Work-in-progress wants YOUR opinion

I was thrilled when my blogging buddy, the talented YA author Evelyne Holingue, tagged me for the Work-in-progress challenge. Through her blog post, I discovered that Evelyne is not only a prolific YA author, but she also writes essays on her experiences as a French woman living, working, and raising her children in her adoptive…

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Visiting coastal Latina, Italy

I’ve already written about the interesting (short) history of Latina, Italy. Once the breeding grounds of mosquitoes that carried malaria, those mosquitoes were the true cause of the so-called Roman Fever that was romanticized in 19th century literature. The swampland was drained under Mussolini, and Latina was founded as a model fascist city. I visited the…

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Celebrate women writers on International Women’s Day

Okay, okay, so officially International Women’s Day falls on 8 March, which is a Sunday this year. At my workplace, where we celebrate women’s achievements in projects in developing countries, we’ll be marking the day today. Since many observances will take place on Friday, it occurred to me – why not celebrate the entire weekend…

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Where does your writing take you?

I went to film school, so I have a pretty strong background in dramatic structure. I do a whole outline, and as I work I get progressively more detailed. But if something happens in those sponatenous moments of writing that’s different than my outline, I go with the spontaneity, and change the outline to suit it. -Author…

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Reason #5379 to love Rome: Michelangelo’s Moses

There’s a great expression in Italian, l’imbarazzo della scelta, which translates loosely to such a wide range of choices that it’s almost embarrassing. That’s how I feel about Rome’s artistic treasures. There’s simply so much to see in Rome, and much of the treasure trove is absolutely free to visitors. One such (marvellous) artistic example of…

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Want four steps to better (and happier) writing productivity?

Over at the fabulous Writers in the Storm blog – an essential destination for any writer – women’s fiction author Jamie Raintree offers us her advice on Four steps to happy writing productivity. What writer doesn’t want to boost productivity, while also increasing his or her happiness index? At least my experience with high writing productivity…

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Admiring dramatic sunsets in Athens

I went to Athens with my family this past December, and we lucked out with sunny skies and balmy temperatures – I even returned to Rome slight suntanned. : ) Athens is a great city to explore, and the Acropolis is perched at a dramatic high point where it can be enjoyed across the entire city…

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