Once upon a time, the word gramarye (“grammar”) meant magical lore. Over time it took on the meaning of “the set of rules that govern how a language is written and spoken,” but I love that ancient link between language and magic. From the time I was old enough to read I’ve felt the deep…
Category: Books
Backstory about THE WANDERER
When I started writing The Wanderer, I wanted to share my love for Old English literature and language but I’ve also been a writer and editor long enough to know that a strict adherence to the truth makes for poor storytelling. Fiction that is too self-conscious is metafiction, a story about story, or a story…
On why I call it a bookhoard
One of the things I love about Old English* is how it gives you a little bit of insight into how early medieval people thought. Like, there are a lot of names for swords: Beaduscearp (“keen in battle”) and Beadulēoma (“light of battle”), among others. They named their swords the way some people name their…
California Dreamin’
When I moved to Los Angeles, I started writing the sequel to my earlier memoir (The Improbable Adventures of a Middle-Aged Woman). I kept written journals but something kept nagging at me to draw. I am not by any stretch of the imagination an artist. This did not stop me from trying. Not knowing how…
Things I don’t understand
This is a picture of multiple driveways at an apartment complex in LA. The driveways consist of two paved strips for each unit, spaced the same width apart as the tires on a car. I am trying to understand the purpose of a driveway that you have to mow. ???