Last week I painted my nails black, cast a few spells, spent two days whispering a 400+ page manuscript to myself, and then, on the evening of what would’ve been my mother’s eighty-first birthday, I sent a book-shaped thing called The Witches of New York to my keen-eyed literary agent, Helen Heller. You’d think by now I wouldn’t get jittery during this part of the writing process, but I do. I do! (Just ask my dear family.) It’s to be expected, I guess, because by the time I reach this point, I’ve become quite attached to the story and its …
Category: creativity
Life… Maybe it’s because I’ve been writing about witches, but I’m feeling superstitious these days when it comes to saying anything about my current novel in progress. The work takes up the bulk of my waking hours and has seeped into my dreams as well. These are good things when it comes to writing and revising (hurray!) but it also means that there will be periods of radio silence in my online presence from here on out. Blog posts and social media updates will have to come in dribs and drabs until the book is finished. (But I promise there …
There’s nothing quite like the first few days of university life. As a goofy, giddy frosh I managed to find my way to classrooms and the cafeteria, twist my ankle running down a flight of stairs, and make a friend for life. Marta Pelrine-Bacon was a kindred spirit from the start. Even though she’d grown up in a small town in Florida and had never seen snow, we had more in common than not. She loved stories of magic and fantasy. Me too. She enjoyed staying up late and dancing to Howard Jones, Oingo Boingo, Crowded House, and OMD. Me …
A stroll through an art gallery, an evening spent at the theatre, the sight of a glorious sunset – these things invite my mind to dance with abandon and wonder. “Filling the well,” (the seeking out of new sources of inspiration) has long been a part of my artistic process and an essential part of how I find my way through life. Moments spent immersed in another time, place or space often bring clarity to whatever I’m grappling with in the present (writing-related or otherwise.) We humans like to make sense of things, to put ideas and events into perspective, …
We had a taste of spring over the long weekend, (or perhaps “tease” might be the more appropriate word.) Nevertheless, there was enough sun and warmth to bring both me and the bees out of hiding and into the yard for some much-needed buzz and dance. It’s amazing to see them move in and out of the hives this time of year. They waste no time in dragging out the old, so they can begin to find their way to whatever pollen is available. They are eager to get on with constructing, nurturing, feeding the new. We are going into …
Well. I was supposed to be in Moncton, NB today, and then in St. John the next day, and then Fredericton the day after that, followed by Halifax, NS, and Charlottetown, PEI. Sadly, I’ve had to postpone those readings until spring. This is a blog post to say I’m incredibly sorry about having to cancel, and to give you a bit of insight as to why I’m sitting at home in my pj’s trying to figure out why my body has taken to making me howl with pain. I’ll preface this by saying that I’m not good at writing about …