A few weeks ago, I did something very strange. I started writing a new novel. I say “strange” because we are in the midst of a pandemic and I have felt completely consumed by working a full-time job (now from home), managing the stress of hearing my husband’s booming voice on his work calls every — Read More
Tag: writing
Writing (and reading) in the time of COVID-19
The other day, I got my first shipment of ARCs (advance reader copies) for my new novel, All the Acorns on the Forest Floor (releases September 15). My excitement was tainted with some worry about the fact that the mailman cleared his throat upon presenting the box. Was it a cough? Had he washed his — Read More
Brave new world
I have been meaning to write a post to let you know that I had my baby but having a baby doesn’t allow much time for things like writing blog posts. At the moment, she is in the swing next to me, awake but content. I am learning to take advantage of these moments. Her — Read More
Where do ideas come from?
Where did you get the idea for your book? This is one of the most common questions I am asked. I’ve learned to answer it succinctly by mentioning how I’d heard about people faking their deaths on 9/11 to get insurance payouts and that triggered a thought of, “Well, what if someone just didn’t show — Read More
The unknown: Writing when you have no idea what you’re doing
I spent most of this past weekend thinking about my second novel. My plan is to submit synopses and sample chapters for a few novels I’ve written over the last several years, along with some new ideas, to my agent and publisher in the near-ish future. When I created this plan, it sounded reasonable, but — Read More
How I became a writer
A couple weeks ago, The Telegraph published an interesting essay by Haruki Murakami about how he became a novelist. Murakami says that he had something of an epiphany in 1978, while watching a baseball game–Yakult Swallows vs Hiroshima Carp. In his words: “In the bottom of the first inning, Hilton slammed Sotokoba’s first pitch into — Read More
Resolutions.
Yesterday, I went to a yoga class and the owner of the studio asked if I had any resolutions for 2015. I was stumped. I don’t really do resolutions. I kind of just tackle new goals as they come up. Maybe this relates to me having a hard time seeing the big picture, the proverbial forest — Read More
Just keep swimming
That’s what I think of when I’m struggling with writing–just keep swimming, just keep swimming. You know, from “Finding Nemo.” If you don’t know, you should watch that movie. That one little phrase has helped me get through hard weeks at work, a week-long trek through the High Sierras, half marathons, and now this book — Read More
Here we go again
I figure it’s time for a book update. I’ve left y’all hanging. So, at the end of June, I got an agent and she sent my book out to some publishers. Honestly, despite many disappointments with this process before, I was super hopeful. My agent seemed genuinely excited for the book and had so many — Read More
Running and writing
I never used to be a runner. In fact, I used to think runners were crazy. As in, certifiably insane. I wanted to attend races with a sign that read, in big red letters, “WHAT ARE YOU RUNNING FROM?” So, I state sheepishly that I have become a runner. It started with 5Ks. That 3-mile — Read More