Memorial Day 2020
This Memorial Day, I’m remembering my Uncle Richard Walsh, an Air Force Colonel who gave his life rescuing a downed pilot during the Vietnam War. I knew him as a fun and energetic uncle who caught me up in his arms when I was a girl. I also remember when he went missing, and I know how our extended family feels his loss to this day. My Aunt Sharon is a hero in her own right for surviving on without him and raising their five kids with heart and… Continue reading
When No One’s Watching
Since I finished the third book in the Vault of Dreamers series three years ago, I’ve been writing on my own, not under contract. I’ve been free, in other words, to write whatever I want, without deadlines or expectations to pressure me. Of course, I haven’t had a significant income, either, which is not sustainable indefinitely. I’ve been writing on the speculative, eventual payment plan, working with the firm intention of completing a book that can go on submission. This is very different, however, from writing under contract, when,… Continue reading
Thank You, Grocers!
As I walked in a nearby park today, I came across a series of chalked messages encouraging us all to smile and say hello. Some messages expressed gratitude to health care workers, truckers, and grocers. One said, if we had masks on, to smile with our eyes. It absolutely brightened my afternoon.
We’re into Week 3 of social distancing, aka distant socializing, and though numbers of cases keep climbing, we’re getting early data about fevers through Kinsa thermometers that shows our efforts are making a difference. April is going to… Continue reading
Double Down or Recharge
Whether you’re worried about your daughter-in-law who treats Covid-19 patients in a NYC hospital (like I am), trying to double as a home-school teacher while tele-working, or scrambling to find health insurance when you’re newly unemployed, you’re probably dealing with a lot more stress today than you were a month ago. Even people in fairly stable situations are more anxious and isolated than normal.
In such times, it’s tempting to turn to books for a different perspective. Here are suggestions in case you want to double down and immerse yourself… Continue reading
Ladies Lunch
(For Cathy)
Limned in the undersea glow
of the choice, fish-tank table
at the DLC, we meet
to swap news or secrets or
maybe truths. We dispel our
mothers, invoke our children,
compare mittens. What do I
want in a real friend, really?
Someone less heartless than I.
One clear-sighted and pensive,
who wields both hammer and pen,
who calms her anxious student,
who breathes French toute seule, and paints
cabinets blue. For me’s the friend
who respects hibernation
and stealth, who nudges me toward
my black fears and… Continue reading
Over the Mountain
Leaving Mount Snow, VT
I’m in a good place.
When I spoke to my agent a couple weeks ago, Kirby told me my latest draft has transformed my novel. The characters, he said, now leap off the page, and everything about the novel—the pacing, the world, and the plot—are all working. Certain scenes moved him deeply. In short, he loved it, and he wanted to know how I’d done what I’d done. As we talked and I explained how I’d rewritten the entire thing, taking out certain plot constraints so… Continue reading
Book Trailer for Promised