I’d just gotten a new iPhone – all shiny and pretty, wrapped in a hot-pink case – and my friend Nik, who was visiting for the weekend, asked a question that I’m eternally grateful for: “Do you know about the Kindle App?” I’m a bit wary of all things electronic, so I meekly shook my head. I had no Kindle App. I had, in fact, no Apps at all. “Here,”…
You know how sometimes you can walk around for half a day, blissfully oblivious, until someone points out you’ve got toilet paper stuck to your shoe? Writing is like that, sometimes. Until my agent mentioned it, I didn’t realize I was such a visual writer. When I sit down in front of my computer, the things I tend to describe are colors and facial expressions, little gestures and mannerisms. It’s…
Okay, you guys came through for me once before: Remember when I put out the call for help in stopping my ugly habit of biting my nails? The responses were terrific – and gross (I still shudder at the “buttworm” comment) – and now, three months out, I can proudly say I no longer hide my hands. My nails won’t ever threaten the talons of, say, Barbra Streisand, but they’re…
Even though Emily and I live in different countries, we met in person – very briefly – months ago. We both happened to be in New York, and we literally stood on a corner outside Penn Station, chatting in the cold, before we headed off to our respective meetings. But when we parted, I was holding something special in my hands: An advance copy of her new book. I knew…
My Mom could be a character in a book, but I swear she’s not in my book! True, my parents do share some traits with my main character’s parents, Mr. and Mrs. Rose. Both, for example, will spend five dollars in gas and a half hour in driving time to get to Ikea to take advantage of the bargain breakfasts (mmm… lingonberries!) Although I look – and sound – just…
Before I began Restoring Harmony, I hadn’t read YA in years. Sure, I’d skimmed Twilight to see what all the fuss was about (one word: Edward), but that was the extent of my recent experience with the genre. So I want to thank Joelle for introducing me to this whole new world of books, because I absolutely loved Restoring Harmony, and I’ve since devoured several other terrific YA books. I’m…
For the past few days, I’ve been hard at work incorporating my editor’s suggestions into my second book, SKIPPING A BEAT. I’ve been pondering the plot and characters and yes, the dialogue. Since I’ve been trying to get my prose right, I thought it would be fun to use this space today to deliberately mess up. To write the worst dialogue I can dream up. To belly-flop with abandon. I…
It was my first night alone in nearly three years. I kissed my husband and three kids goodbye, hopped aboard a train, and worked on the edits for my second book (newsbreak: it’s titled SKIPPING A BEAT) as we rushed along the tracks, heading toward Philly. Then I took a cab to my hotel, the gorgeous Palomar, and congratulated myself on finding a bargain room on the Internet. Now it…
I was having dinner with my husband, another couple, and our five combined young boys at a casual outdoor restaurant in Charlottesville, Va., one evening last month. The kids were restless from being cooped up in the minivan on the long drive from D.C., and excited to see their friends. It was late – around 8:30 – and only one other family was dining nearby, so manners were, shall we…
Bear with me, because I’d like to brag a bit. Whenever I have a work-related expense – say, new paper for my computer printer – I take my receipt immediately home and open up a dedicated file on my computer. I note the time, cost, and reason for the expense, and then I walk over and physically file the receipt in one of my color-coded…. um, in my room-sized filing…
