Early morning jogs in the Bahamas
When I travel and have space to squeeze my running sneakers into my suitcase, I’m usually happy to start the mornings off with a scenic jog. If it’s an area I don’t know, it also gives my my bearings in a new town or city. On a recent trip to the Bahamas, it turned out…
Read MoreSorry to have missed this year’s Matera Women’s Fiction Festival
Around this time of year, I find myself engaged in the (pleasurable) task of writing up what I’ve learned at the annual Matera Women’s Fiction Festival. Matera is a very special town in southern Italy where writers of women’s fiction and women writers of all genres gather to learn about changes in the industry, to…
Read MoreMovies in Central Park, New York
I’ve already written about all the reasons I love New York in the summertime, and especially when we visit in August. When we’re there, we always make a point of seeing the free films screened in Central Park – these tend to be the third week in August, rain or shine. A big screen is…
Read MoreAugust reads
In summer, my reading always picks up. And during holidays, I had the chance to read quite a few books, some of which I really enjoyed. Now that I am back to the daily grind, I decided to take a look back at my August reads and (hopefully) somehow feel as if I’m back on…
Read MoreHollywood on the Lusatian Neisse River: Görlitz, Germany/Zgorzelec, Poland
During a stay in Prague, Czech Republic, we decided to make a day trip to an interesting town partially in Germany, partially in Poland. This architectural gem is called Görlitz in German and Zgorzelec in Polish. You can see the tourist information site here. It may be familiar to many who haven’t yet visited because it is a…
Read MoreI completed my Goodreads Challenge 2016
2016 is not yet over, but a recent burst of enthusiastic summer reading means I’ve wrapped up my Goodreads Reading challenge early. Even if it’s only for fun, always nice to get things in before deadlines. I know some people criticize the Reading challenge, calling it a useless check-list, but I enjoy participating each year. I’ve…
Read MoreWhy I love New York in August
When people ask me what my summer holiday plans are on the years I return home, they tend to look at me oddly. “New York in August? Why? Isn’t it miserably hot?” My family and I try to get back every couple of years for a long holiday in NY, and this is our favorite…
Read MoreBack to school … err.. writing!
‘Tis that time of year. New notebooks and pencils, giving up the freedom of long summer days of unscheduled time and getting that derriere back in the chair to concentrate on putting pen to paper and working once again. Sounds like back to school season, doesn’t it? And, not so strangely, it’s also back-to-writing season for…
Read MoreEtruscan Tuscany in Chiusi
On a trip to Tuscany this past summer, I decided to make a stop in a city I’ve always seen from the highway but have never managed to visit. The area is known for its Etruscan civilization. The ancient city of Clusium, or Clevsim in Etruscan, was one of the most powerful cities in the…
Read MoreBook Review: Fall of Poppies
This series of short stories set during World War I, Fall of Poppies: Stories of Love and the Great War was bound to be right up my alley. I love short stories and I love historical fiction, and I have a particular weakness for stories set during this time period, an era of marked upheaval as…
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