Fiji is a spellbinding novel of adventure, cultural misunderstandings, religious conflict and sexual tension set in one of the most exotic and isolated places on earth. As the pharaohs of ancient Egypt build their mighty pyramids, and Chinese civilization evolves under the Shang Dynasty, adventurous seafarers from South East Asia begin to settle the far-flung islands of the South Pacific. The exotic archipelago of Fiji is one of the last island groups to be discovered and will remain hidden…

To celebrate The Lake House arriving in stores my publisher, Gallery/ Simon & Schuster, will be giving away copies next week to She Writes members. So check in next Wednesday for more details.

Last Thursday I did my first reading of, The Lake House, at a…

A few days ago I finished the second re-write of my third novel, The River Keeper. Now for the final read through. I love this part. To be able to simply read the story without fixing plot holes and grammar. On August 22, 2011 the first words were written. It took me one year and eight months to write and edit this novel. How do these famous authors spit out three and four new books a year?

I know these people are rich and have house cleaners and nanny’s to pick their…

The doorbell rang just as I was sitting down to write this blog. I went downstairs and found a large box from Gallery Books on my doorstep. I ran to my neighbor’s house with the heavy item, because this moment couldn’t be done alone, and opened up the large container. A rush of emotion filled me - seven years of…

Okay! I admit it.  I'm a nonfiction writer.  I've had 5 nonfiction books published but within all of them are stories.  Now story has taken hold of me and I am on a mystical journey towards fiction.  I am workshopping my new (in development) novel and am working with an editor on getting a chapter by chapter analysis. I see no reason that a nonfiction writer cannot write compelling fiction.

My Goddess, I never realized the challenges of fiction writing or creating a novel.  I have…

If you haven't prepared your tax return yet, check out this great article on tax returns for artists, complete with an expense checklist for writers. This CPA's site and ebook have all the info you need (note: this is not my own accountant).

I'm a lifelong math phobe. So tax season sends me trudging into the dining room for what I've come to think of as my annual…

Last weeks blog has stirred something up in me that is kin to a burning desire to find those who have vanished into the days, weeks, and years since their passing. I want to clip down the over grown foliage, mend the broken markers and fence out the cows. I have only begun my journey.

Thank you to all who sent me messages and especially to my friend Janie who emailed me some interesting links. I have barely skimmed the surface of those lives that are six feet under the sod on…

As another St. Patrick's Day approaches, I've been thinking about the issue of identity and writing. As in, can we ever separate our national, ethnic, gender or other identities from our work and books? 

In my case, I question if it's a blessing or a curse to be labeled “an Irish writer.” Is there a set of reader expectations for a book that hails from the Emerald Isle?…

I have been doing a great deal of Internet research on Islam for my upcoming fourth novel, Stage Daughter. Aziz, one of three main characters, is a Muslim man, so I have been undergoing a crash online course to better understand how he might think, feel, and react in different circumstances. When not worried about dark-suited CIA agents appearing at my doorstep, I have learned some rather interesting things.



Naturally, all religions have their more bizarre teachings and…

The top way to flourish in any business is certainly to have the ability communicate effectively and efficiently. Using business broadband technology is one way that communications can be radically improved.



You get a 24x7 high connectivity to internet through high speed…

Through the pale closed lids of my eyes, I know the morning sunlight is streaming into the room and warming three slumbering piles of cat fluff on our queen-size bed. The summer heat is still tolerable this early; the fan blows across the room, spreading a damp-feeling humidity. The dog, wedged between Dennis and me, lies with her limbs sprawled; an abrasive pad of her forefoot mashes my cheek up and over my left eye. It’s a weekend morning.

With the unobstructed eye, I squint over at…

There are few second chances in life, but in the world of artistic creation, you can rebirth a book, revisioning it as artists do when they paint. That's what I have done with the new edition of Don't Call Me Mother—A Daughter's Journey from Abandonment to Forgiveness.

My…

Gosh, I'm sick of everyone accusing memoirists of being narcissists. For the last couple of weeks, there was another uproar of essays that mix up memoirists with journalists—AND narcissists--again. The topic comes forward every few months: there seems to be the opinion that somehow it is bad manners, bad writing, or narcissistic to spill personal details in memoir. But what's confusing to me is that most of the people being criticized, or doing the criticizing, were journalists. It…

I just wanted to let any moms here on Shewrites and any folks looking after young children know about a new educational toy company my friends have started called Yamie Chess (http://www.facebook.com/yamiechess), an educational learning aid for elementary and middle school math education.

This…

This week I was lucky enough to be featured at The Writer's Place, a spiffy blog by writer Nancy Christie.

Then, today, the interview gets included in Help for Writers.

I enjoyed the entire Writers Place interview, but I was especially charmed by Nancy's last question in which…