PHOTO by Filip Mroz at Unsplash If you walk into any bookstore you will find things shelved and classified according to rigorous criteria. Cookbooks, hither, not to be confused with…Continue readingA back door into magic
Hard cover of U.S. HarperCollins edition An ebook version of “The Secrets of Jin-shei”, a historical fantasy that I wrote in a white heat in 2002, was released this year…Continue readingThe “Blessed Book”
What is fiction for? Why on earth do we read fiction? One of my husband’s favorite “writer” stories concerns an author with a very Southern mother whom he called to…Continue readingLying for a living
I’m going to a writers’ retreat in a rustic and charming place on the shores of Lake Quinault in Washington. It’s March. The light is that earnest bright shade of…Continue readingThe writer and the storyteller
Lovereading.co.uk once wrote that they love epic books with swathes of characters creating a wonderfully complex plot, but asked rather plaintively: “Sometimes is it all too much?” They produced a…Continue readingToo many characters?
Fact, historical fiction, & fantasy, oh my! It might be because I grew up in a land where history is still lurking behind a sheer veil, always present and…Continue readingThe world I built
The writer and sex In her book, Love and Trouble, Claire Dederer explains how a book review brought her “an unforeseen gift, or burden: Suddenly everyone wanted to tell…Continue readingThe writer and sex
I am home from the hospital in time for Christmas and will be back to normal activities, including blogging, soon. I wish you all a very Merry Christmas and Happy…Continue readingMy real name is…
The uniqueness of story You hear all kinds of numbers for the plot lines available to authors — 27, 10, 7, 3, 2, 1. Those who favor two – “Someone…Continue readingSomething is wrong
At bookwitty.com, Véesah Afifi offers: “Children…in their innocence can’t fathom the weight of some of the most important quotes they hear in bedtime stories,” Afifi writes. “However, we’re adults now,…Continue readingYour favorite quote?