It’s that time again: holiday shopping days. Every year, it seems the season starts earlier and earlier. Right after Halloween, the retail Christmas inundation begins, led by Black Friday, the day-after-Thanksgiving unofficial start of holiday shopping. Forget the special sales between 6 to 10 am to draw intrepid early-birds; many stores are kicking things off by …
No matter what your political beliefs are, we can all agree that the men, women, and dogs (bet you never thought about the canine soldiers who also serve our country!) of the U.S. armed forces deserve our gratitude and respect. I couldn’t express it any better than this excerpt from a Veteran’s Day speech by …
What ever happened to the high road? Good manners? Casting not the first stone? Each presidential election seems to sink farther down into the quagmire of negative campaigns. With all the mud-slinging, it’s hard to discern whom the TV ads are promoting. Good thing it happens only once every four-to-eight years. Imagine what it would …
When I learned, not so long ago, that a cross-genre author’s ski run to success is fraught with black-diamond moguls, I wasn’t that surprised. I’ve been breaking rules all my life. Not out of rebellion or a bid for attention, but because the damn game keeps changing. Just when I get a handle on how …
Showtime cable TV network airs a series called The Tudors, depicting court life during the reign of Henry VIII. The casting is predictably Hollywood (and therefore unrealistic), the historical accuracy is nonexistent, and the steamy sex scenes gratuitous. In British historian David Starkey’s words, the [corporation that sold the series to BBC] had translated the Tudors …
Each year, hundreds of thousands of book manuscripts are submitted to agents and publishers every year, with about 100,000 books making it into print. Consequently, the skill of categorizing these books has gone from no-brainer to brain-buster, especially for fiction. Is it mystery, romance, or drama? Literary or commercial? Middle-grade, young adult, or VERY adult? …
It’s a good thing I’ve never been motivated to achieve executive stature in the business world. I’d fail miserably, not because I lack the smarts, but I am not a game player. You know, all those little hoops you have to jump through (which usually have nothing to do with your job) in order to …
Industry-Speak: The Meaning Behind the Vernacular Read More »
“Religion is the opiate of the masses” — Karl Marx “I used masses of opiates religiously.” — Carrie Fisher Last weekend I attended actress/writer Carrie Fisher’s one-woman show, Wishful Drinking(you gotta love that title). I had enjoyed her as a speaker when she keynoted at the Maui Writers Conference about eight years ago, but more importantly, …
I have just finished slogging through the pile of stuff I amassed at this year’s BEA. I know, I know — the show was in late May, but I prefer to think that I’m such a busy, successful writer, I don’t have time to plow through mundane administrative chores. Can anyone spell D-I-V-A? Actually, I do want …
Before the epiphany that revealed I am indeed a cross-genre author, I happened upon a blog dealing with just that. When my spirit was beaten down, wondering why I had so much difficulty figuring out in what genre I write, author Lauren Baratz-Logsted gave me hope. She posted this to her Mystic Lit blog last February, …
JUGGLING GENRES (reprint of blog by Lauren Baratz-Logsted) Read More »