Remember that old song, “Alice’s Restaurant,” where you can get anything you want? A better description of the Internet you will never find. Everything is there and it never goes away. For example. I was looking for a name for the Protestant church in Montaña Roja in The Harvey Girl, so I searched “fun names…
I have coined a phrase: “When the muse knocks, get up and answer the door.” By which I mean: Inspiration lurks everywhere, arms folded, tapping her foot, waiting impatiently for you to take notice. Like at the Homer Public Library Plant and Book Sale. Happens twice a year. Library sells books taken out of circulation…
This video is about character actors, the people who get the nominations for supporting roles. You will see many familiar faces and hear a pretty good explanation of how “that guy” can steal a scene right out from under the much better paid star.* It’s kind of the same thing a writer tries to do…
The first draft of the map for The Harvey Girl! Courtesy of Cartographers Extraordinaire (yes, that is their official title) Cherie and Thom Northon at mapmakers.com. It will go in with the manuscript and Liz the copy editor will compare place names on the map with place names in the text and tell me exactly…
(h/t Librarian Humor)
Neat stuff happens when you’re a writer, usually when you least expect it. Like the time the ticket agent upgraded me to first class because he liked what I said* on television about banning books. Or like yesterday when the wonderful Fed Ex guy found his way to my house in spite of the wrong…
Cover art. Yeah. You want something that will jump off the bookshelf into a reader’s hands, sure, but nowadays it also needs to work as a thumbnail on the Kindle page. From left, the very first iteration of the cover art for the first Kate Shugak novel. The second is when they repackaged it to…
[guest post by Laurie King] Laurie R. King’s Knave of Diamonds (June 10) finds the world’s greatest detective—and her husband, Sherlock Holmes—involved in an infamous Irish crime. And up to their necks in hounds… Dogs are great. I mean, I’m more of a cat person, but dogs can be both good company and valuable partners—fictional…
[reposted from June 11, 2021] This is what my dining table looks like these days. I’m beginning the third novel in the Eye of Isis series, and I’ve written enough of Tetisheri’s story now to revise her calendar. Calendars are very important in series–when did she do what, where, and to whom? Writing a calendar…
[reposted from January 29, 2009] My publisher wanted me to do a brief q&a for their website, so I decided to have a little fun with it.Where do you get all your ideas? The idea fairy. What are your absolutely essential, can’t-do-without writing aids? 1.) A telescoping backscratcher, for those itches I can’t reach mid-chapter.2.)…
