The Writing Process
The Conversation Continues: Emilie And Diane
Today the fun is definitely at Diane Chamberlain’s blog as Diane and I continue our conversation about “difficult” characters, choices we make as writers, and other writing topics. Friday the conversation returns to my blog for (most likely) the final salvo. So scoot over to Diane’s blog today for the newest scoop. And don’t forget!…
Read MoreA Conversation with Diane and Emilie
Diane Chamberlain, one of my best friends as well as one of my favorite authors, is joining me for a chat on our blogs. To celebrate my new book, One Mountain Away, we decided to have a conversation about characters—specifically characters who might not be all that sympathetic, at least not at first blush. We started our chat…
Read MoreA Conversation with Diane Chamberlain
Diane Chamberlain and I are having a conversation about writing, our books, how to make characters come alive, and lots more. Diane began it today and you can find it right here. Tune in at my blog on Friday for the second part. Oh, there are books to give away, too. See you there and…
Read MoreManuscript Miracles
I’m in the final stages of Somewhere Between Luck and Trust, the second in my Goddesses Anonymous series. Can those of you who’ve just read One Mountain Away guess the major character in this one? She was introduced in the first book, and we’ve traveled another winding road to the end of this novel. But…
Read More7 Things I’ve Learned after 70 Books
Today is the launch for One Mountain Away. Cue the trumpets and race to the bookstores. One Mountain is the first of my new series, Goddesses Anonymous, and one of the more difficult novels I’ve written. You would think, wouldn’t you, that after seventy books, I should be able to dash off a novel between…
Read MoreThe Little Picture or the Big One? What’s Your Pleasure?
After knee surgery in the spring, I began taking walks each morning. Little by little I’ve increased the distance and speed that I walk, most of it up or down hills, until I’ve gotten back to what’s always been my regular route. But this past weekend I must have exercised with too much resolve, because…
Read MoreHappy Endings? Yours or Mine?
I’m going to make a confession. I like to smile at the end of a novel. I like to think that problems have been resolved, that the characters I grew to care about will start the next phase of their lives with fewer burdens and a healthy dose of optimism. I like, dare I admit…
Read MoreThe Write Way: Every Writer Needs a Mind Palace
Watch Sherlock Season 2: Making a Modern Hound on PBS. See more from Masterpiece. Last night I watched the newest Sherlock Holmes on P’BS Masterpiece Mystery, an updated version of The Hound of the Baskervilles. I love this series. Sherlock and Watson are a fabulously dysfunctional pair, Sherlock clearly suffering from Aspergers and Watson recovering from…
Read MoreSniffing Out A Story (Again)
In the spirit of recycling, something I’m getting quite adept at as I get ready to move, today I’m recycling a blog from September 2010 about my silly beagle Nemo. I’m pleased to tell you that Nemo is, of course, still with us and every bit as neurotic as I paint him in the following…
Read MoreChoosing Asheville
Do you ever wonder how a novelist chooses a setting? Me, too. Really. Because the entire world is open to us, and sometimes all those choices can be daunting. When the time came two years ago to begin planning a new series, I had all the usual options. Should I use a real town (like…
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