Tag: featured
5 Writing Rules We Break!
Rules schmules! Call us rebellious, but when it comes to writing, we think some rules were made to be broken. Never start a sentence with a conjunction. So I have impeccable grammar, if I do say so myself. The basics, I like to proudly declare, I’ve pretty much got down. It’s versus its. There, their […]
Art From the Heart – Getting Out of the Way of Your Own Writing
There is a persistent idea in the West of the artist (not just we writers but artists of all types) as tortured creatures, pulling art out of ourselves in the way hara-kiri warriors once ripped out their own entrails. The unbearable weight of dragging art out in this way inevitably takes its toll and thus […]
You Are Not Unique
My love of writing didn’t come to light until I actually sat down and did it formally. It wasn’t until a topic stirred me with such intensity that it made me realize that maybe it was worth sharing with the world. Once I put my proverbial pen down to rest, and sat back to admire […]
From Journalist to Children’s Author
It’s a funny thing, the permanency of a book. In the past month or so, I’ve been lucky enough to hold in my hands a book that I wrote – Celia and Nonna, illustrated by Kayleen West. Lucky, because over the past few years an element of Powerball lottery has crept into the traditional publishing […]
Menopause and Writing
“I will not die an unlived life. I will not live in fear of falling or catching fire. I choose to inhabit my days, to allow my living to open me, to make me less afraid, more accessible, to loosen my heart until it becomes a wing, a torch, a promise. I choose to risk […]
Publishing : Has anything changed since the 19th century?
While researching my new biography, La Belle Créole, I unexpectedly discovered the vibrant literary world of early nineteenth-century Paris. And surprisingly, that world was not that dissimilar from our own. My subject, Mercedes Santa Cruz y Montalvo, Countess Merlin – was a fascinating, multitalented woman. After a complex and tumultuous early life in Cuba and […]
Coming Back to Writing
When I was a little girl I made a choice. At least I thought I did. I was nine years old. Mousey and a bit serious. I only cared about two things – reading teenage horror novels and Westlife. My Aunt was allaying herself of some furniture – she had a beautiful house – and […]
Getting In
As Heidi Klum says on Project Runway, either you’re in, or your out. The world of publishing works this way, too. There are barriers and hurdles to get over, doors to walk through, people who welcome you, and those who turn their backs. This is the story of how I got in, and why some […]
What is the Best Thing About Writing?
What is the best thing about writing? — Women Writers (@WomenWriters) September 18, 2014 @WomenWriters To have written 🙂 — Kathleen Fordyce (@KathleenFordyce) September 18, 2014 @WomenWriters Serves as a catharsis. #writing — Sarai (@sarah_rahman) September 18, 2014 @WomenWriters Writing is the only thing that stops me from ruminating about the things I know I […]
The Gatekeeper
On the morning of Friday, May 30, my husband and I got a call from India: my mother was in critical condition and hospitalized in New Delhi. I thought it was a bad joke because (a) My Mom wasn’t sick. I had barely spoken with Mom two days ago and promised to cook, Kalam Polow, a […]
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