rule of mirrors
Mirror Worlds
“Mirror Labyrinth” by Jeppe Hein in Brooklyn Bridge Park, May 31, 2015
I’ve been intrigued by the land in the mirror ever since I was a kid and met my friend in the glass. She was always waiting, the silent, trapped version of me on the other side. She only appeared when I came looking and never moved without me. She would look me in the eye no matter how closely I approached and never showed me the back of her head.
So when I began writing The Rule of… Continue reading
Rule of Mirrors Cover
We have a cover!
We don’t have a proper description yet, but this is the sequel to The Vault of Dreamers, and it’s coming out February 16, 2016. Thanks again to Elizabeth Clark, Associate Art Director at Macmillan, for the cover design.
More Feels!
He was as happy as stone. (Or, how emotional writing doesn’t always work.)
When my brilliant sister Nancy O’Brien Wagner gave me feedback on a recent draft of The Rule of Mirrors, she keyed in on certain moments and wrote “More emotion!” in the margins. This is hugely helpful to me, but it does not involve an easy fix, like adding more tears or labeling that my characters are passionate, angry or relieved. Saying “She felt so happy!” only goes so far.
The challenge with writing emotional scenes is… Continue reading
Into the Roots
Roots. Marie Selby Botanical Gardens.
I’ve had emails lately from some of my writer friends where we’ve been discussing how important it is to be guided by character when writing a novel. Character, absolutely, is what draws me into projects I’m writing and books I enjoy reading, but characters aren’t going anywhere without a good plot, too.
I’d like to throw it out there that developing character can be a trap, much like the intricacies of small scale editing can be a trap to those of us who love tinkering… Continue reading
Stitches in a Vast Room
A man sits in a vast room, working a sewing machine, creating a piece of a sculpture that defies sense and gravity. Time doesn’t matter in this place, if it matters anywhere. He merely works, guiding the fabric through the needle’s bite, while the light falls in around him, and the noise of his machine makes perfect silence.
My brilliant, patient editor has given me an extension on The Rule of Mirrors. It’s a gift that can’t be measured. I’m happy to report that we have no firm… Continue reading