Heresy of the Table
It was a few years ago, when I was still regularly going to church. I attended a Sunday forum led by a priest I’ll call Father Robert (not his name, of course, not even close). A fire-plug of a man, who might have made a good boxer, he sat at the head of the table,…
Read MoreSo Ends The Silence
A month ago I posted that I was going to be off social media for a month, and so I was. It was WONDERFUL. And yes, it took a little getting used to at first. One of the reasons I wanted to wean myself off it was that I found myself far too inclined towards…
Read MoreMy Month Of Social Media Silence.
Back in 1995, when My Best Beloved and I were living in France, we bought our first at-home computer, and hooked up email. I still remember the ambivalence I felt. It’s just another way for someone to get into my house, I said. You have to understand, I’m the woman who once answered the question, What…
Read MoreAdvice to Writers
Here’s a wee bit from the opening of my interview: How did you become a writer? A deceptively complicated question. Does one ‘become’ a writer, or is one born a writer? I’ve written ever since I was a kid, a great deal of bad poetry in my twenties, which was wisely refused by all the best…
Read MoreMy Reluctant Thoughts On The Death Of Philip Seymour Hoffman
I wasn’t going to weigh in on the tragic death of Philip Seymour Hoffman, since there are already so many people out there ranting and raving about it, but recently I’ve seen some rather disturbing things, including people saying how selfish he was to choose this path and how terrifying his relapse is to those…
Read MoreRevision & Editing
I haven’t posted in a little while, partly because I’ve been knee-deep in edits for my new novel. I also taught a Sharpening the Quill Writing Workshop on this very subject and thought I’d share a little of it here with you. Editing makes all the difference in your life as a writer. You have…
Read MoreTo The Person Who Sent Me A Message About Their Drinking. . .
Yesterday someone sent me a message via this website, saying they had read a recent article in Elle Canada Magazine about alcohol in which I’m quoted. This person — a man I think — told me a member of his family was a ‘raging alcoholic’ and that he was questioning his own drinking. I get…
Read MoreYear End Book List — the final 20
Okay, so I didn’t quite make my target of 75 books this year, but I did read 70. I aim for 52 books every year — a book a week — and if I manage that I feel pretty good. So, here are the last entries. The first 25 are here and the second here.…
Read MoreYear End Book List — the NEXT 25
Hope everyone had a lovely Christmas, or that you went out and ate a lot of Chinese food, or did whatever it is you like to do on December 25th. All was quiet (and lovely). Some reading, a walk, an afternoon movie and then turkey dinner with candles and seasonal music and the fancy china…
Read MoreYear End Book List — the first 25
Well, ’tis that time of the year. Winter Solstice — the time when you will find me burrowed under blankets by the fire, book in one hand, tea in the other. Also the time when the “Best of” book lists are coming out. (I’m most grateful to find THE EMPTY ROOM on a couple of…
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