Reason #5361 to love Rome: Nativity scenes
Buon Natale! Merry Christmas! Those of you visiting the Eternal City during the Christmas season will be certain to notice the Christmas trees that now grace the city. Christmas trees are a relatively recent import – a northern European tradition. To get a real flavor of Italian Christmas traditions, visitors in should visit the many Roman churches…
Read MoreInterview with author and NaNoWriMo organizer Grace Tierney
Grace Tierney is a mother and writer living in rural Ireland. Her excellent blog, Wordfoolery, examines rare and unusual words in the English language. Grace is a prolific writer, working on both novels and short stories. I had the good luck to meet Grace (virtually) when we became critique partners, and I’ve enjoyed getting to…
Read MoreThe Christmas market in Nice, France
Although beautiful Nice, with its wide stretch of beach and lovely blue Mediterranean waters, attracts flocks of tourists in the summertime, this pretty city also makes an ideal winter get-away destination. Enjoy Nice without the crowds as it prepares for the Christmas season with its annual holiday market, set up on Place Massena, just at the edge…
Read MoreThe Next Big Thing
Last week Catherine MacNamara invited me to take part in The Next Big Thing. She is a novelist and short story writer. Her novel A Divorced Lady’s Guide to Living in Italy was released last April and her short story collection, Pelt and Other Stories, is scheduled for release in 2013. In addition to being…
Read MoreSnake charmers, donkey carts, and couscous in Marrakech, Morocco – Part 2
Okay, there are just so many great things to see on your visit to Marrakech, that I couldn’t fit it into one post. So, if you’re planning to take a trip to Marrakech, be sure to read Part 1 of this post as well. And, plan more time than we had, because Marrakech is located…
Read MoreAm I the only one who never gets any writing done during the holidays?
In theory, the holidays should be a great time to pile up the word count. The weather is cool, and staying home at the computer doesn’t seem such a chore. Days off from work should translate into productive days working on writing… and yet, it never quite happens that way for me. I have yet…
Read MoreSnake charmers, donkey carts, and couscous in Marrakech, Morocco
Long, long ago, on an ‘important’ birthday, I decided not to get hung up on growing older, but instead to book tickets to a destination where I’d never been before. After all, I love travelling and exploring a new destination each year as I added another candle to the cake seemed the best way to…
Read MorePhantoms, fainting heroines, and evil Italian villains: The Gothic novel!
What do Frankenstein, Dracula, Jane Eyre and Rebecca have in common? They’re all descendants of the 18th and 19th century Gothic novels. The Gothic novel was immensely popular in the late 1700s and early 1800s. It blended romance and horror and were widely read in their day – particularly among women, who (like today) are the…
Read MoreThe Café de Turin in Nice, France
Nice is a wonderful city for visitors to southern France, offering beautiful architecture, art and an ideal position along the turquoise waters of the Riviera. Nice is also – not surprisingly – a wonderful place to enjoy seafood. The Café de Turin has been famous for serving up seafood to visitors and residents alike since…
Read MoreTraditional publishing or self-publishing? That is the question.
The literary agent Rachelle Gardner had an informative post on her site recently: Can I make more money via traditional or self-publishing?. Her post looks at the issue from the agent side, specifically what the monetary threshold (e.g. amount of the advance) of her clients is before they would choose to self-publish. I am a…
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