Friday I launched my new website. We reached dozens of people and had more than 250 views on the site as a result of posts on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. We did it all from my kitchen table using a live Facebook video feed. I prefer interacting with friends, fans...
As with any construction project, it took longer and cost more than my initial plans, pitting a beautiful vision against the reality of time constraints, competing priorities, and hard work. Rebranding myself as a writer was challenging – and a lot of fun. The project...
Many writers are excited about publishing and promoting their work online. So many options, so little time. It can seem overwhelming. So when fellow Dream of Things author Madeline Sharples asked me to join her on a panel at the Greater Los Angeles Writers Conference,...
Faced with conflicting feedback, what's a writer to do? My answer is simple but not easy: Trust your instincts and be willing to revise your work. My former agent Laurie Harper consults with authors to help them shape their books and their careers. She recently asked...
Writing is often lonely work. When it goes well, it is deeply satisfying. When it doesn't, it is beyond frustrating. Word by word, sentence by sentence, we writers labor to share a created reality with our readers. When readers respond with gratitude, support, and...
I'm delighted to be a guest on Choices today, the blog of a wonderful writer and dear friend, Madeline Sharples. Madeline challenged me to write a guest post giving readers the low down on writing memoir. Whenever someone says she is writing a memoir I smile and...
“There's no tragedy in life like the death of a child. Things never get back to the way they were.” -- Dwight D. Eisenhower, American president Let’s begin with the sobering statistics: 21,000 children die every day around the world. That translates to a child dying...
About six months after my 19-year-old daughter Maya died, I remember walking home from the commuter train station in so much pain I was not sure I could make it. When I reached my driveway, I was choking back tears. I looked up and saw a giant Redwood tree, the furls...
In our hyperconnected, ping-me-now world, an author’s work is never done. You could spend 24/7 promoting your book and never check off every task. So how do you keep your writing vital and alive while also promoting a book? Today, I'm visiting the Literary Ladies blog...
For today's stop on the WOW! Women on Writing blog tour, I'm visiting Mom Loves 2 Read, to talk about grief recovery - an important skill for mortals. Sooner or later we all lose someone we love. How do we move forward after loss? It’s been 21 years since my...