Killing my Patronus
If I had a patronus it would definitely be a bear. I know this because a bear I conjured up in mind—and wrote into my novel—crawled off the page and intervened in my real life. But yesterday, that bear died….
Category: Fiction
Friday Feast: The Luke Cage Syllabus, Money Talk in MFA Programs, How to Become a Novelist in Ten Easy Steps, Boomers Take to Bookselling, and the National Book Award Finalists
I haven’t had a chance to binge-watch Luke Cage yet. I’m still binge-watching Smash to take my mind off revising my latest shitty first draft while waiting for my I-hope-it’s-not-shitty-please-let-it-be-final draft from my editor. Life motto: hope for the best, expect the worst….
Depravity Happens. Do We Have to Read About It? The Case for (and against) Violence in Literature
This spring I nearly declared a moratorium on violent fiction after reading three savage novels: The Orphan Master’s Son, The Sympathizer and A Little Life. Afterward life felt dirty. Basta! After all, the news is horrific: a toddler refugee washes…
Would You Pay to Read This Novel?
A favorite feature of mine on the blog Writer Unboxed, is by editor Ray Rhamey, who selects the first page of a best-selling novel and asks, “Would you pay to turn the page of this best-seller?” which he then follows…
Some (Almost) Freewriting on Imposter Syndrome
I suck and that’s okay. No. Really. I’ve been sitting here for a legit eight hours trying to come up with a decent draft for a single blog post. I kept attempting something clever and coherent and meaningful on Imposter…
Being a Writer in New England
My output is amazing during the winter. For me, cold, dark days are conducive to hunkering down and writing as is the soggy, cool springtime. But once warm, sunny, blue skies roll around, it is so hard to keep my…