First Lines; Last Lines
That perfect first line. How we chase it, scrambling phrases and our brains, seeking magic words to pop open our stories like magic keys. ( Sometimes, I want to create
August 11, 2023
From John’s Bargain Store to Clothing Lust
My childhood clothes resembled the old Catskills joke about food: The food is terrible at this hotel—and the portions are way too small! My mother brought my sister and me to John’s
July 26, 2023
Should You Be A Writer?
At first, writing seems the perfect job for a control freak. * You are alone! At your desk. Making your very own world. * These characters you’ve dreamed up jump when you
July 19, 2023
5 Facts About That Bad Boy of Yours
Perhaps the lure of the bad boy is similar to the temptation of climbing Mt. Everest. It feels so good to conquer it and reach the top—despite all the pain
June 29, 2023
MFA or Bartender? What Makes a Writer?
The writer’s code (written into our secret writer club rules) reminds us that day jobs (and only day jobs) stand between us and a published novel. I believed. Thanks for
June 26, 2023
The Before & After of (Author, etc) Photos
If you love every picture of yourself, or you’re one of those naturally photogenic people, you won’t need this post. And I don’t want to stand next to you in
June 25, 2023
Books So Good, Now I’m Depressed
“Books are a uniquely portable magic.”—Stephen King I’ve been on a tear, having just read three (entirely different) books so good that now I’m in book depression, waiting to find
June 25, 2023
Can AI Replace Novelists? Part One
Just How Useful is ChatGPT for Writing Fiction? Screaming headlines about using AI for writing (horror! useful? takeover???) appear in the newspapers,
May 15, 2023
Writing Time
Time is writing’s best friend Time to writeTime to let it mellowTime to readTime to rewrite Time to wait long enough to get your eyes Randy Susan Meyers
March 11, 2023
Magnificent Memoirs Recently Read
No family is without fault; few parents can be labeled good or bad. Both Priscilla Gilman and E. Dolores Johnson demonstrated that truth with extraordinary openness in their memoirs—for which
February 23, 2023
Saving Divorced Socks!
Hoarding, hiding, and divorcing socks: such are my dryer’s hobbies. (He likely hustles clients for a textile-marriage counselor—or is, perhaps, an instrument of the devil.) The other possibility, though sad,
February 23, 2023
Worshipping at the Brooklyn Library Altar
“The library was a little old shabby place. Francie thought it was beautiful. The feeling she had about it was as good as the feeling she had about church.”
February 15, 2023
My Memorable, Relished, Beloved Books This Year
Why ‘memorable & relished’ rather than ‘best’? Because best is such an individual decision: best-written? best-received? best-advertised? As I went through my list of read and listened-to books this year,
December 31, 2022
When Santa Stopped Being My Unavailable Man
Stories abound of Jewish people who grow up warm and secure in their faith. Those for whom the eight days of Hanukah didn’t compete with Christmas: Jewish nurses, firefighters, and
December 20, 2022
Eleven Great Presents with Impact (from $10 to $55!)
Presents!! In opposition to the Scrooges of the world, I love giving presents, finding presents, and getting presents! (Though I do have to lock down my desire to do one
November 26, 2022
When A TREE GROWS IN BROOKLYN meets a farm in Iowa: MILK WITHOUT HONEY
“I’m looking for possible blurbs to be published on the back or inside cover of my 90-year-old mother’s novel,” Michelle Hoover wrote on Facebook. “Her health is precarious, she’s isolated
November 26, 2022
Grandma Millie’s Stuffing: Childhood on a Fork (and how I Googled my way back to Thanksgiving)
My sister and I didn’t grow up rife with traditions. On Halloween we wore old shirts to represent that we were hobos or beatniks, depending on our mood. When we
November 11, 2022
When Facebook Friends Ask ‘Anything’
Answering questions off the cuff is my favorite way of presenting—surprising (embarrassing?) myself with on-my-feet answers as I stumble into learning things I didn’t know about myself. Thus, when author
April 11, 2022
Debut Books by Writers Over 40
(first published in 2011) Originally, I tried to resist writing this 9especially after my plea against categorizing authors.) Plus, so many of us hide our age in this world of never-get-old,
April 11, 2022
Worshipping at the Library Altar
“The library was a little old shabby place. Francie thought it was beautiful. The feeling she had about it was as good as the feeling she had about church.” A
February 7, 2022
Bake a Luscious Vintage Chocolate Recipe for Someone You Love (including yourself!)
Feb 1st is National Dark Chocolate Day Raise your hand if you knew Feb 1 was National Dark Chocolate Day. I know, my hand is also down—but I’m ready to
January 30, 2022
Match Great First Lines to Phemon Books
Win an indie bookstore gift certificate! First Lines of Books I’m addicted to great first lines—I even have a document of first lines for which I want to someday write
January 24, 2022
One Easy Starter: A Million Easy Soups
Big Pots of Homemade Soup made Super-Easy Raise your hand if you’re so sick of cooking you could live on dry cereal for the rest of your life. These days
January 16, 2022
Ten Unusual, Caring, & Artistic Presents For Family, Friends & You
T’is the season to do a million things (good, great, exhausting, hair-pulling-annoying) but one I find the most relaxing is finding (and recommending) small shops, artists, and craftspeople. Below are
November 29, 2021