Tag: featured

How to make the truth Palatable

How to make the truth Palatable

Toni Morrison said, “If there’s a book you want to read, but it hasn’t been written yet, then you must write it.” Those words gave me the kick-start. I’d read some second generation Polish fiction (mainly from the U.S.) and a vital ingredient was missing – Europe 1939-1945. Could I manage to depict those years […]

April 22, 2015 | By | 9 Replies More
Should Everyone Publish a Book?

Should Everyone Publish a Book?

I was chatting with an acquaintance recently when we got onto what I’d been up to lately. “Just finished my second novel,” I chirped, certain he’d be mightily impressed. Instead, I got a judgmental pause followed by: “You and everyone else on the planet!” Umbrage was taken, but the comment did strike me… as sort […]

April 18, 2015 | By | 31 Replies More
Facebook: Love It or Leave It?

Facebook: Love It or Leave It?

Back in February a writer/friend, Donna Zukaitis Falcone, posted a question on Facebook:  Building a platform as a writer: Can it be done without Facebook in the 21st century anymore? Do the old tried and true ways still work in a digital age? She sparked a lively conversation, and it struck an especially resonant chord […]

April 16, 2015 | By | 25 Replies More
Q&A with Trisha Ashley

Q&A with Trisha Ashley

1) What are your top five writing tips? a) Writer’s block (and see question 3): if you come to a stop in your novel and can’t see a way forward, then employ lateral thinking and walk around that big rock, or tunnel underneath it, or do a sharp right turn and go somewhere else. But […]

April 13, 2015 | By | 2 Replies More
Older Writers

Older Writers

I am what the French so delicately call, femmes d’une certaine age, somewhere between middle age and Social Security—much closer to Social Security, if I’m being honest. And I just had my debut novel published as an ebook, with a paperback to come out later this year. I’m also in the process of having an […]

April 7, 2015 | By | 54 Replies More
Women and Myths in Storytelling

Women and Myths in Storytelling

I recently wrote a blog post for my group of fellow authors, Novelistas Ink, about my previous incarnation running storytelling workshop based on myths. Writing the post made me think again about the role of myths in storytelling, and in storytelling about women in particular. (You can find the original post here) The ancient myths […]

April 5, 2015 | By | 6 Replies More
Q&A With Author Bethany Chase

Q&A With Author Bethany Chase

I can’t recall how Bethany and I became friends, but I am sure that the name of her blog (“It’s Better With Bangs”) and her spunky twitter profile (“I’m a women’s fiction author, interior designer, and eternally hopeful A-cup.”) had something to do with it. That same voice – spunky, quick, bold – is what […]

April 2, 2015 | By | 6 Replies More
What Book Clubs Are Teaching Me About Writing

What Book Clubs Are Teaching Me About Writing

I’ll let you in on a little secret. I always wanted to be in a Book Club. I couldn’t articulate why because from the outside I couldn’t be sure exactly what occurred there – food, wine, maybe even some discussion about a, you know, book – but it just seemed to me from the way […]

March 31, 2015 | By | 13 Replies More
Reviews, a Game of Give and Take

Reviews, a Game of Give and Take

We all know how much the world of publishing has changed in the last few years. The gatekeepers have been swept away by self-publishing. Anyone can write a book, and offer it for sale on Amazon. And anyone can write a review and post it. So much democracy! So much freedom! Is this a good […]

March 28, 2015 | By | 7 Replies More
Up the Ante on Exposing Yourself

Up the Ante on Exposing Yourself

The retreat leader, a New York Times bestselling author, had scribbled those six daunting words in blue ink and all caps across the back of page seven. I already felt plenty exposed. Not only had I laid bare the first ten pages of my fledgling memoir, I was revealing my work to eight strangers who, […]

March 26, 2015 | By | 16 Replies More