The anthology is in print, we had a wonderful launch party at Towne Center Books in Pleasanton, but the long shadow of the To-Do List is creeping over my joy. Like many of you – probably all of you – I have a lot of irons in the fire. Writing isn’t the only thing I …
Bragging is frowned upon in polite society, but I’m going to do it anyway. The first anthology of Tri-Valley Writers, Voices of The Valley: First Press, is now in print. The club has dreamed of providing members an opportunity to experience being published, and like all big dreams it never seems quite real when it …
Our critique group gave ourselves a challenge to write a story based on an object and a place. We gave ourselves a year and planned to read the stories at our December meeting. As the deadline approached, Julie Royce found herself enmeshed in a story that would not behave itself. She wrote the following poem …
One of my critique groups held a story challenge in 2011. We drew slips of paper with the names of an object and a place, and had to create a short story around them. This year one of the suggestions for the challenge is to start with the same first line. As I scan my …
The participants of NaNoWriMo (and congratulations to you all, whether you hit 50,000 words or not) now have the editing to do. Like childbirth, getting the new creation out is only the first part of the job. Next comes the sorting and training, the snipping and shearing, dressing up and dressing down. For those of …
It’s official – everyone is writing now. Six classes of elementary students in San Jose are officially part of NaNoWriMo, and there are 2000 classrooms across the country participating. Forget about being smarter than a fifth-grader – are you more disciplined than a sixth-grader? Given that I didn’t actually sign up for NaNoWriMo, I have …
In some circles, I am known for the sweetness of my nature. My family has a different story to tell, especially after I’ve tried to make my way through a technical manual. My language becomes anything but sweet, my expression resembles a Halloween mask, and my husband reminds me to breathe by saying, “In through …
The irony gods must be laughing by Lani Longshore Read More »
Imagine my surprise when I saw my name and e-mail address prominently displayed on the Catherine Coulter Web site Events page! Who is Catherine Coulter, you ask? She’s only the author of sixty-five historical romance and suspense thriller novels, that’s who! And fifty-nine of them have landed on the New York Times bestseller list. So …
The only bad publicity is no publicity! by Annette Langer Read More »
An ancient Egyptian maxim reads: “It is good to speak to the future; it shall listen.” The Egyptians honored scribes – writers – and even gave them to the care of Thoth, who was also the god of knowledge and truth. We should take instruction – and comfort – from ancient writers, and speak our …
My book manuscript was finished finally. Now all I needed was an eye-catching book cover. The perfect choice for Healing through Humor: Change Your Focus, Change Your Life! was an oil painting I’d owned for over 35 years. It pictured a seated clown listening to his own heart with a stethoscope, a medical book open …
I Bought It! It’s Mine! (Isn’t it?) by Annette Langer Read More »
