This month, I’m into… (The “I went to Vermont” edition.) Independent bookstores. A couple of months back, I wrote a post on why I didn’t used to buy books, but now do. Don’t get me wrong; I still make great use of my local library as well as its digital-download system. But I became more […]
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Library Book Haul: Current Stack
I spent another glorious hour in the library last weekend; I’m starting to make it a monthly event. (I’d go even more often, but I bring home so many books each time that I’d probably get panic attacks over the amount of reading material.) Here’s what’s in my current stack: From bottom to top: Unfinished Business […]
How I Research A Historical Novel
When I first decided to write a historical novel, the research was the part I most dreaded. I had written too many research papers in high school and college to look forward to the experience of doing it again, even voluntarily. Especially voluntarily: I thought that the research stage would suck the life out of my desire […]
How’s Your Writing Life?
Writers and non-writers alike seem to struggle when inquiring about my writing. They want to ask about my book without hearing me drone endlessly on my characters and how the Triangle Fire was a vital, pivotal moment in American history. They want to ask after agents I’ve queried without touching a nerve if I haven’t heard […]
Library Book Haul
As part of my “Fill it Up” mini-happiness project this past weekend, I spent a wonderful hour in the library. Spending time with books and quiet left me refreshed and creatively replenished, but there was one downside: I ended up with far too many books to add to my already toppling tower. Here was Saturday’s […]
Labor Day: The Meaning of Work
Happy Labor Day, USA! Other than signaling the end of summer and the start of the (false) inability to wear white, what does Labor Day actually stand for? Let’s take a moment to consider the history of American laborers, and how the work we do has changed over time. For most of human history, up through the agricultural […]