My daddy was in the Corp, so I’m always delighted to see a Devil Dog as a literary hero. Today, Andrew Peterson–the guy who blew every other panel out of the water with his BATF, bomb-sniffing dog demo at Thrillerfest this summer–introduces former Marine sniper/CIA operative Nathan McBride in FIRST TO KILL. McBride is a …Read More
[Photo Source] It’s the first day of school today. Again. With P being a university professor and the kids being, well, kids, I feel like the first day of school always comes up too fast. The swim things are put away, new clothes are in the drawers and backpacks are filled with spanking new pencils, …Read More
I know this is old news, but book marketing plans have been on my mind lately. Here’s a tried and true one: get the most photographed woman on the planet to pick up your anti-human tirade/recycling guide-disguised-as-a-diet book in front of the paparazzi! [Photo source} It’s every publisher’s dream, of course. I confess that I …Read More
I’m working on a short piece called LOVE vs. LUST. A couple of weeks ago, I retreated to an antique shop while P lingered at Mr. Jingle’s Closet. There were so many inspiring things there, but none so inspiring as this: Well, maybe this, but not for the LOVE vs. LUST piece. It’s hard to …Read More
[New author photo by (the incredibly talented) Jay Fram]
[Family of Letters (detail) by Lauren Pressler] One of the writing exercises P does in his workshops is called The Dreaded Letter. If it’s done correctly, it clearly illustrates the kind of passion that can and should be on every page of the student’s prose. The letter can contain a secret, a confession, a tirade–but …Read More
You will probably think me lazy for having yet another guest at the Handbasket this week. (Really, I’m off buying school supplies and helping Pom answer that age-old question: What to wear on the first day of junior year?) But I wanted to make sure I introduced Amy MacKinnon to you; her debut novel, TETHERED, …Read More
I knew my 100th post was coming up quickly–and now I see that this post is #101. What began on MySpace as rather a lark two years ago has now become a necessity for me. I’m grateful for the privilege of being in almost daily touch with friends and readers (and readers who are now …Read More
The writing world is like an enormous, small town. So even though she lives north of the border, I got to know Tish Cohen this past winter when she generously pitched in to make our blog day for Patry Francis such a huge success. It’s been a busy few years for Cohen. Even before her …Read More
I used to be slightly embarrassed that I have a daily Google alert for ISABELLA MOON. For several months after the novel came out, it was invaluable to me to find out where IM was being reviewed and what folks were saying about it on blogs, etc. It allowed me to thank people for taking …Read More