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Gaining Momentum in Novel Writing Month – Wheeeee!

Update on my #NaNoWriMo2016 — today I wrote over 3,000 words. It helps to be doing a lot of scene-setting in an exotic location, which for my book is the picturesque Ligurian coast of Northern Italy. It also helps that I love writing descriptions of scenery and towns. I love researching places I’ve been or been near. I spent time in Santa Margherita and Portofino, and the little town where I’m setting my book is…

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Get poetically inspired — go on a meditation-vacation

A new scientific study came out following people who had recently been on resort vacations and those who were meditators who had been on meditation retreats. The interesting thing is that the beneficial effects on their bodies, though similar, were different. And meditators seemed to have the longest term benefits. Their immune responses and ability to resist stress were stronger for a longer time than those who had simply greatly relaxing vacations. Here’s an article…

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Write another novel? At your peril

Clearly writing this novel, THE RENAISSANCE CLUB, has wiped the floor with me. I haven’t worked on my new poetry manuscript, thoughtfully blogged, wittily tweeted, or amusingly updated in … let’s just say furlongs of seasons. I’m trying to pick myself up off the floor of a rigid and focused writing routine that produced a 416-page, carefully revised manuscript over a period of years. I’m trying to remember the carefree writer who could take a…

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On Death and the Ocean

Even if you’re the rocket scientist’s daughter, growing up in a fishing community gives you an early acquaintance with two immutable forces: the ocean and death. One of my grammar school friends had a father who fished on the tuna fleet. One season, he just didn’t come back. In a restaurant in San Pedro, you can see photos that show why this wasn’t a rare occurrence. The tuna boats in the 1950 were low-slung, and…

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Confession Time

Writing a Poem with Monet It’s April and I’m growing green, but bills cover my desk. The money in my check book dazzles like the mineral caves carved by the surf at Pourville, where Monet stood at his easel to paint thundering waves. I sign my check in the lower right as artists will, re-total the balance and turn up a new one. Diamonds a mile down in Monet’s sea crack, chip, and erode. A…

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New video trailer for Gods of Water and Air!

Aldrich Press has created a beautiful new trailer for my book! It’s my reading of “Flight,” the first poem in my book. It’s on Youtube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3KaXVkL8cac&feature=youtu.be I looked at an interesting array of poetry book trailers, and was most taken with Sandra Beasley’s single poem videos, so I decided on a single poem reading. It was fun to make, finding images and music from royalty-free sources. If I were trying to decide whether to buy…

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