A Book is Born – Part III

Finding a publisher is one of the more frustrating aspects of writing a book. The famous “blood, sweat, and tears” aspect of finding an outlet for your creative narrative – whether fiction, memoir, or nonfiction, becomes a hunt through a morass of information. It soon becomes clear that the publishing industry is one of constant change, frustration, and opportunities.  

The Gold Standard is securing an agent who successfully auctions the book to a major publisher for a big advance.… Read more

A Book is Born – Part II

Time to start writing – get those words flowing. I dreamed up scene after scene based on observations, experiences of friends, my life, and overheard comments to develop a woman expat’s life in Rome and her difficult marriage and how she made choices and, eventually, overcame obstacles. And then I read what I’d written. Oh well. So, I began to rearrange, delete, cut and paste, think more in-depth about who my characters really were and what they wanted and how to convey this.… Read more

A Book is Born

I know writers who can churn out of book in a year. But I’m not one of them. My novel, The Measure of Life was born as a germ of a thought about six years ago. That germ germinated slowly – very slowly — and metamorphized in plot and characters repeatedly. I knew I wanted explore the difficulties and pleasures of expat life, focusing on Rome, a place I’ve lived. And I wanted to write about marriage and family.… Read more

Madam Pele’s Handiwork

Some days ago I marveled at the photos of the goddess Pele’s display of power in the caldera of the Kilauea Volcano in Hawai’i Volcanoes National Park. The park guide tells visitors about how Pele traveled many leagues from the northern-most islands guided by her favorite brother Kamohoali‘i who was also a guardian shark. Having traveled for many miles from Kahiki in search of a suitable home for her fire and family, Pele finally settled in the crater of Halema‘uma‘u at the summit of Kilauea Volcano.… Read more

The Pleasure of Old Travel Guides – Part II

Guides to Italian inns and b&bs, the red Michelin with recommended restaurants and hotels in cities and larger towns, guides to specific provinces like Umbria or the Veneto, and some for wineries fill a couple of my bookshelves. But there are three that I keep separate, not for their usefulness, but for their historical interest. I love to thumb through them for insights into the past: one from the early 1900s, one from the 1950s, and the third a guide to one of Italy’s colonial possessions – that in East Africa.… Read more