The next time your kid complains about school…

If your kids subject you to Monday morning grumbling when it’s time to wake up for school, you may want to take them to see this film. Even if they wake up eager for class, you should still see this excellent documentary film by French filmmaker Pascal Plisson, originally entitled Sur le chemin de l’école…

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How to tighten your manuscript

This was very good timing. Literary agent Rachelle Gardner just ran an interesting post entitled ‘How to tighten your manuscript‘. I, um … blush, shuffle feet … always seem to be facing this dilemma. After pitching sessions with agents at the recent Matera Women’s Fiction festival, I need to start cutting word count for my…

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Visiting Oxford, UK with kids

On a trip to London with my kids, I looked forward to a day trip to nearby Oxford. Although I hadn’t planned specific child-friendly activities, it was a pleasant surprise that my young children stumbled across so many entertaining things to do in that charming university town. As parents traveling with children know well, this…

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The new Women’s Fiction Writers Association

I wrote a post about this new association when it was still an informal Yahoo mail loop. But about a month ago, the group became an official association and I just paid my annual dues and became an ‘official’ member of the Women’s Fiction Writers Association a few weeks ago. See their web site here.…

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Zipping through the trees in Bali, Indonesia

This past summer I was alone with my two boys on holiday in Bali, Indonesia. We managed to squeeze in lots of fun things to do during our ten days there (see my earlier post ), but one of their favorites was the TreeTop Adventure  in northern Bali. This is a great adventure rope course,…

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Wrap-up of Matera Women’s Fiction Festival 2013

I am just back from my fabulous annual pilgrimage to the Matera Women’s Fiction Festival. This is my third year participating in this inspiring event. Once again, I’ve learned a tremendous amount about publishing from the experts, had a great time at live pitching sessions to agents and publishers, met a wonderful group of interesting…

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Greetings from the Matera Women’s Fiction Festival!

I’m writing this in advance, as I’ll have my hands full attending the annual Matera Women’s Fiction Festival when this is posted. This is my third year attending, so I know what an (enjoyable) hectic pace it is. Here’s what I’ll be doing when this goes on-line: First, I’ll be busy eating and drinking well.…

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Where to stay in Matera, Italy?

Okay, this the transparent attempt of a traveller –  to start dreaming about a place before an upcoming trip by imagining the place, digging thorough old photos, etc. Tomorrow, I’m off to Matera for my annual mecca to the Women’s Fiction Festival, and I’m anxious to be back to this beautiful southern Italian town. Over…

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