The Write Way: When Drama Becomes Melodrama.
I am an unabashed fan of Les Miserables, the show and the movie. I suspect I would like the book, as well, although having picked it up at Books-A-Million yesterday, I realized I would need a camel caravan to carry it home. But Les Mis (and The Christmas Carol) are productions I never miss in…
Read MoreSunday Inspiration: “The Ebb and Flow of Life”
“We have so little faith in the ebb and flow of life, of love, of relationships. We leap at the flow of the tide and resist in terror its ebb. We are afraid that it will never return. We insist on permanency, on duration, on continuity; when the only continuity possible, in life as in…
Read MoreMaking Muckles Out of Mickles or Why Mira is reissuing the Shenandoah Album Novels
What are Muckles and Mickles you say and what in the world do they have to do with Emilie’s novels? What, have you no Scots blood–as do many people in the Shenandoah Valley? “Many a mickle makes a muckle,” means that if you carefully accumulate many little things, you’ll end up with something larger and…
Read MoreSunday Inspiration: A New Doorway
Welcome to the first Sunday Inspiration blog. While during the past two years I’ve thoroughly enjoyed finding poetry for you to enjoy on Sundays, I feel a need to branch out to other writings now. So while there will sometimes be poetry in this space, my Sunday blogs will broaden a bit to concentrate on…
Read MoreBake Me a Novel: Homemade Bread and the Writing Process
It’s not unusual to find me in the kitchen baking something or other. There I was again yesterday, preparing to make bread while I considered what to write about for my next blog. Bread baking is a weekly ritual in my house, and I often use the time to think about my next writing project.…
Read MoreSunday Poetry: “There’s no end to the joy of climbing into bed…”
Welcome to Sunday Poetry. If this is your first visit you can read about the purpose and inspiration of my Sunday poetry blogs here. Did you know that the Poetry Society of America recently announced that Robert Bly is the 2013 recipient of the organization’s highest award, the Frost Medal? Like Robert Frost, Bly writes poetry that celebrates how…
Read MoreCottage Renovations: When the North Wind Blows
If you’re following the renovation of our cottage in Western New York, I have some new photos to enjoy. And I say “enjoy” because you will enjoy knowing this is not YOUR house and you don’t have to worry about what’s happening when you are many states away. The truth, though, is that I was…
Read MoreYou Oughta Be “at” the Pictures
The Oscars are coming. On Saturday night, in fact. You probably already know that unless you haven’t watched television in months or read the paper or checked the Internet. We’ve already had the Golden Globes and the Screen Actor’s Guild awards. The Oscars may feel anticlimactic about now, but hang in there. This year there…
Read MoreSunday Poetry: “She roars, and we are conquered.”
Welcome to Sunday Poetry. If this is your first visit you can read about the purpose and inspiration of my Sunday poetry blogs here. To honor our grand-daughter’s 6th birthday today I’ve chosen a delightful poem about the birth of a little girl. “Birth Day” by Elise Paschen, celebrates the beginning of a new life and new…
Read MoreEmilie Richards’ Classics
As most of you know, I began my writing career in the romance genre and published dozens of romances before I realized I was writing about many things other than romance that I wanted to explore in more depth. Slowly, without realizing it, I had moved into a broader “genre,” women’s fiction, which encompasses all…
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