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A Literature-Music Mash-Up

A Literature-Music Mash-Up

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Jill Sobule's "Dottie's Charms" a novel in song form. Kind of. Concept albums seem to be all the rage lately, and singer-songwriter Jill Sobule may have just crafted the most intriguing concept of them all. Several years ago, Sobule was given a vintage charm bracelet by a friend who found it on eBay. The bracelet contained a rather diverse and peculiar collection of pewter charms and one vague link to its original owner, apparently named Dorothy. Failed attempts to track down the mysterious…

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Oh Yeah…I’m a Writer

Oh Yeah…I’m a Writer

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Earlier this year, I posed a question to my fellow scribes, asking them what is their day job – because [spoiler alert!] a lot of us aren’t full-time authors. The comment feed on that post became populated with some interesting insights from those of us walking that tightrope of writing and day jobs and families and lives. And it’s that tightrope walk that’s kept me from posting to this blog in over a month. (Nobody tell Agent Steve, please.) It…

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What’s in a Name?

What’s in a Name?

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"The moment that counts most for me is the one that precedes reading. At times a title is enough to kindle in me the desire for a book that perhaps does not exist." – Italo Calvino My last blog post – about my latest revision of Straightville, U.S.A. – contained the following nugget of information: So I’m happy to say that I sent the latest revision (I think it’s number 1 gazillion) to my agent for his review last weekend. And…

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Writing is a Waiting Game

Writing is a Waiting Game

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“The waiting is the hardest part.” – Tom Petty Glaciers. Turtles. Snails. Little old ladies on the highway. These are things that move at faster speeds than the traditional publishing business. This is a fact that has taken me a while to get used to, but only because I’ve had no other choice than to do so. I did my research into the business side of being a writer when I first started querying Straightville, U.S.A. in 2011. I knew…

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I Write Because Buzzfeed Says So

I Write Because Buzzfeed Says So

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“That is perhaps the greatest parody of journalism that I have ever seen.” – Julia Sugarbaker When did I know I was going to be a writer? Was it that summer day in 1994 I wrote a poem for no real reason at all? No. The winter day in 2008 I wrote the first page of Straightville? Nada. The day in 2012 when all this happened? Nope! The first time I ever actually knew, beyond a shadow of a doubt, that I…

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The Best of 2013 in 2014

The Best of 2013 in 2014

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[I wrote this piece in mid-December of last year, saved it as a draft, and completely forgot to publish it. Dummy. So despite being well into 2014 at this point, here are my favorite books of 2013.]   I rather enjoy a good year-end “best of” list (even if NPR Books is tired of them). So when I started compiling my practically obligatory Best Books of 2013 list, it dawned on me that very few of the books I read this…

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When Writing Isn’t Your Day Job

When Writing Isn’t Your Day Job

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Perhaps one of these days I’ll earn enough money as a novelist to live comfortably off that income. I’ll get up in the morning, brew some coffee, pet the cat and sit down at my desk – still in PJs perhaps? – and write. Yeah…that day isn’t here yet. Most of us writers (wait…should I say most? Yeah, I’ll stick with it.) Most of us writers don’t do so full time. We have jobs and relationships and maybe kids and…

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New Year’s Resolutions

New Year’s Resolutions

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I’m not one to make New Year’s resolutions. By mid-January (if we even make it that far), they’re forgotten about – swept under the rug like dust bunnies and little balls of cat hair. The “new” has worn off, the media buzz is gone, and we’ve settled back into our boring, old routines. Writers aren’t immune to this trend. There are blog posts galore, like this one, from authors resolving to do all sorts of very specific things, such as…

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Idea Overload

Idea Overload

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"No army can withstand the strength of an idea whose time has come." – Victor Hugo After finishing up a marketable draft of Blades of Grass in October, I gave myself a needed hiatus before beginning my next project. In November, I told myself, I’ll get started on my next book. November came and went, and no progress had been made. I thought perhaps I was up against that dreaded thing called writer’s block. I would try to work. I’d…

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