Advice From My Agent (On Querying Her)
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
December 10, 2010
Micro:Inequalities: Why Review Equality Matters
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
November 8, 2010
Breaking Down Racial Reading Shelves
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
October 29, 2010
Ted Kennedy and My Miracle in Mission Hill
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
August 27, 2010
Tony Soprano, Rhett Butler, or Atticus Finch: Who’s Your Type?
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
August 20, 2010
Hate the Way You Lie: Eminem’s Video
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
August 11, 2010
Which Characters Live in Your Head?
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
June 11, 2010
Weary of the Query?
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
March 25, 2010
It Takes a Bureaucracy to Raze a Library
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
February 19, 2010
It’s My Party, but if I Cry My Mascara Runs
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
January 29, 2010
Quiet and Everyday Heroes
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
January 14, 2010
Countdown to Publication: Day 36, Behind the Scenes of Extreme Narcissism
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
December 14, 2009
Books on (Selling) Writing
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
November 5, 2009
Books on Writing: Part 1
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
November 3, 2009
A Home in Mission Hill–Thank You Ted Kennedy
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
August 28, 2009
An Instant Shrink for Writers
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)
August 20, 2009
Picking Cotton: Our Memoir of Injustice and Redemption
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
April 29, 2009