled to share the cover design by  my amazing designer, Michelle Argyle, of Melissa Williams Design! The concept was that these estranged sisters, inheriting an Italian villa, share months and meals of debate about what to do with the place — to keep or to…

Continue reading

#amreading #amwriting craft of fiction craft tips writer tips writing disciipline Writing life

Blogs to Get Your Writer Mojo Working

Blogs about writing are like my morning newspaper, they get my writer mojo. Each day, I wake  up and read  stuff on my phone while I’m still in bed, and into the coffee phase of waking up. I have a writing practice of using the first two  hours of  the day for my creative self — drafting new chapters, poems, story ideas, and editing works in progress. To get into the swim, I read about…

Continue reading

#amwriting writer tips Writing writing tips

Author Chat – Four Womens Fiction Writers Sharing Secrets of Success

I was thrilled to be part of the first Women’s Fiction Writers Association quarterly Author Happy Hour, sharing secrets of success — and lots of the struggle along the way — with three other wonderful novelists who have recently published books. Click the link above to watch the Youtube! We laughed and talked about the whole process of writing and publishing, the writing life, and our own unique formulas for approaching the creative act.

Continue reading

#amwriting #fiction book launch book promotion book sales novel novel writing Uncategorized women's fiction novel

Surviving Your Book Launch

The most wonderful thing has happened, the thing I always wanted, and I’m in here under the covers hiding from the book launch day for my first novel, The Renaissance Club. It was published on January 23 by Fiery Seas Publishing, a wonderful new publishing company.  Your book launch may not be as scary as mine, but probably it will be. You might find yourself hiding like I am because after all the effort to write…

Continue reading

#amwriting #fiction armchair travels around the world in books creative nonfiction Italy novel travel travel to italy Uncategorized

Places That Verb Your World – Around the World in Books – Part 2

In Places That Verb Your World- Around the World in Books, I’m going to create a series of posts about novels and nonfiction books that take you traveling. Armchair traveling is one of my favorite ways to travel around the world. I’m not much good on an airliner these days, unless in First Class, and so I do a lot of my traveling via books. I have my longtime favorites and my new favorites, which…

Continue reading