I’m not big on resolutions. I appreciate that the start of a new year offers an opportunity to take stock, but I usually shy away from all-out resolutions. Over the last few years, life has taught me that plans get interrupted, shit happens, and priorities change. And that’s okay. I guess that means I’m resolving to — Read More
Category: Writers on Writing
Why stories matter: Practicing empathy with fiction
I worry that people think dust has settled after the election. It shouldn’t settle. There is so much that is (and should be) very unsettled. Regardless of your political opinions, the election was a 9.0 on the Richter Scale. It shook us. We realized we are not as united as we thought. People we assumed were on — Read More
Famous authors on why they write
Every now and then, I ask myself why I write. I mean, it’s such a strange thing–creating these all-consuming alternate realities and fretting about them for months on end. It calms me to see how other writers describe their need to write. I’ve collected some favorite quotes here: “I write entirely to find out what I’m thinking, what — Read More
In defense of unlikable characters
Generally speaking, the reviews for People Who Knew Me have been good. I try not to make a habit of reading them, but I get the general gist when I visit Amazon or Goodreads. If people don’t like the book, it’s usually because they don’t like the main character, Emily (who fakes her death on 9/11 — Read More
Spotlight on: Donna Tartt
I fell in love with Donna Tartt’s writing when I read The Goldfinch. For some reason, it took me a year or so to get to The Secret History, her first book. The book she wrote between the two, The Little Friend, is next on my list. She writes the kind of books I dream of — Read More
A chat with Suzanne Redfearn
One word I really hate: Networking. It gives me chills in that nails-on-a-chalkboard kind of way. When you’re trying to make it as a writer, people will tell you to “network.” For years, I resisted this, and then I realized that I didn’t have to “network”; I could just talk with fellow writers, like group — Read More
An interview with my husband
When my book was released back in May, I was on a local radio show (full broadcast here) and my husband Chris tagged along for support. At one point in the interview, the host directed a question at Chris: “What’s it like being married to a writer?” Chris was not expecting any questions at all, — Read More
A chat with Anita Hughes
When PEOPLE WHO KNEW ME was released in May, I realized I didn’t know much about the publishing industry. My publicist suggested I rebel against my introverted tendencies and talk to other authors to get their take on the business of writing. Thankfully, there are quite a few authors in southern California. There’s even one — Read More
Writing without a goal
People told me that once I published a book, I’d have to be careful not to let “the industry” distract me from my love of writing for the sake of writing. I didn’t think this would be a problem for me, but it has been. Before publishing a book, I wrote the stories I wanted to — Read More
What it’s really like to publish your first book
It’s weird. Let me start there. It’s very weird. The thing is, I’ve dreamed of publishing a novel since I was a little kid. It was the quintessential pie in the sky. My first attempts at making the dream a reality began in my early twenties. The rejection (from agents and publishers alike) made me — Read More