Category: On Writing
Why Publish?
I never set out to write a novel, let alone publish one. So how did I end up here? That’s a question I often contemplate. My shy, introverted self loves writing in the privacy of my own mind, knowing I never have to share it with anyone else if I so choose. Suffice it to […]
Why I Wrote The Burn Zone
I wrote The Burn Zone as a catharsis; I had to get the story out of me. Dr. Maya Angelou once said, “There is no greater agony than bearing an untold story inside you.” I believe she is right. The story was consuming me. It was tearing me apart from within. I was filled with […]
The Birth of a Novel
In 1999 a good friend called and asked if I would like to join her for a writer’s workshop in Leavenworth, Washington. “Have you heard of Barbara Kingsolver?? She’s one of the teachers.” I almost dropped the phone… of course I knew her work – loved her work – slept with her work under my […]
Humor and History
If you’re trying to write somewhat humorous fiction for kids about historical characters, it helps if the historical characters are quirky. So, keeping that principle in mind, it was easier to wring some humor out of John Adams than it was with George Washington. I’m writing a series of middle grade novels that feature regular […]
Drawing Novel Ideas from the Dust
Novelists are often asked how they find ideas. Frankly, the ideas usually often find us. That’s the short, smart-alecky answer nobody wants to hear, but it’s hard to provide more detail to such a broad question. Since the release of my second historical novel, Peculiar Savage Beauty, many readers have asked specifically how the idea […]
Tell Your Stories—Now More Than Ever!
Christine Blasey-Ford had memories, opinions, facts, and rights. One of her rights was to be heard. So she told her story about a 36-year-old high school encounter with 2 drunken seniors who attacked her body to prove their dominance. Or maybe for a laugh. Or because they could. She told it to her husband before […]
The Art of the Writer
Writing is a solitary activity requiring perseverance, practice, and patience. As a book blogger and columnist, I’ve interviewed debut novelists to New York Times bestselling authors. Surprisingly, there’s not much difference between the two. Simply stated … each has a story to tell by translating thoughts and extraordinary ideas into words on a page. Granted […]
When The Men Were Gone
Author Marjorie Herrera Lewis’ debut novel is a beautiful story of Tylene Wilson, a Texas high school football coach in 1944. Telling Tylene’s story was result of the author’s own experiences. Marjorie Herrera Lewis feels she could not have told Tylene’s story had she not known what it was like covering college and professional football […]
Where I Should Be: A Writer’s Sense Of Place
Titles can’t be copyrighted, so I am using most of one created by Native American writer, Louise Erdich. The piece is from The New York Times Book Review of July, 1985. It is wrinkled and worn. That’s okay. The words are what matter. Yes, it’s the words. Ten days ago my computer died. All I […]
What Remains: Tanya Marquardt
Tanya Marquardt is an award-winning playwright based in Brooklyn, author of the newly released memoir, STRAY: Memoir of a Runaway (published by Little A, Amazon’s literary and non-fiction imprint on September 1). Tanya’s story was recently featured in The Huffington Post and CBC, and her book has received early praise from Publishers Weekly. Told with […]
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