Category: Contemporary Women Writers
Writing the “S Word”: Navigating Sex In Your Story
“I read your book. … After I read the sex scene, I had to go to confession.” That is what one of my college friends told me when he called our house to talk to my husband. Part of me was extremely happy about that, and part of me paused, realizing that friends and family […]
Five Weeks To Book Launch And How My Writing Practice Keeps Me Grounded
I am a woman with many morning practices, from skin care to yoga and meditation to blending a perfected breakfast smoothie, from walking my dog to writing long hand in my journal. Needless to say, I need to rise and shine pretty early in order to squeeze in these beloved rituals. Very often, I laugh […]
When Your Brain is the Enemy: Life as a Writer with ADHD
Writing and publishing a novel is an accomplishment few achieve, and those who do know how much work it is to make it to ‘the end.’ Countless hours of inspiration, plotting, writing, editing, re-editing, pulling one’s hair out, self-doubt, critique, and finally—finally—something ready to send out into the world. Now imagine doing all that when […]
‘Love, Heather’: This Isn’t Your Mamma’s High School
The main character of my new book, ‘Love, Heather’(Crooked Lane Books, coming out Oct 8th) is Stevie. She is an insufferable know-it-all, she’s funny, she’s infuriating, and she loves 80s and 90s movies. I loved writing Stevie, and she really was drawn from parts of me, and also added to parts of me in that […]
On Being A Published Author: The Fantasy Versus the Reality
The irony of releasing a second (or third, or fourth) book into the wild is that there is almost zero time left to create the words that allowed you to release a book. This is not something people tell you about in those blissfully ignorant unpublished years, when your fantasies about being published may include […]
Fear Itself By Erica Ferencik
Oprah chose Erica Ferencik’s debut novel, The River at Night as a #1 Pick, calling the book “the page-turning novel you’ve been waiting for, a heart-pounding debut.” Entertainment Weekly named it a “must read, a harrowing…a visceral, white knuckle rush.” Miramax has recently optioned the novel for film. The New York Times Book Review called Into the Jungle, one woman’s terrifying journey of survival in […]
Do You Feel Lucky?
Someone told me the other day that I’m lucky. I smiled and agreed. And then on the bus home I thought some more about luck; about what it is, if it’s in fact anything at all. And I realised that I’m no luckier than anyone else. It’s a choice. I choose to be lucky. I […]
How Counselling Helps Me Cope With Feedback
It’s taken me fifteen years to pluck up the courage to seek out a counsellor. My written escapades into fictional worlds could only hold the metaphorical demons at bay for so long. So here I am, six months into my journey, and I feel like a spinning top laced with hallucinogenic drugs. My brain feels […]
How to Determine Who to Ask for Feedback to Your Writing
Discernment can be defined as “the quality of being able to grasp and comprehend what is obscure.” This term, however, is most often associated within a spiritual context to obtain direction and understanding. But when you’re a writer, discernment is one of the most important, if not the most important factor in how you will […]
Why Bother Writing?
Imagine you are standing in front of a long, high wall built from giant moss-covered stone. Imagine that you want, more than anything, to get over that wall. The wall is festooned with ladders, allowing you to believe that getting to one of the ladders and climbing up and over the wall will be a […]
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