Writing Blog
19th century meets the 21st century: The Austen Project
I’ve been reading Sense & Sensibility, not the original, but the first volume of ‘The Austen Project‘. The AustenProject teams up contemporary authors with 19th century classics written by one of my favorite authors of all time – Jane Austen. The first novel in the series is written by British bestselling author Joanna Trollope, and…
Read MoreVery Inspiring Book Blogs Award
The Very Inspiring Blogger Award is flying like an angel around the blogosphere, touching down on many of the dedicated and inspiring people out there dedicated to books and writing and sharing the word on literature. I’m very proud to be nominated for this award. A big thanks to Claire, over at the wonderful Word by Word,…
Read MoreYoung adult adventure in belle Paris: Author interview with Evelyne Holingue
I’m extremely happy to have talented author Evelyne Holingue on my blog today. I met Evelyne through her fabulous blog. I was bound to love Evelyne’s blog and her writing. Evelyne is from France (alongside Italy, my favorite country in the world), where she grew up in beautiful Normandy and studied in Paris. As an…
Read MoreTwo countries separated by a common language
…or so says the famous line attributed to George Bernard Shaw (except, of course, it seems it may never have been written by the great playwright.) Nevertheless, it’s still a killer line, and one that often springs to mind when I create a non-American fictional character and need to be careful about dialogue. I thought…
Read MoreTruth or (ancient) fiction?
I recently went with my family to visit the fabulous Alma-Tadema exhibition in Rome at the Chiostro del Bramante. Sir Lawrence Alma-Tadema was a Dutch artist who moved to England and became part of the late nineteenth century Pre-Raphaelite movement. Although not as well known as Dante Gabriel Rossetti or Edward Burnes-Jones, Alma-Tadema’s artwork was…
Read MoreHow do you know when to give up on a project?
This question was posed in a post over at the fabulous Nathan Bransford blog. Bransford was asking readers when they decide it’s time to lay a current project to rest. It’s an interesting question for writers. After all the effort- and blood, sweat, and tears-writers put into their work, is there a moment when you…
Read MoreLife in the fast lane? … Or not
I’m not referring to authors here. The last time authors lived life in the fast lane may well have been back in 1920s Paris. Instead, I’m interested in novel pacing. As authors, we all know how crucial it is to find the ‘hook’ – that situation that will compel our readers to continue reading after…
Read MoreSign up for early-bird rates for the Matera Women’s Fiction Festival
It’s that time of year again – time to start planning to attend the annual Matera Women’s Fiction festival, held each September in Matera, in southern Italy. If you sign up by 30 June 2014, you can sign up at the early-bird rates – this is meant for you Nicola, Grace, Ashlinn, Claire… and Evelyne,…
Read MoreThe Seven Deadly Sins of Writing
As a Europhile and an admirer of medieval churches, I’m always drawn to the fire and brimstone depictions of the seven deadly sins. I’ve been dragging my kids around with me since they were old enough to toddle across ancient floors, pointing out these fascinating frescoes that would explain to the poor parishioners of old…
Read More#ReadWomen2014 progress: Favorite books so far
I’m so happy to have learned earlier this year from Claire, over at the wonderful Word by Word site about the #ReadWomen2014 challenge, and I’ve written about in an earlier post. I strongly support the objective of this campaign. Talented women writers too often fall into an unfair, second-tier category when it comes to traditional book…
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