Every year that goes by since I first wrote this, I am more certain that the quotation that opens this post is increasingly important to remember. August 23, 2012 “Never put in writing anything you don’t want people to read.” V.V.Verrill (1913-2005) That is not the only quotation from my mother indelibly enscribed onto my […]
Among Friends – Repost
Shortly after Avalon Books published my debut novel, the sale of Avalon to Amazon’s imprints was announced and finalized. This was my short farewell to my editor, Lia Brown. For most of us, losing an editor is one trauma we don’t anticipate. In my case, I found an editor and a publisher in one year and […]
Men in Uniform – Repost
This article appeared a few weeks before Wait a Lonely Lifetime, my debut novel, hit the libraries and online booksellers. Amazon Publishing had already purchased Avalon and my career as a published author was already on shaky ground. March 23, 2012 The forthcoming publication of my debut novel, Wait a Lonely Lifetime, with Avalon Books calls […]
Title Search – Repost
This repost contains some music links to artists and songs that were inspirational to me for some personal, as well as professional, reasons. Again, this was part of the promotion I did for my debut novel. February 23, 2012 Forget blurbs. Forget synopses. Forget even writing a novel or composing the jacket cover biography. The […]
Self-Promotion & Me & All Those Who’ve Played Their Part – Repost
You may find this particular repost about self-promotion of value. As the date confirms, this was first posted three months before my debut contemporary novel was released. January 23, 2012 While watching Woody Allen’s Midnight in Paris, I noticed the frequency of the self-promotion opportunities taken by the artists and writers (portrayed according to Allen’s story) […]
A Few of My Favorite (Seasonal) Things – Repost
This article listed some of my favorite films and stories at Christmas. In it I’ve mentioned Dylan Thomas’s story, A Child Christmas in Wales. This year, if you’re in San Francisco, on December 10th 2014 or Livermore, CA on December 14th, you can hear this delightful story read at Merced Public Library (near Stonestown, SF) or […]
The Tyranny of Popularity
From the time we begin the socialization process of leaving the cosseted safety of our family home (sometimes as early as a few weeks old), we are encouraged – even coerced – into wanting to be popular. Popular means that we fit in, follow the crowd, don’t stand out; stay in line, do as you […]
YA Novelist, Sarah Stevenson: Guest Writer
My guest for this Author Interview is writer and Welsh enthusiast, Sarah Jamila Stevenson. Her most recent book, The Truth Against the World is set in San Francisco and the southwest of Wales, one of the most beautiful, romantic and mysterious places I’ve ever visited. I’ve asked Sarah questions about her inspiration and her plans […]
What Does a Writer Need? – Repost
This article was posted a few months before I moved from Wales, where I’d continued my writing and became a founding member and director of a women’s co-operative publishing company, Honno. September 23, 2011 I’m in the process of clearing 30 years of accumulated essentials. Besides all the accumulation related to family and friends, I […]
Prologue & Epilogue: To Write or Not to Write – Repost
From my article for Avalon Authors, on August 23, 2011 I picked up a few books this summer to read on flights, hotel rooms and just to take my mind off hassles at the end of a work day. Four of the five had prologues. I learned my lesson with this particular writing convenience a […]