I am delighted to be a part of The Next Big Thing, the “authors and the authors who love them” weblog chain in which I answer questions about what I’m working on and get to introduce you to two gifted friends and writers. Ruth Ozeki tagged me for this, and her long-awaited novel, A Tale for the Time Being, is coming out in March.  I got a sneak peak at it in…

Ida is one determined eighteen-year-old.  Tired of living on her family’s farm, collecting silk stockings, and cleaning houses, she feels the open sky calling her.  Flying is in her blood.  Her father flew crop duster planes when he was alive and taught her how to fly.  Her brother was already serving as a WWII medic.  It is her time to shine.  But race and color pose a problem.  Well, not for people like Ida.

Ida’s drive and determination enables her to devise a…

October is Roctober with Litquake! We have readings galore for you this month!

FIRST UP, join us for our regularly scheduled event at Studio 333 in Sausalito, October 11. 7pm. This very special show features writers from the audience who entered their names in the drawings over the months. 333 Caledonia Street, Sausalito, 7-9pm. $5. 

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ABOUT HERBERT SMITH

What She Says: The All Women Writers Issue

164 pages

edited by Paula Bomer, Amy King (poetry) and Jen Michalski (fiction)

$10 (+$2…

It’s our sixth day together, meaning it's time for the last two points of my ten-point Memoir Manifesto. Ready to wrap things up, She Writers? I suspect you are. You’ve got work to do.

Make your argument

Every piece of non-fiction is an argument. Maybe your argument is simply, "life is better when you garden,"…

There is an old saying that most men would rather have you hear their story than grant their wish. I’m fairly sure that can be said of all of us, especially when I see how much memoir is being written these days. I’m also fairly sure that those writers who struggle when writing memoir do so because while they desire to tell their stories, they try to tell too much too fast.

Maybe I can help.

I’ve been teaching memoir writing for about 15 years, at last count to more than one…

If you follow me on Facebook you know I recently took a trip out west. We visited Mount Rushmore, Yellowstone and Glacier National Park, the Grand Teton Mountains, the Bad Lands of North Dakota and then back home via the Great Lakes. It was a wonderful journey. God created some really beautiful landscapes here in the United States. From hills to mountains to prairies, each state is unique in it’s own special way. But as usual, after taking a trip I found the best place to be is…

R.LYNN is a multi-genre author based in Canada. She wrote The Descendants Saga series, Daughters of…

Back in the days when I first became a fan of Patti Smith, I knew virtually nothing about her life, except maybe that she hailed from New Jersey.  I was drawn to her poetry, her style, her music. The striking photograph of her on the cover of Horses seemed to epitomize who she was, artistically.…

Lyric Fire: Tales From The Stage - My Six-Word Story - I Wasn't Born, I Was Adopted…

Today's Wednesday Wonder profiles the late Paul Smith, who made ingenious use of a typewriter. Video included.

http://writingwithoutpaper.blogspot.com/2011/04/wednesday-wonder-paul-smiths-typewriter.html

Last nigh t's event at The Albion Beatnik Bookstore in Oxford went very well. The place was packed out with lovely, interesting people, many of whom are regulars at the store's events. Thanks to everyone who turned up to be part of such a warm, appreciative audience - it was a very impressive attendance for a Monday night, especially as the Oxford Literary Festival…