Tag: women writers
Smile
When I was a child, my mom would sing the theme-song to COPS, and she was horrible at it. I don’t remember if she knew all the words, but when the chorus came on, she belted out the lines at an ear-piercing volume of a peacock. I remember these moments like they were last week. […]
Inspiration and Writing
Inspiration and Writing By Catherine Bellizzi Inspiration for writing can come from the most unusual places. Even from something as misunderstood and anxiety-causing as assisted living. As I sat visiting my elderly aunt in her small apartment in the assisted living facility she had just moved into, I got the idea for my novel, The […]
Children Need To Write
All the teachers and parents I know are struggling to climb the piles of shoulds and coulds and woulds on behalf of the school age children they care for. They’re making learning choices for students who have been home from school for months, who will now be home all summer, and who may yet still […]
The Real Life Horrors That Find Their Way into Fiction
For several years, I spent my nights fighting crime. I worked in the records department of a police station in Colorado. My job was varied. I was a reference librarian for the officers, and a department dispatcher for the public. I processed police records; performed research using local, state, and national criminal databases; entered warrants, […]
Dystopia Meets Dystopia, Carmit Delman
In Fall 2019, I celebrated the release of my new dystopian novel, Consider the Feast. Set in a near-future New York City that’s obsessed with food, the characters are bloated from privilege and always seeking out the next decadent gourmet experience. Eventually in the story, the broken food system and the rift between the haves […]
Perfect Heroines
By: Vanessa Westermann “The perfect heroine for our times” is how Canadian crime writer Barbara Fradkin described Kate Rowan, the protagonist of my mystery An Excuse For Murder. High praise indeed! Barbara identified Kate’s strengths as being her “wit, charm, and spirit balanced by impressive skills in self-defense and lock-picking”. I was overjoyed, especially because […]
Writing Through Tough Times: Tips And Tricks
The question comes up a lot: What’s your favorite part of the writing process? Usually this is a multiple choice question. Is your favorite part the beginning of the story, when everything is possible? Is it the middle when things have finally begun to gel? Is it the end when all the choices have narrowed […]
Openhearted Listening To The Stories Of Others, Including Victorian Women Artists
Openhearted Listening To The Stories Of Others, Including Victorian Women Artists One of my favorite writers, Brené Brown, endorses what she calls “openhearted living.” When I hear that phrase, I envision spreading my arms and taking in what is present around me, fearlessly and with curiosity. This stance isn’t second nature. I grew up in […]
Interview with Sharon Kirsch, author of The Smallest Objective
Sharon Kirsch’s new book, The Smallest Objective, is both topical and universal. This intriguing narrative nonfiction examines the complexities of lives lived: a personal and literal spring-cleaning—the need to sift, take stock and filter for the important things; our concern for senior members of our family, and the consolation offered by staying close to loved ones […]
Interview with Sarah Relyea, Author of Playground Zero
PLAYGROUND ZERO, Sarah Relyea’s debut novel, is a coming-of-age story set in Berkeley in the late 1960s. “Like a trip through the Looking Glass, Sarah Relyea’s engrossing debut novel takes you by the hand back to the sixties, where social rules were being challenged and political upheaval was the norm. Relyea tells the absorbing story of […]
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