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
Hoarding, hiding, and divorcing socks: such are my dryer’s hobbies. (He likely hustles clients for a textile-marriage counselor—or is, perhaps, an instrument of the devil.) The other possibility, though sad,
“The library was a little old shabby place. Francie thought it was beautiful. The feeling she had about it was as good as the feeling she had about church.”
Why ‘memorable & relished’ rather than ‘best’? Because best is such an individual decision: best-written? best-received? best-advertised? As I went through my list of read and listened-to books this year,
Stories abound of Jewish people who grow up warm and secure in their faith. Those for whom the eight days of Hanukah didn’t compete with Christmas: Jewish nurses, firefighters, and
Presents!! In opposition to the Scrooges of the world, I love giving presents, finding presents, and getting presents! (Though I do have to lock down my desire to do one
“I’m looking for possible blurbs to be published on the back or inside cover of my 90-year-old mother’s novel,” Michelle Hoover wrote on Facebook. “Her health is precarious, she’s isolated
My sister and I didn’t grow up rife with traditions. On Halloween we wore old shirts to represent that we were hobos or beatniks, depending on our mood. When we
Answering questions off the cuff is my favorite way of presenting—surprising (embarrassing?) myself with on-my-feet answers as I stumble into learning things I didn’t know about myself. Thus, when author
Every time I teach “Structuring a Novel With Good Bones” I learn again how difficult it is to condense the process into six hours . . . and how exhilarating
(first published in 2011) Originally, I tried to resist writing this 9especially after my plea against categorizing authors.) Plus, so many of us hide our age in this world of never-get-old,
“The library was a little old shabby place. Francie thought it was beautiful. The feeling she had about it was as good as the feeling she had about church.” A
Feb 1st is National Dark Chocolate Day Raise your hand if you knew Feb 1 was National Dark Chocolate Day. I know, my hand is also down—but I’m ready to
Win an indie bookstore gift certificate! First Lines of Books I’m addicted to great first lines—I even have a document of first lines for which I want to someday write
Big Pots of Homemade Soup made Super-Easy Raise your hand if you’re so sick of cooking you could live on dry cereal for the rest of your life. These days
T’is the season to do a million things (good, great, exhausting, hair-pulling-annoying) but one I find the most relaxing is finding (and recommending) small shops, artists, and craftspeople. Below are
First, there was Vaseline on the camera lens. Next up was rose-colored lighting, shooting through pantyhose, and soft focus. And then came Photoshop. No one tells the truth, of course,
My sister and I are great liars. World-class liars. Maybe we were born with the trait (after all, our paternal grandmother’s top hobby was shoplifting.) Brooklyn-born Great-Aunt Sally (Jewish, like
Unmitigated panic. Unrelenting fear. Ulcer-inducing worry. A year ago my book was launching and I should have been on cloud nine. I was realizing a life-long dream at a time
If you read as I do (unceasingly, never sticking to any one genre, and always with a backup book (or ten) just in case, you’re always seeking books to
I tried to think of a, um, sexier title for this post, but they all sounded, um, icky, and the last thing I want when I’m writing about sex
Unless one’s made of stone and iron, having writing a novel (Waisted) based on extreme body-shaming & how the eyes of others scorch women, must change one, yes? Pair that
by Sahar Abdulaziz I stand, transfixed, staring into the mirror at a face I no longer recognize, at a body that has housed my soul for fifty-plus years, birthed
by Lauren J. Sharkey It started small—having to catch my breath after going up the stairs, needing to recline my car seat back an inch…going up a size. “You