Category: On Writing
From Rejection To Seventeen Book Contracts
When people ask me when I first became a writer, the most honest answer is, “Three-years-old.” When they ask me when I first became a professional novelist, the most honest answer is, “Three years ago.” Why so much space in-between? When I was three, I used to dictate stories to my parents, because I had […]
Engineers, Authors, and Assassins – Thriving in a Nontraditional Field
Men have accomplished most “firsts” in history, but there are some notable exceptions. A woman invented Kevlar. A woman discovered pulsars. A woman wrote the first computer program. More surprisingly, the world’s first serial killer belonged to the more “fragile” and “demure” gender. I first came across that fact last fall: the world’s first serial […]
The Crazy Ones
There seems to be a mantra in our office: “That’s a crazy idea—let’s do it!” I hear this phrase uttered at least once a week, describing an upcoming story pitch or new marketing campaign, and I smile every time I hear it. More than a decade ago, it was this mantra that started Tethered by […]
How Working as a Commisioning Editor Helped me Become an Author
There are a LOT of characters roaming around inside my head. Some good, some bad, some murderous, some loveable. There’s even some loveable murderers in the mix at times. Working as a commissioning editor, I spend my days wrapped up in the fascinating world of other writers’ novels – from Sunday Times bestsellers to debut […]
Love Letters for Hitler
We tend to imagine the relationship between Britain and the fascist dictatorships of Europe as one of clear-cut hostility. A sensible, tolerant nation against a bloodthirsty tyrant; a kind of reassuring, Lord of the Rings-like tale. However, the reality was a great deal more complicated – and a great deal darker. It is in the […]
Rueful Crime Writing & Crime-lettes
It’s the motives rather than the gruesome, violent and bloody details which interest me about crime. In fiction, often my narrator’s tone is rueful rather than brutal when things don’t go as planned. Especially if the narrator intends removing a seriously unpleasant character. And maybe is the avenger as well as the sleuth. Getting […]
The Cosmic Grin
The Cosmic Grin The circumstance was familiar. I sat at the altar, eyes closed, asking for guidance. Show me the way, I implored. You see, I was writing a book. A book about Shakti, the divine feminine. And I had no idea where this impulse to write a book came from. And of all things, about […]
Drop Your Drawers
I started writing in third grade. I went to Public School 173 in Flushing, New York. Flushing is a horrible name for what was a pleasant neighborhood of brick homes with small backyards. The street on which I grew up had just two ethnic groups: Orthodox Jews and Conservative Jews. The important thing about P.S. […]
Writing After 70
One of the first questions I usually get at book signings or in front of groups is how I managed to write, publish and sell four novels in the five years after I turned seventy. The honest answer is I didn’t. I had drafts of Ratham Creek, Maternal Harbor, and Harbored Secrets on a shelf […]
The Adventures of a Closet Writer
Whenever I mentioned that writing was my hobby, it was usually met with a raised eyebrow. As if somehow I was a little bit odd. That was fine, I’d never had time to take it seriously. I was a mother of three who worked part-time. How was I supposed to find time to write? Any […]
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