The Time-Blossoming Birthday Cake – Part 2 The magenta rosebud I picked off the rose-covered birthday cake given to me by Cousin George is now in full flower. The cake is still in the fridge. I’m afraid to cut a slice and eat it, because when I took this rosebud off and put it into a crystal vase, I found myself thrown back in time to the day before my birthday party. So now I…
Magical Realism in Poetry Poetry is more likely to wander into magic realism than fiction by its very nature. Metaphor is bringing two unlike things together for a startling result, a transformation. A magic trick of effect. Because most contemporary poetry lives more in metaphor than narrative (discuss!), the realism quickly shifts into an altered state. To make a point, but tell it slant, you sometimes make an alternate universe that is more real than…
Badass time traveling heroines are one of my favorite things in fiction. Books about women who go on a quest, to rescue someone, or the world, or ight a wrong. Time travel with adventure on their minds. There may be love too, but that’s not the main plot. I grew up reading about one truly badass heroine — Dorothy of Oz. Here’s a short list of some other favorites in female-led time travel books. Time…
This is my account of the Time-Blossoming Birthday Cake. It was given to me by a cousin I hadn’t met before. George St. James heard about my 30th birthday party from another cousin, Maria, who called to ask if she could bring our relative because he was visiting her in the city and she thought I’d enjoy meeting him. George not only came with Maria, he brought me a gift — a small, beautiful cake…
Romance Novels Set in Italy — Isn’t It Romantic? Have you read any romance novels set in Italy? Hard to imagine a more delicious setting for love to blossom. The warm climate, the friendly people, the fabulous food, the passionate way Italians live. And while you’re dallying with a (fictional) handsome Italian, you’re munching on fabulous pasta and looking at gorgeous art. Longing for a romantic book like that? I have a list for you,…
Book blog Fabulous and Brunette has hosted me and my book with an interview and my giveaway, plus an excerpt. Read a little of my time-travel novel, The Renaissance Club! This wonderful site bills itself as: “A Lifestyle blog that focuses on all things from fashion to beauty; fitness to weight loss; recipes to coupons; books to movies; travels to entertainment; and everything in between.” From fashion to fiction, recipes to fitness, there’s a lot to…
Teaching a Child to Write — How I Began As as Writer How to teach a child to write? — by early reading. I’m living proof. I gained my desire to write from my mother, who read aloud to me and my brother every day. She also often took us to the library. When I was ten, she took me through a magical literary portal — a fantastic and immense bookstore full of used books,…
Finding Love in a Past Era A lot of contemporary time travel fiction involves finding love. And it magically happens. On paper, one can simply step through a fold in time’s curtain or penetrate a magical standing stone and voila! meet your soulmate in a past time. This is magical realism time travel — it just happens. But think about it: love across the centuries has a lot of messy aspects. First, the customs of…
Pros & Cons of Small Press Publishing Self-publishing fiction versus small press publishing? Making that choice can be tricky. Most of the articles I’ve encountered weigh the options as “self-publishing versus traditional publishing”. I had experience with small press publishing for my first novel, a time travel Renaissance romance called The Renaissance Club. One thing I learned is that small press publishers are as different from one another as humans are, because most small presses…
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…