Writing Blog
My August 2023 reads
In August, I was on holidays. And holiday reading is always the best reading. Mostly in New York, I was tearing through books I primarily borrowed from my local library. This month’s reads saw me following along on the comeback attempt (decided at a US Open final) of a tennis pro who regretted having to…
Read MoreHitting the Little Free Libraries to drop off my novels
I’m a big fan of Little Free Libraries. Whenever I return for holidays in the US, I always bring along a few copies of my paperbacks to drop them off. This lovely trend didn’t exist when I was growing up … but I’m so glad it’s taken off! I would have been a major consumer,…
Read MoreSame writing, new views
One of the lovely things about writing is that, when you travel, you can take it with you. When I come back to New York most summers, I like to take my writing with me. I’m lucky to have a shared condominium terrace, and I love to get up there for the views and writing…
Read MoreHave library card, will travel
I’m always thrilled to come back to New York, because … obviously. But in addition to enjoying the city, I’m also happy to whip out my handy NY library card and to start borrowing away. I love public libraries, and I love wandering them and disovering all the interesting books I’ve been menaing to read…
Read MoreMy July 2023 reads
In July, I had another great month in books. First I traveled back to New York’s Hudson Valley during the 1920s as an ambitious young woman tries to carve out a niche for herself in a society changing rapidly around her. Afterwards, I traveled to a remote location on the moors of northern England, on…
Read MoreHammering my latest dual timeline manuscript into shape
Super excited to be preparing my fifth book, and fourth novel, for publication this autumn. I’ve already had useful feedback from beta readers, and now I have my manuscript back from my editor. I’ll be incorporating these changes before getting it off to my proofreader. I will then review once more before working with my…
Read More(More) Real life locations of my stories … in Bosnia
I had fun taking photos of my newest short story collection, Drink Wine and Be Beautiful, in some of the locations I write about in my book. You can find some of those Roman and Abruzzo locations and corresponding passages of my stories here. Because thoughts of travel are never far from my mind when…
Read MoreReal life locations of my short stories
I love anything associated with travel, so it’s not a surprise that a strong sense of place is important to me as a reader and writer. My latest short story collection, “Drink Wine and Be Beautiful”, is largely set in Italy. I thought I would share some of the locations that play a role in…
Read MoreMy June 2023 reads
Another great month of reading. I travelled from an isolated home in a rural corner of Ireland where a killer may or may not be on the loose, to a small Connecticut town where a recent widow is trying to kickstart her life, and her failing bookstore, as she tries to reclaim her life and…
Read MoreStop the Trigger Warning madness
Call me old fashioned, but I grew up in the sticks and stones generation. Words are not violence. And people who lived before us did not buy into whatever PC language laws were invented by the mob five seconds ago. But this whole censorship-friendly environment is really getting out of hand. Roald Dahl stories had…
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