WE NEED TO TALK ABOUT KEVIN by Lionel Shriver “I have a confession to make. For all my raggin on you in those days, I’ve become shamefully dependent on television.
TENDER MERCIES by Rosellen Brown “Then how peculiar and painful, to walk across the threshold of his own house and to reclaim it from the anonymous care of strangers.” Anyone
I tried to write this post three or four times, but each time I sort of drifted away . . . online shopping anyone? A few months ago I had
Want to make a writer shudder? Ask them if they’ve queried yet. Last year I led a workshop on The Great American Query Letter and the participants shuffled in with
The first time I looked in the newspaper for a job, the Help Wanted sections were divided into three sections: Men, Women, and General. If memory serves me (I doubt
Having just re-watched Carleen Brice’s brilliant video, “National Buy a Book by a Black Author and Give it to Somebody Not Black Month,” I figure it’s time I add to
Back in the days of the crazy housing boom in Boston, when prices went insane, jumping by hundreds of thousands in a few short years, the Mission Hill triple-decker where
I’ve been accused of harping on domestic violence, and after working in the field (with batterers) for many years, I admit my abuse-radar may be higher than some. There were
Does violence at home have a throbbing beat for a backdrop and erotic sex burning up the house? Eminem might think he’s presenting a case against domestic violence, but with
Readers all have favorite books—book we re-read, books that encouraged us, inspired us, challenged us, and soothed us. However, I wonder, is there a difference between most memorable books, and
Want to make a writer shudder? Ask them if they’ve queried yet. Recently I led a workshop on The Great American Query Letter and the participants shuffled in with the
According to yesterday’s Boston Globe, writing about the Boston Public Library system: Circulation in the system has risen 31 percent in the last three years. This in an article
For weeks before my book launch, I obsessed about the party I was giving. Maybe it was because it was a hard bricks and mortar thing—I was facing people in
The tragedy in Haiti points ever more poignantly at the amazing deeds of everyday heroes. Right now, somewhere in Haiti, selfless men and women are putting their lives at risk
SHE WRITES, a terrific site for women writers, asked if I’d like to be included in the group of writers they’ve invited to participate in writing a “Countdown to
Writing a book resembles entering a reverie where the entire world is your playground. Birth, death, war, and peace (it’s in your hands. Then you finish. It”s the next step
Books on Writing: Part 1 Whisper the words books on writing to a bunch of writers and you might have to watch the whoosh of air as they take sides
The words I love this week are the ones linking Senator Ted Kennedy and Mission Hill, because these words have always been linked for me. Back in the days of
The Ambivalent Writer, The Natural, The Wicked Child, The Self Promoter, The Neurotic: which one are you? These are the first five chapter titles of Betsy Lerner’s (agent, writer, editor)
I’m fascinated by redemption, forgiveness, and the power of being ‘strong at the broken places,’ so Picking Cotton: Our Memoir of Injustice and Redemption by Jennifer