In my last column, I talked about classic girl detectives. This time, the modern girl detectives get their chance. The girl detectives from the late 20th-early 21st century comprise a much more diverse group. But they share with each other and their predecessors the qualities of intelligence, bravery, and grit. Some of you might notice… Read more »
As an author, when you’ve got a new book releasing, you want to shout it from the rooftops! These days, for all sorts of converging reasons, that increasingly means the metaphorical, digital rooftops of Instagram, Twitter, and other online forums. This requires a familiarity with book promotion graphics. By nature of what we do as… Read more »
Rhys Bowen has been one of my favorite mystery authors for many years now, starting with my binging of her Molly Murphy mystery series and continuing with the Royal Spyness series. Georgiana (Georgie) Rannoch starts out as a royal who is nowhere near the throne and very short of funds. It’s not easy for any… Read more »
Agonizing dread arrests most writers at the prospect of revisiting their old work – especially an essay collection. Our revision reflex activities and work that was due but (at least in your mind) not necessarily done is suddenly in need of a fresh coat of paint. We obsess over what we could have said, done,… Read more »
I’m a Diasporican, a Puerto Rican living in a diaspora rooted in colonization and the trauma it brings. This reality has shaped my sense of identity and artistic purpose as a writer. Leaving my homeland at the age of five and living in the US for most of my life—with a chunk of time in… Read more »
Today, I have the pleasure of interviewing Philip Lopate. Phillip is the author of over a dozen books: 4 personal essay collections (Bachelorhood, Against Joie de Vivre, Portrait of My Body, and Portrait Inside my Head), as well as Being with Children, Waterfront, and Notes on Sontag 3 works of fiction (Confessions of Summer, The… Read more »
The only thing better than a plump novel about food is throwing in recipes for readers to go with it. Not only does it give readers a chance to be a part of the story, but it opens up space for you to flex your creativity in a new way. You love to read other… Read more »
I’m back for the third installment of my 2021 Virtual Writers Sabbatical (“VWS”) series and hope your own VWS is rolling along into the back half of 2021. If you missed the first two installments, Create Your Own Virtual Writers Sabbatical describes how to build an adventure focused on you and your writing craft, and… Read more »
Too many novels go unfinished. Writers give up in frustration because they run out of ideas, they get stuck, or they become overwhelmed by self-doubt. This often happens because writers have unrealistic expectations about the novel-writing process. Through my own struggles with writing a novel, as well as my work with other writers, I’ve seen… Read more »
Immigration is an emotional topic that can turn the friendliest of conversations into a fierce debate. People have wide-ranging views that have been shaped by their own experiences, the opinions of friends, and the news programs they watch. Writing about the immigrant experience requires a lot of nuance and attention to detail. Seven years ago,… Read more »
