Ever have those moments in life when you wish that you were someone or something else?  I’m reminded of the movie I watched as a child, The Incredible Mr. Limpet.  “I wish I wish, I wish I was a fish, ‘cuz fishes have a better life than people,” says Don Knotts who subsequently falls into the ocean and…

Just look at that stoplight. Isn’t she a beauty? Well, maybe not so much to you, but to me this stoplight makes my heart swell with pride, because it represents victory after a hard-fought battle.

It all started about ten years ago, just before Christmas, when seven-year old…

On television, the world is inhabited by people who don’t remotely need the products they demonstrate. Hair dye is sold by models in their twenties, for whom gray hair is unheard of. Wrinkle cream is touted by the likes of Jennifer Lopez and Penelope Cruz. 

The people in advertising must think that if they actually showed individuals who look as if they need the goods, the consumer would be scared off. Imagine showing a woman with a paunch in a Spanx ad! In the world of television,…

The Mystery Writers of America and I are not in agreement over the Edgars.

Go figure.  …

Attention Moms, Writers and anyone looking for fun.  Imagination-Cafe's owner/operator Rosanne Tolin has written an awesome article for Chicago Parent - 9 Ways to Celebrate Children's Book Week in Chicago.

This year National Book Week is from May 2-8th and even if you're not going to be in the Chicago area, this article will get you excited about this wonderful event - who knows, you might even want to take part or check out the amazing books being featured this…

Today's new edition of Saturday Sharing features links to the Poetry Foundation's archive, La Casa de Botellas (The House of Bottles), Arts for the Earth campaign, "Conductor" by Alexander Chen, the Tate Museum's Archive Journeys, and Google Exodus.

http://writingwithoutpaper.blogspot.com/2011/04/saturday-sharing-my-finds-are-yours_30.html

You are the unemployed representative at Career Day at your kid’s school. You get a free lunch.

Wills and Kate, a royal romance that landed, as the Brits might say, on my tellie.  



I almost got up at 2:00 a.m. to watch the coverage of the royal wedding.  Almost... 



Instead I taped it and watched the event mid-stream at shortly after 6:00 a.m.  Still, a crazy hour to get up but it was a crazy event.  As they say, the event of the century. It was amazing the crowd that gathered - the crowd physically there and the crowd that gathered at a distance around the…

When I pronounce the word Future,

the first syllable already belongs to the past.

When I pronounce the word Silence,

I destroy it.

When I pronounce the word Nothing,

I make something no non-being can hold.

The Three Oddest Words by Wislawa Szymborska

Translated by S. Baranczak &…

As I edit my book

In a quiet little nook,

Here I stand,

Pen in hand.



I scribble away,

All the mistakes

It’s a small price to pay

I do what it takes



To make the perfect tale

And not one that is stale,

So an agent may not go berserk

At the sight of my work



Though I hate this task

I ease the boredom with music

To keep me from being sick

And put on a patient…

Over on her blog, Wordplay, K.M. Weiland is running a free ebook giveaway of my book,  The Art & Craft of Fiction: A Practitioner's Manual.

If you'd like to win a free copy,…

As the Actress Said to the Bishop: "It's hot and crazy in the kitchen - the sequel."

Well what do you know? As if to prove the point that you can never tell with auditions, my agent called to tell me I had landed a recall following last Friday's disastrous casting session. "The problem is... they won't pay you a recall fee." When have any of them ever paid me a…