How a Book Is Born, Part 12
In which I decide to kill off a character. And then rescind the decision.
In which I decide to kill off a character. And then rescind the decision.
Trust your cape, the guy with the guitar sings. Life is a leap of faith. He is a middle-aged smiling man, busking at the plaza in historic Santa Fe on a warm summer afternoon. I’m here with Jessica, a few months after her high school graduation. Our trip to Europe will begin later in the…
The other day, Jessica came home from school with exciting news. “Someone is going to win a prize for their essay!” she told me, beyond thrilled. I looked at her big smile, her shining brown eyes, and I knew exactly what she was thinking. Someone was going to win a prize, and it might even…
So I have mentioned that my friend Debz leads these wonderful guided meditation sessions where I find ways to access my imagination without thinking so much, and lately for reasons I don’t understand, Coyote keeps showing up. You may remember that in many Native American traditions, Coyote is a trickster figure who is constantly getting…
Once upon a time, a reader said to me, “Your books got me through a terrible time after I was seriously injured in a car accident” and I’ve treasured that remark to this day. A person can write novels for a lot of reasons, but I think a lot of readers are like me. When…
In today’s inbox: “I’m an unpublished author getting ready to submit my book. I’m writing a book in a genre I’m not sure how to define. Can you give me some advice on agents or publishers to submit it to?” This is a common question that I get asked many times each week…
Recently I embarked on a project that I was afraid would require some skills I don’t have and that lack was worrying me a great deal. Then I overheard my daughter saying to her father, “Well, I don’t know how to do that yet, but I will.” Listening to my daughter is almost always…