Category Archives: My Thoughts
The Soul of an Octopus, Inside Out, and Other Fun Stuff
I’ve been doing a lot of ocean-related research this summer, as I write my Young Adult novel that is set in the sea, and I’ve discovered the work of Sy Montgomery. In … Continue reading
Mad Max: Fury Road, and the Power of the Woman Warrior
Mad Max and I have a bit of a history. Not because I watched the original Mel Gibson films, but because I didn’t. Here’s why. In 1990, when I was ten, I could rent a VHS tape of The Little … Continue reading
Tomm Moore, Song of the Sea, The Prophet, So Much Yes
Because I am writing a YA (Young Adult) novel that takes place in the ocean, with merpeople and magic, my wonderful Reading Angel and YA Book Goddess April has been on the lookout for undersea fiction for me. She shared a … Continue reading
King Arthur, Lancelot, Guinevere, Morgan: I Am a Sucker for This Story
It’s kind of impossible to grow up in America and not know anything about King Arthur. The romantic tales of this king, his knights of the round table, his queen, and his adviser, Merlin, are woven into our pop-culture psyches, … Continue reading
Anthony Doerr, the Pulitzer, and These Marvelous Essays
Anthony Doerr is this amazingly nice guy who won the Pulitzer Prize in Fiction this week. That photograph is from his author webpage. He lives in Boise, Idaho, and he’ll be attending the … Continue reading
Love, Appreciation, and Family: My Easter Sunday
Last Sunday, April 5, was Easter Sunday, and my husband and I spent the evening with his daughter Missy’s family. Missy lives with her husband and their three children in a really cute house near Bayfield, about 30 minutes away, and her husband’s … Continue reading
Writing, Character Ghostings, and Mermen: Updates from My World
Some really amazing things have happened to me in the past two weeks. Amazing writer things. On March 16, I finished revising my “Round Two beta draft” of Mark of the Pterren, and … Continue reading
Book Review for The Night Circus
Thanks to my favorite book-clubbing partner (who is also my alpha-reader for All The Writing, great and small), I finally read The Night Circus, by Erin Morgenstern, the powerhouse novel that took bookstores and readers by storm in 2011. … Continue reading
Reading and Writing in Dreams
Years ago, when I was in college, a fellow biology student told me it was impossible to read in a dream. This student was emphatic that reading is a conscious activity, and cannot take place in the unconscious mind. As soon as I heard this, I … Continue reading
Fifty Shades of Grey: Do NOT Mention This Film to My Husband
The much-hyped and much-discussed movie Fifty Shades of Grey came out last Friday. Yeah. In case anyone hasn’t heard of the social media phenomenon that took Twitter by storm. As well as Twitter’s slower, but more popular pal, Facebook. I’m so … Continue reading