Category: On Writing
Isn’t it Romantic? The Enduring Popularity of Literature’s Most Successful Genre
I didn’t set out to write romance. Not intentionally, anyway. I started writing because I was in love with words, not because I was in love with love. Growing up as an only child, books were my closest friends. I was a voracious reader, and my taste ran the gamut. Nancy Drew, Trixie Belden, Laura […]
Taking Risks with Co-Writing Diversity
My two most ‘risky’ cultural projects have been co-writing ‘f2m: the boy within’, the first Young Adult novel about transitioning gender co-written by an ftm, and ‘Hijabi Girl’ a fun, junior chapter book which had 41 rejections from traditional publishers before I self -published. I’m not trans and I’m not Muslim. But I do take […]
From Sculpture To Writing
Being born into a family of special effects wizards in Hollywood, I knew early on that I would follow in their footsteps as a creative person. I lived and breathed visual art. After art school, I got a studio on Los Angeles Skid Row where I also taught art to homeless men and women and […]
Diversity in Publishing
Just over two years ago, I went on a hunt around my house for our dusty old laptop. I rarely used computers or laptops outside of the office, hence it took me a couple of hours to dig out, and I eventually found it buried under heaps of odds and sods in the spare room. […]
Library Guilt
Like almost every other writer I know, I love to read. A good book recommendation from a good friend is better than chocolate (at least for me). And I can become quite annoying talking about said book to anyone willing to listen. I love holding books in my hands. I love sitting on the sofa […]
Uncovering Family Secrets
Survivor guilt is a force that endures, whether within the context of the tragic wars of yesterday and today, or the ongoing trauma experienced by families. As a second generation American, whose relatives immigrated from Eastern Europe before WWII, it would take decades to uncover the details of their intricate pasts─ the dark secrets they […]
The Power of Nancy Drew
Literature adds to reality; it does not simply describe it. It enriches the necessary competencies that daily life requires and provides; and in this respect, it irrigates the deserts that our lives have already become. —C S Lewis Growing up in Sherwood Park, a sleepy enclave in Yonkers where nothing exciting ever happened, I was […]
What Does A Ghostwriter Do?
When I tell people I’m a ghost writer I’m usually met with a bewildered smile, followed by the inevitable question: ‘What exactly does a ghostwriter do?’ Well, for starters, I can’t tell you what every ghostwriter does as we all tend to work differently and many of us have specialisms. For example, a colleague of […]
Celebrating Grandmothers
For many people, when they think about women’s books, their minds immediately turn to books for and about younger women – a good romance, the joys and problems of young children, the difficulties of separation or divorce, even women and their developing careers. All definitely women’s reading. But a large percentage of women are well […]
Writing When You Aren’t Writing
Any writer, and I assume many non-writers as well, have heard the sage advice, “Write every day.” At many times in my life, I have both agreed with the advice, and then, ultimately, admonished myself for not following it. Surely I couldn’t call myself a writer because I didn’t follow that advice. At my best, […]
Recent Comments