* Today, my dear readers, I am going to give it to you straight. Straight up, as Paula Abdul once sang. And believe me, what I’m about to share with you is going to cause me to do quite a bit of work. Lots and lots of work. But in the end, I am hoping…
Tag: novels
Deciding to Be A Hallmark Movie in Annapolis, Not Just Watch One
* Last night, my college roommate and dear friend, Elizabeth, and I took to the streets of Annapolis for the annual Parade of Lights. Our husbands were engaged otherwise, and so we were on our own. A resident of Shady Side, south of Annapolis her whole adult life, she had never been to see the…
I Decided To Have A Go At It
Last summer, I wrote a short story called Life With Nan. You can find this story in my recent publication The Postcard and Other Short Stories & Poetry. What’s happened to me after writing that story is interesting. Just as Contelli’s Mimosa, a short story I wrote in college, became a full novel entitled Beneath…
Bucket List Item – Staying at the “Real” Inn Significant
*** Tomorrow, my birthday wish will come true, thanks to my husband. When he asked me what I wanted for my birthday, I told him I wanted to stay at the Sandaway Suites & Beach in the quaint, Eastern Shore town of Oxford, Maryland. It just so happens that it’s the real-life inn that inspired my…
Mother’s Day & Some New Reviews
*** Mother’s Day is this upcoming Sunday. Do you know what I want for Mother’s Day? I don’t want to do a damn thing. Nothing. I want to turn off my brain, have someone else serve me brunch (which we have already arranged, thank goodness!), and do, as Audrey Hepburn says in Roman Holiday, “just…
Through Books, You Can Travel
*** One of my favorite aspects about reading novels is that they allow us to travel to places we may never get to experience, at least not the same way the author sees them. Books such as Adriana Trigiani’s The Shoemaker’s Wife or Alice Hoffman’s The Museum of Extraordinary Things—two books I can’t and have no desire to…
Answering the Question: How Many Books Have You Sold?
How many books have you sold? It’s the question people like to ask me about my recently released novel entitled Inn Significant. It seems to be the question people have on their minds as the marker that indicates how successful the book has been thus far. The funny thing is, I liken the question to…
A Good Book Will Never Let You Down
I’m about to finish Adriana Trigiani’s touching and inspiring novel entitled The Shoemaker’s Wife. I’ve enjoyed reading this sweeping story of Italian immigrants loosely based on the history of the author’s own grandparents. From the mountains of the Italian Alps to New York City to a small town in Minnesota, the characters and sights covered…
Writing Can’t Be ‘Thin Love’
Love is or it ain’t. Thin love ain’t love at all. ~ Toni Morrison I admire writer Toni Morrison. She is smart, insightful, and willing to write for herself. Her books are powerful and influential…and from the heart. After sitting here reading many of her quotes, I keep coming back to the one above along…
It’s All About Love
* * * One of the things I’ve had to come to grips with lately is that if you have created something that is independently yours, whether it’s in the role of author of a book, director of an indie film, or maker of lovely art, you will always be working, always promoting. Additionally, you…
Preparing to Launch! A Personal Letter to Readers.
Dear Readers, I don’t often go on and on about all the different responsibilities an independent author has to tackle on a daily basis, but none is greater than getting your books ready for that “big release.” I can see the finish line. I am almost there. In addition to the release of my almost…
My Latest Author Crush
Markus Zusak is attractive, intelligent, in touch with human nature, deeply evocative with his use of language, and has had me thinking about the story he wrote for a good, solid week now. In fact, I know I will never forget it. I’d call that an author crush. I can’t get Liesel, Hans, Rosa, Ilsa,…
