Archive for March 2010
Play It Again, Sam–When Word Processors Go Wrong
My friend Diane Chamberlain made a terrifying discovery this week. Somehow, through no fault of her own, one of her minor characters, Sam, began showing up in the strangest places in her novel. At the beginning of sentences instead of the word “but.” In scenes with other characters, when he suddenly played all the roles. …
Read MoreCan You Really Judge a Book By Its Cover? Covers, Reissues, and Giveaways
The cover to the left is the newest for my novel Rising Tides, originally released in 1997 and scheduled to be re-released in this lovely edition in November of 2010. Reissues can present both problems and possibilities for authors. On the possibility side, reissues give new readers a chance to enjoy novels we wrote before…
Read MoreBooksignings: The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly
I’ll begin with the truth. Writers love booksellers the way we love our first born sons. We love booksellers the way we love chocolate, lattes, spring after long winters and beaches at sunset. That said, we don’t always love booksignings. This past weekend I had the opportunity to be on a panel at the Virginia…
Read MoreDon’t Push The River; It Flows By Itself: Creativity and Deadlines
Sometimes, there are no words. It’s that simple. There are entire days, sometimes stretching to weeks, when putting together an intelligent sentence is a remarkable challenge. Most often these days occur when I’m writing a synopsis. A synopsis is a story summary. Picture me sitting down over coffee one morning to give you a blow by…
Read MoreHappy St. Patrick’s Day and an Irish Blessing
May the road rise up to meet you.May the wind always be at your back.May the sun shine warm upon your face,and rains fall soft upon your fields.And until we meet again,May God hold you in the palm of His hand Happy St. Patrick’s Day
Read MoreLook At Me, Look At Me–The Dangers of Too Much Promotion
Right now I’m listening to my favorite radio station. Our local public radio station has wonderful classical music, and very little talk. What talk they do have is insightful and interesting. Having said all that, do I help support their programming by becoming a member? Unfortunately, no. Instead I support a neighboring public radio station to…
Read MoreThe Write Way: The Plot Thickens, Or Does It?
Anyone who signs on to Internet bulletin boards or newsgroups of novelists will, inevitably, run across “arguments” about the benefits of outlining or not outlining before writing. Actually the “not outlining” group is usually the most vocal. They are convinced that outlining a novel, indeed knowing what’s going to happen before you begin writing the…
Read MoreCouldn’t I Have Said That Better? Editing, Galleys and Errors
There are people out there (and you know who you are) who live to catch errors on the printed page. As obsessed as I am with making sure there are none, I still hear from this sacred sisterhood from time to time. “Don’t I know that people “pore” over the printed page, not pour?” Well, yes,…
Read MoreWeight Watchers, Verizon and Comcast: Am I Cranky Because I’m Food Deprived?
So there we were this morning, trying to make a phone call. Then, there was our beloved telephone company. Turns out our line was dead. Turns out they can repair it. In nine days. Last year our telephone went dead–bees in the box on the pole–and eight days passed before said telephone company toddled out to fumigate the…
Read MoreFilm Vs. Novel–Whose Story Is It Anyway?
In my ten days in New Zealand watching Sweet Georgia Gal, one of my first novels, being turned into a movie for German television, I answered a lot of questions. I asked a lot, too, since that’s a hazard of my profession, plus I drew a lot of comparisons between New Zealand, Germany and the United…
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