I’ve started writing a new novel, and we’re in the honeymoon phase together, my novel and I. I’m infatuated with this shiny new idea, digging into the research with wild abandon and gleefully exploring my new characters. It’s like starting any new relationship—I have thousands of questions for my characters to learn who they are […]
inspiration
Sidewalk Inspiration – Strolling Library Way in NYC
In New York City, the natural urge is to look up. Up at the towering skyscrapers. Up at the cathedral spires. Up at the neon extravaganza of blazing signs in Times Square. But on a trip to NYC a few months ago, I found myself looking down. And my heart rose for it. I was […]
Aliens, Cows, and Story Ideas
A friend recently told a group of us that the county I live in, out here in eastern Colorado, was a hot-spot for crop circles and cattle mutilation back in the 1970s. Let me tell you, nothing derails a perfectly mundane writers’ discussion about passive voice like UFOs. “You mean, seriously? Or were they hoaxes?” […]
Ten Things Writers Never Want to Hear
My admin can type really fast, so we don’t need to hire a writer. I have a great idea for a book based on my life growing up as a middle child in an average family. Will you write it for me? I just got fired, so instead of looking for a new job, I’m […]
Touching Down in a Foreign Land (Flamingo International Airport, Bonaire)
To step onto land unfamiliar is to invoke a kind of magic. It’s a magic of expansion—of the mind, of the spirit, of the air in my lungs too long compressed by stillness. It’s a magic of discovery, of anticipation. It’s a magic of hope. As I step onto that land, I pause, feeling for […]
Small, Extraordinary, Everyday Moments in Bonaire
An island of fossilized coral sits surrounded by Caribbean waters about 50 miles off the Venezuelan coast. This island is home to 1,100 wild donkeys, 15,000-20,000 pink flamingoes, and 30,000 wild goats. And only 20,000 people. What this not-so-typical Caribbean island, Bonaire, lacks in glitzy nightlife and casinos, it makes up for with some of […]
