W. Somerset Maugham vs. Elmore Leonard. Are There Rules for Writing?
Every writer I know loves to quote the following by W. Somerset Maugham, (1874-1965) author of The Razor’s Edge and Of Human Bondage: “There are three rules for writing a novel. Unfortunately no one knows what they are.” More recently ten tricks for good writing by the late Elmore Leonard, renowned writer of westerns and…
Read MoreSunday Inspiration: “A Grand Thing”
“I like living. I have sometimes been wildly, despairingly, acutely miserable, racked with sorrow, but through it all I still know quite certainly that just to be alive is a grand thing.” – Agatha Christie Agatha is so right. Each of our lives encompasses a wide range of experiences ranging from incomprehensible depression and grief…
Read MoreFiction Friday: A Quilt with a Story to Tell
Welcome to Fiction Friday, a chance to share some of my stories with you. For the past two Fridays I’ve posted excerpts from the first two novels in my Shenandoah Album series. Today’s excerpt is from book three, Lover’s Knot, which was reissued in May as a trade paperback. All three of these books are also…
Read MoreFive Things I Learned This Summer
The Old Farmer’s Almanac claims that summer doesn’t end until September 22nd when the autumnal equinox signals the sun crossing the celestial equator. For me, summer ends when the Chautauqua season ends, which happened yesterday. At our weekly Sunday evening service, the end of the 2013 season was made official with a ceremonial three taps…
Read MoreSunday Inspiration:
I have a dream today! I have a dream that one day every valley shall be exalted, and every hill and mountain shall be made low, the rough places will be made plain, and the crooked places will be made straight; “and the glory of the Lord shall be revealed and all flesh shall see it together.”…
Read MoreFiction Friday: Quilting Bees and Bees in the Bonnet
Welcome to Fiction Friday, a chance to share excerpts of some of my books with you. While I’m starting with those currently on sale, eventually some may be entirely new. In fact, some may even be excerpts from other people’s books. This is definitely a work in progress. Last week I introduced you to Nancy,…
Read MoreDeadlines, Guests and the Downside of Mother Nature
The last week was spent sleeping off a cold, entertaining my very thoughtful and independent guests when I could, and somehow sneaking in pages on No River Too Wide when I felt up to it. It was not spent blogging, but no wonder. I know you understand. Fiction Friday will be back (guess which day)…
Read MoreSunday Inspiration: “Every morning is a new arrival”
This being human is a guest house. Every morning a new arrival. A joy, a depression, a meanness, some momentary awareness comes. As an unexpected visitor. Welcome and entertain them all! Even if they’re a crowd of sorrows, who violently sweep your house empty of its furniture, still treat each guest honorably. He may be…
Read MoreFiction Friday: Three Generations of Women and a Wedding Ring Quilt
Welcome to Fiction Friday, a chance to share snippets of my books with you. While I’m starting with some of my books currently on sale, eventually some may be entirely new. Today’s excerpt is from Wedding Ring, the first book of the Shenandoah Album series. Wedding Ring and the next two novels, Endless Chain and…
Read MoreThose Difficult Chapters in Life and in Novels
I am on a deadline. So what else is new? In college when I had an “end” in sight, a paper, a test, a project, I had a bad habit of waiting until the last minute, a habit I unlearned by my senior year. When I began to write I had learned my lesson. I worked…
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