Dear Good Intentions: Where did you go? This was supposed to be the year of decluttering and more veggies, remember? You’re here somewhere…under the clutter and mac-n-cheese, right? Dear Semester: How have you managed to best me already? Normally it takes at least three months before I fall into the Slough of Despair. I am trying to reject your overwhelmy-ness but have been reduced to feeble … Continue reading Just a Friendly Note (argh edition)
We’ve just moved, and my mind is going in about a thousand directions at once these days. I can’t begin to focus…so here are some of the random things I’ve been pondering while unpacking…and unpacking…and unpacking. How long do we wait for the paper towel holder to resurface before buying a new one? All of the kitchen boxes have been unloaded and it’s still missing. … Continue reading Ten of the Many Things
Do you watch house-hunting shows? Aren’t they lovely? The new owners go from finding their dream home to blissfully reporting back at the end of the show that they are so glad they did it, while the camera zooms around their completely set-up new digs. It makes moving look absolutely delightful. But the truth is very different. Once you decide to take the leap to … Continue reading Seemed Like A Good Idea
Most of the readers I know don’t just “enjoy” reading—we love it. Must read. Can’t imagine a day without it. With this in common, it’s very interesting to consider how differently we all do the same thing. Some favor routine: a favorite time and location, perhaps with a desirable beverage. And many people are fond of reading in bed, snuggled under a cozy blanket with … Continue reading Variations on Reading
It is lovely and appreciated when readers ask questions. However, I don’t always feel as though I’ve answered satisfactorily–sometimes not giving enough information and other times sharing too much. For example, I once participated in a group interview in front of a crowd who had just held a lively and joyful conversation with another author about how much they loved cats in their cozy mysteries. … Continue reading Take Two
Over the years, I’ve heard many authors describe their books as having come into being by some variation of this: “A character appeared and I followed.” Once upon a time, I found such explanations slightly frustrating: I had always longed to write a novel, and I even had the basic idea for a mystery in mind, but no characters were manifesting themselves and beckoning to … Continue reading When The Characters Are In Charge
In the mystery course I recently taught, we found the ending of Agatha Christie’s A Murder is Announced to be both disconcerting and glorious. There are many wonderful aspects to her writing, but we were most engaged by how she gracefully “undoes” the characters we felt we knew because she had built them so convincingly. On the flip side, we were slightly less excited about … Continue reading Endings and Undoings
When Ikea opened in our town a number of years ago, I thought it would be fun to check it out. What I didn’t know was that the store is set up so that you are shuttled through every single section until you reach the end. You are swept along in one relentless flow through department after department, with no sense of When It Will … Continue reading The Bookshelves: A Complicated Case
