Deb News: Deb Jess will be doing a reading at the Appleton Public Library this Thursday, August 28, at 6:30 pm. Join Jess for a sneak peek at her novel-in-progress plus a candid chat about all things writing and publishing-related. (225 N. Oneida St., Appleton, Wisconsin) Deb Jenny will be appearing in the following places in the next several weeks: •WaldenBooks Charlottesville, VA, 1 p.m. Saturday September 6. •George Mason…
I read an early copy of Danielle Younge-Ullman’s debut novel Falling Under on my computer last winter. I usually dislike reading so much on-screen, as I have wonky eyes that are quick to redden after too much pixilated exposure. But with Falling Under? I could. Not. Stop. Reading. I found myself wanting to both savor the story and race ahead to see how things ended for Mara, a deeply conflicted…
When you think of the things women (and many men) do to maintain beauty, it’s fairly easy to get grossed out. Slathering mud on our faces, smearing Vaseline on our teeth, painful strategic hair removal, bleaching mustaches, waxing brows, picking, taping, dying, scribbling on our lips, brows, and eyelids with food grade crayons…I heard last weekend that people have been using Preparation H to diminish dark circles and bags beneath…
Over Memorial Day weekend VH1 aired a marathon of I Love the (Insert Decade Du Jour). My husband and I happened to catch I Love the 70’s Volume II, and it was just what I needed to catch my breath after a whirlwind launch week. So yes! We journeyed down memory lane with Trapper John M.D., Mr. Whipple, Frank Zappa, Kristy McNichol, and Billy Joel, to name just a few…
Earlier this week I attended a reading given by the incomparable Elizabeth Berg. The library meeting room was packed–and at noon on a Tuesday! Elizabeth was gracious, elegant, and so polished. She’d clearly done this before. For example, on OPRAH three times. Oprah. Three. Times. Whoops! I fell down there. Was feeling a little faint. I’ll pull myself together. Where’s my brown paper bag? I introduced myself to some women…
I was practically rubbing my hands together with glee as I anticipated writing this post. Publishing emergencies…publishing emergencies? Have I got some publishing emergencies for YOU! Okay, it’s not so wild as all that. Before I signed a contract with my agent, I thought that every rejection was a publishing emergency. Eventually I realized that each rejection was like a little piece of disappointed gold, because though I badly wanted…
Ah…I’m digging into my creaky mental vaults to present you with my best vacation memory. Problem is, I don’t know if I have one! I have taken no gorgeous trips to exotic lands, unless you count Nebraska (I kid the Nebraskans!)…I DO have half a dozen ‘road-trip out west’ stories, but I’ve got to ixnay their divulging, as many of the details ended up in Driving Sideways. (Wall Drug and…
I’m the goofball who came up with “First Loves” as a posting topic, and now I’m stumped. You see, I was one of those hopeless romantics unfortunate people who believed that EVERY boy she went out with, no matter how wrong for her, was her “First Love.” Instead, why don’t I tell you about the first boy I ever held hands with? That would be Aaron. We met at sixth…
My entry onto the career ladder was unremarkable, except that if not for my best friend Cindy, I may never have climbed on at all. After an outgoing and talkative childhood, I decided to clam up somewhere around junior high. My shyness was such that if I needed to make any appointments via telephone, I actually had to write a script so I wouldn’t melt into a puddle of fear…
I am honored to close this week’s festivities for Jenny Gardiner and her fantastic debut novel, Sleeping with Ward Cleaver. It truly is an honest, brassy, HIGHLY relatable look at what happens to many marriages a few years and a few children in—covering so much more than just loss of that initial spark, when passion dissolves into comfort (and sometimes malaise). It’s about sharing responsibilities, about respect, about communication, about…
