Writing Blog
Writers in a perpetual dream state
“The good thing about writing books is that you can dream while you are awake.” —Haruki Murakami Love these wise words from brilliant Japanese author Haruki Murakami. After all, a writer will go nowhere without an active imagination. And yes, chances are your favorite author has a tendency to daydream at various points throughout the…
Read MoreTaking time to spot the gnomes
Friday musings during a grey and rainy month in Rome. I saw this photo and thought of when I took it – during a hiking trip I took with my younger son during a hot September weekend. This was out in Ovindoli, in the mountains of Abruzzo – about 1.5 hours east of Rome. We…
Read MoreBook review: The Summer We Lost Her
I did not know this author or this novel. I picked it up mostly for its cover, and the storyline set in New York’s Adirondack Mountains – an area I know well. I enjoyed this dual storyline of an imploding marriage, set mostly in a grand but rustic cabin along the shores of Lake Placid.…
Read MoreOn your mark, get set, GO all you NaNoers!
It’s November 1st. Do you know what that means to writers? It’s the start of the crazy, marathon challenge known as National Novel Writing Month. Each year, writers around the world accept the challenge to write a novel in a month. More precisely, throughout the month of November, writers challenge themselves to write every day,…
Read MoreIn writing as in life, learn from your mistakes
“When it’s finally in print, you’re delivered—you don’t ever have to look at it again. It’s too late to worry about its failings. I’ll have to apply any lessons this book has taught me toward writing the next one.” —Eudora Welty I only just wrote about another brilliant Eudora Welty quote a couple of weeks…
Read MoreBook review: Bear Town
Set in a small hamlet in Sweden, surrounded by wild forest land, Bear Town is a fast, enjoyable read examining various facets of this fading town and the odd assortment of residents who populate it. Bear Town has seen better days. Once a reasonably prosperous small town, Bear Town boasted factories and blue collar jobs…
Read MoreA tale of two lakes: #Amreading lake-set novels
It was a pleasant coincidence. I finished a novel I really enjoyed, The Summer We Lost Her, by Tish Cohen, which tells the story of a slowly crumbling marriage strained further by the disappearance of the couple’s young daughter. The setting plays a big role in the novel – the Adirondack Mountains lake town of…
Read MoreBuild a stadium, and they will come. Or will they?
End of the week musings … In my family, my younger son is a track and field fanatic. Waking him up for school is a nightmare, but on the days I have to wake him at 6 am for his early morning, pre-school practices, he springs out of bed like a Jack-in-the-box … eager to…
Read MoreA garrulous population is a writer’s dream
“Well, in the South, everybody stays busy talking all the time—they’re not sorry for you to overhear their tales. I don’t feel in helping myself I ever did anything underhanded. I was helping out.” -Eudora Welty Love this quote from American, Mississippi-born short story writer (1909-2001) Eudora Welty. I am no expert on the American…
Read MoreFarewell to Summer 2019
I know I’m lucky where I live in Rome. There are no nippy breezes in September. No need to dig out the winter coats for some time yet. But still, as I watch the days grow shorter and shorter, I can’t help but realize the summer is winding down – and that autumn begins officially…
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