Writing Blog
Keep going all you amazing NaNo writers!
I’m not among you, all you fabulous NaNoWriMo participants, but I do know many of you must have reached a writing slump, and I wanted to cheer you on from the sidelines as you reach the final stretch. For those of you unfamiliar with it, The National Novel Writing Month is an annual challenge to…
Read MoreHappy National Short Story Week 2013!
This is a good year for the short story. Canadian short story writer Alice Munro won the (well-deserved) Nobel Prize for Literature last month. Plenty of online journals and e-readers provide possibilities for short story writers to get their stories out there to a reading public. In the words of the talented author, Lorrie Moore:…
Read MoreMy short story, Balinese Traditions, is now online at Anak Sastra Magazine
A short story of mine set in Bali has just been published and made available online in Issue 13 of Anak Sastra Magazine, a literary magazine dedicated to publishing works by Southeast Asian writers or writers who set their work in this region. I enjoy reading this online magazine with stories, poems, and essays set…
Read MoreMy short story, Stari most, is now online at Milk Sugar Literary journal
One of my short stories, Stari most, had been accepted in the online literary journal, Milk Sugar, and is now available online in the October/November 2013 issue. I always enjoy reading Milk Sugar, so I’m pleased to have my story included here. My story title is the Bosnian word for Old Bridge, the name for…
Read MoreRead international short stories and poems for a good cause…
I am very pleased to have, for the second year in a row, one of my short stories, Amica del cuore, included in the Writers Abroad annual anthology. One of the things I love about this anthology is that writers and Writers Abroad members who put together the annual publication are not paid for their…
Read MoreHow to tighten your manuscript
This was very good timing. Literary agent Rachelle Gardner just ran an interesting post entitled ‘How to tighten your manuscript‘. I, um … blush, shuffle feet … always seem to be facing this dilemma. After pitching sessions with agents at the recent Matera Women’s Fiction festival, I need to start cutting word count for my…
Read MoreThe new Women’s Fiction Writers Association
I wrote a post about this new association when it was still an informal Yahoo mail loop. But about a month ago, the group became an official association and I just paid my annual dues and became an ‘official’ member of the Women’s Fiction Writers Association a few weeks ago. See their web site here.…
Read MoreZipping through the trees in Bali, Indonesia
This past summer I was alone with my two boys on holiday in Bali, Indonesia. We managed to squeeze in lots of fun things to do during our ten days there (see my earlier post ), but one of their favorites was the TreeTop Adventure in northern Bali. This is a great adventure rope course,…
Read MoreWrap-up of Matera Women’s Fiction Festival 2013
I am just back from my fabulous annual pilgrimage to the Matera Women’s Fiction Festival. This is my third year participating in this inspiring event. Once again, I’ve learned a tremendous amount about publishing from the experts, had a great time at live pitching sessions to agents and publishers, met a wonderful group of interesting…
Read MoreGreetings from the Matera Women’s Fiction Festival!
I’m writing this in advance, as I’ll have my hands full attending the annual Matera Women’s Fiction Festival when this is posted. This is my third year attending, so I know what an (enjoyable) hectic pace it is. Here’s what I’ll be doing when this goes on-line: First, I’ll be busy eating and drinking well.…
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