Category: Contemporary Women Writers
Why Your Sixth Decade is the Best Time Ever To Write a Novel
Jane Rosenthal “You either walk inside your story and own it or you stand outside your story and hustle for your worthiness” Brene Brown I keep this quote from the lecturer Brene Brown framed in a little green heart on the bulletin board above my computer to remind myself why I write, why I put […]
Inspiration Behind AMONG THIEVES
Since the deal announcement for my debut novel went out a little over a year ago, I have legitimately lost count of how many times I have been asked what inspired me to write AMONG THIEVES. The super fun thing is that every time someone asks me this question, I suddenly forget every single word […]
LEMONS IN THE GARDEN: NOT FAMOUS ENOUGH
Forty years ago, I had a dream in which Blanche Ames told me to write her autobiography. I’d read about Blanche while I was working on a team to write a massive women’s history reference book, and of course her name caught my attention. Then I learned that Blanche was my grandmother’s aunt. How was […]
Art For the Ladylike: An Autobiography Through Other Lives
By Whitney Otto I always knew that I would never write a traditional memoir or autobiography. I felt my life wasn’t eventful enough in any sort of significant way, which can be good in the real world, but can be something of a liability in the memoir world. Also, my favorite memoirs/autobiographies run along less […]
Authors Interviewing Characters: Julie Ryan McGue
Authors Interviewing Characters: Julie Ryan McGue Twice a Daughter: A Search for Identity, Family, and Belonging is not just another tale of an adoptee’s desire for personal history. This is a real-life story of twin sisters–adopted at birth and raised together–who face the daunting task of locating and connecting with birth relatives because one of […]
Ann Garvin interviews the characters of her novel I Thought You Said This Would Work
Three Frenemies risk their sanity on a cross country road trip with an enormous dog in a dilapidated camper all for the mutual love of a best friend in the hospital. “Ann Garvin navigates the twists and turns of female friendship like few writers working today. I THOUGHT YOU SAID THIS WOULD WORK is at once profound, […]
From Wonder Unto Wonder: Living A Storied Life
From Wonder Unto Wonder: Living A Storied Life Margaret Wolff Though I am an Art Therapist by training, I am, on a cellular level, a storyteller. It’s not just what I do as a writer; it’s how I move through the world. Everything about my life—about Life itself—is a good story. I began writing stories […]
Juggling Life and Art: One Woman’s Story
For many women writers trying to achieve book publication, there are detours, roadblocks, and dead ends. The release of both my first book, Winded: A Memoir in Four Stages, in 2019, and my novel The Remnants of Summer this May illustrate the circuitous route some women and their books travel. In early 1993, when I […]
Defy Difficult Times by Setting Creative Goals
Our world has had a brutal year. We’ve all struggled to stay positive and productive while stuck inside our homes. We’ve sweated to Peloton workouts, snapped cute Instagram pics of our latest recipes, or binge-watched The Crown and Firefly Lane. Following the travails of Queen Elizabeth in her gilded palace or sympathizing with Tully Hart […]
Author Friendships
Back in November 2020, I received some unexpected and unwanted news about a project. While writers are accustomed to the ups and downs of our chosen profession, some knocks hit harder than others. This one knocked me flat. My first calls were to authors Lisa Barr and Camille Di Maio. After listening to their sage […]
Recent Comments