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. …

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Booksignings: 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…

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Look 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…

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The 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…

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Film 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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