“The more you know of your history, the more liberated you are.” ~ Maya Angelou *************** It’s not uncommon for authors of historical fiction to look to their own family histories for stimulation. In fact, it seems to be a de facto requirement rather than an unusual twist of fate. One of my recent discoveries… Continue Reading
Writing a novel is like driving a car at night. You can only see as far as your headlights, but you can make the whole trip that way. – E. L. Doctorow ********** I’ve always been allergic to ‘acknowledgements’ in a book. Whether at the end as an afterthought, or beginning as a warning,… Continue Reading
Once Upon A Time is, at its core, a story about hope. – Edward Kitsis ********** ‘Once upon a time…’ How I used to thrill to that opening phrase as a child—heck, I still do! It signals the start of a story and the necessary suspension of disbelief to appreciate it fully. It also… Continue Reading
“Life is not about you henceforward, but you are about life.” ~ Richard Rohr ****** In the current climate of text messaging, it’s seldom that an email is used for the scattershot approach to communication as it used to be. However, I sometimes prefer to meander aimlessly instead of rushing with minimally verbal texting. At… Continue Reading
“…the only hope given us, although only in retrospect, is that we change.” ~ Michael Ondaatje in Warlight. ****** At a recent reading given by New Yorker book critic and award-winning author James Wood, he introduced his new novel called Upstate, about family relationships and the universality of the interactions within them. The author described… Continue Reading
Forever is composed of nows. – Emily Dickinson ******** Let’s face it; we’re all struggling to control the use of this addictive substance called technology. I was most aware of it recently during a news program about modern musicians who’ve started to ban cell phones and videos from their performances. The young guitarist being interviewed… Continue Reading