Origin Story: I am the sum of so many things and it is at once easy and difficult to place labels on myself. I’ll begin in the most obvious ways: I’m a daughter to an academic; my dad is a mathematician and was immersed in the world of biostatistics and multi-variant statistical analysis for more than a half-century before retiring this year. I saw how much he loves math —…
Bios we wish we had are all about regrets and unfulfilled ambitions. Luckily, I have plenty of both. It turns out, I do regret the things I didn’t do more than the things I did—mostly. Here are a few things I’d love to add to my bio: Lara Lillibridge was brave enough to go with the stepsister she had never met on a burro-trip through the Grand Canyon when…
What better way to get to know a person than through the books that shaped their imaginations, right? When I say I grew up with my nose in a book, I really mean it. I took home stacks of books from the library every week and invariably read my way through the whole pile before our next visit. Couple that with the fact that I lived in a small town…
This week the Debs are sharing all the stuff we love. I change my mind from time to time about what really wins me over, but here are some of my current favorite people, places, and things that make everyday life more enjoyable (in absolutely no particular order): Favorite foods: Avocado toast at Dominique Ansel and steak tartar at The Dutch, both in Soho (NYC): Favorite place to have dinner with the Obamas…
Whenever I think about caring for oneself, I always remember the well-known, highly effective parenting technique that I utilized with my own kids, called Gratification Now. It works really well. And teaches wonderful, life-long lessons. The idea is that whenever you’re feeling depleted, low, sad, tired, hungry, or have a need of any kind, just give yourself what you need, whatever that may be, and do it without delay! Gratification…
Congratulations to Patty Smith for winning a copy of FILL THE SKY by Kathy Sherbrooke! We send our thanks to Destiny Soria for being our guest on The Debutante Ball yesterday! If you haven’t already, go read her interview, featuring her debut, IRON CAST. Lynn K. Hall is waiting, because sometimes that’s what being an author is all about! Waiting for pub day, waiting for early reviews, waiting to lose one’s mind…thank goodness she is…
10 Confessions of this writer: I take Wellbutrin, Xanax, and a couple glasses of wine on the daily. Writing makes me super hungry. I write, pace, snack, and repeat. I can’t deal with men on airplanes wearing tank tops. This is not writing related, but it’s true. Today I feel strongly that I like Ikea way better than I like my writing. Way better. I’m having a really difficult time with…
During a catastrophically bad job interview, Kate, the main character in Small Admissions says that, in her mind, the year begins in September — not in January. It’s one of the few reasonable (as in not completely crazy) statements she makes as she’s trying to land a job in a school. I feel the same way. For me, September has always meant the beginning of a new year. All these…
When I was younger, I always envisioned I’d go to a job from 8 to 5, but once I was home for the evening or weekend, I’d be in non-work mode. I’d have endless hours to fill with frivolity. Oh, how wrong I was. Writing is the dust of career paths. It is always there, always waiting for you to work on it. And even when you spend hours hammering…
Writing a novel is an odd experience. You create a core plot, then act it out by invented characters, kind of like a puppet show except it’s all in your head. To really bring it to life, you need to fill it in with a million little details. I do invent a good many of those details, usually when I want it to serve a purpose, like a character collecting cheesy…
