Tag: writing

My History with Historical Fiction

There are only two weeks before Newport‘s official publication date, so please excuse me if this post is a little scattered and self-indulgent. Really, it’s better to let me get it out of my system now so that I can start being more interesting as quickly as possible. I’ve been thinking about my love affair with…


Why Newport, anyway?

I grew up in Annapolis, MD. Maybe that statement feels like a non sequitur following the title of this post, but bear with me. When I began thinking about the novel that would become NEWPORT, location images floated across my mind. They looked like Annapolis. There was a picturesque historic district dotted with homes and buildings…


I Join the 21st Century: or, Audiobooks

NEWPORT will be released as an audiobook on July 7th, and I couldn’t be more pleased. I do, however, have a confession to make: as excited as I am about my novel’s audio release, I’ve never actually listened to an audiobook. I know. What rock have I been living under? Because now that my own…


…wield it wisely

You’ve just finished reading a novel. (For the sake of random and totally unbiased argument, let’s say it’s mine.) You love, love, love it; can’t imagine how anyone on earth could love, love, love it; think the author needs serious help. You want to review this book online because everyone should read it – it’s…


You Have the Power …

Once upon a time, not so many moons ago, there were four magical journals in which authors hoped to find reviews of their books. There was Publishers Weekly (read by nearly everybody in the industry), Kirkus (with its reputation for snarky, cutting reviews), Booklist (a kinder, gentler approach to the review process), and Library Journal…


Muses

Let’s talk about muses and inspiration, because I am a total believer. I’m not talking about the classical Greek muses. There were nine of them, plenty to go around. Daughters of Zeus and Mnemosyne, they were raised by the god Apollo and the nymph Eufime. They grew up to become the sources of inspiration for…