The Before & After of (Author, etc) Photos

If you love every picture of yourself, or you’re one of those naturally photogenic people, you won’t need this post. And I don’t want to stand next to you in any photo. For the rest of us, there are tricks to make ourselves look less double-chinned, squint-eyed, or serial killer-ish in photos. I know. I … Read more

Books So Good, Now I’m Depressed

“Books are a uniquely portable magic.”—Stephen King I’ve been on a tear, having just read three (entirely different) books so good that now I’m in book depression, waiting to find others as transporting, funny, and well-written. Yellowface by R.F. Kuang The night I watch Athena die, we’re celebrating her TV deal with Netflix. I’m a … Read more

Can AI Replace Novelists? Part One

                 Just How Useful is ChatGPT for Writing Fiction? Screaming headlines about using AI for writing (horror! useful? takeover???) appear in the newspapers, Substacks (ditto), and magazines strewn across my bedside, laptop, desk—and everywhere else there’s an available surface for spreading . . . just as I wiggle … Read more

Magnificent Memoirs Recently Read

No family is without fault; few parents can be labeled good or bad. Both Priscilla Gilman and E. Dolores Johnson demonstrated that truth with extraordinary openness in their memoirs—for which we can all be grateful.  Truth-telling is hard. The Critic’s Daughter by Priscilla Gilman Gilman captures the nuances of a family—her remarkable father with fine-grained … Read more