Writing this final post is conjuring all sorts of emotions in me. I’ve loved my year as a Debutante – loved connecting with my fellow Debs and the women who have gone before us, loved chatting with the readers and bloggers who have been kind enough to leave comments — and yet, it feels right to turn over the reins to a fresh new group of debut authors. (And, by…
If you like commercial women’s fiction with heart and humor, have I got some goodies for you to check out! First, you must read anything and everything by Jennifer Weiner. My favorite book is In Her Shoes (which was made into a movie starring Cameron Diaz) but I also adore Little Earthquakes and Jen’s latest book, Fly Away Home. Emily Giffin is another terrific, topical writer. My favorite of her…
This week I couldn’t resist posting a column I wrote for Bethesda magazine on throwing birthday parties for my kids. Enjoy! Death to the Goody Bag Kids’ birthday parties have evolved in a Darwinian sense: Only the strong parents survive By Sarah Pekkanen I was wrestling an uncooperative bag of groceries out of my minivan when I spotted our 6-year-old neighbor, Ike, approaching me, his little brow thoughtfully wrinkled. “This ought to…
I absolutely loved Simply From Scratch. It’s the sort of book I’d naturally be drawn to in a store, because of the warm, engaging cover, the fun title, and the glowing cover quotes from authors like Marisa de los Santos. So I’m very lucky I got to read an early copy – and the book was, without a doubt, everything I hoped it would be. As I’ve gotten to know…
On the top of my computer armoire is a stack of writing books. One of my favorites is Stephen King’s On Writing. It’s part memoir, part “toolkit,” as King calls it. The horror master reveals his tricks of the trade, and talks about how the love of writing gripped him as a child. But my favorite anecdote in this beautifully-written book? It’s the story of how King began the book…
I’m a dog person. Don’t get me wrong – I love cats, too. And monkeys and hamsters, birds and even lizards. But maybe because I grew up in a house full of pugs, dogs have a special place in my heart. We had four of them, and they pretty much regarded themselves – and were treated – like our less articulate siblings. They slept in our beds, cuddled on our…
The 2010 Debs were almost contenders. Household names. We came so close to hitting the cover of People magazine, sitting down for an intimate chat with Oprah, and being forced to open extra bank accounts to cash all of our checks. Except for a wee misunderstanding. Here’s how it played out: Last November, I received an email that sent me into a tizzy involving medicinal gulps of wine, frantic phone calls,…
Fireworks are kind of like books. You want to grab attention from the very first moment, with an explosive sound and dazzle of color, or a gripping opening line. You’re telling your audience that the show is on – and it’s going to be a doozy. But you can’t shoot off all your fireworks at once, leaving people feeling shortchanged. You need to establish a rhythm – a burst of…
About a month before The Opposite of Me came out, I booked a signing at the big Barnes & Noble in my hometown of Bethesda, Maryland. The lovely folks at the bookstore followed up with a long email to my publicist, asking all sorts of questions. Did I prefer to sign with a pen or a sharpie? Which page of my book would I be signing? Would I like to…
My father is one of the funniest people I’ve ever met. He loves to laugh at himself, which is a rare and admirable trait. He’s quick with a quip, he spontaneously comes up with silly poems that rhyme with my sons’ names, and he’s a terrific writer (seven non-fiction books – one of which was made into a CBS Sunday Night movie and got him an appearance on Oprah, and…
