I came home today to find the package containing the proposed cover for CALLING MR LONELY HEARTS in my kitchen, waiting for me. There was a brief moment when I didn’t think I could bear to open it. What if I didn’t like it? What if I thought it should be changed? Would I be …Read More

Meet Michelle Brooks. Poet. Very Cool Writer-Chick. Her poetry is a treat (sometimes a dark and scary treat, but we like that around here!), and her blog is deliciously idiosyncratic. One never knows what to expect–except a brand new pic of Michelle every day!

I was in Roanoke, Virginia last week for the Tinker Mountain Writers’ Workshop, a six day extravaganza of the writerly sort. Workshops, readings, tasty food, scintillating conversation and, yes, okay, a few late-night beer chats. Good fun all around! The title of my Thursday Craft Seminar was “Writing Genre–Will They Respect Me in the Morning?” …Read More

How thrilled was I to see this today from the cool folks at VSL?! And because YouTube is so addictive, and good music is good even when it’s silly!

I just have to speak out on this–Last week I watched the A & E miniseries of The Andromeda Strain. It was quite possibly the worst thing I’ve seen on television in years. If you loved the original 1971 film of the Crichton novel, I beg you to stay far, far away from the miniseries. …Read More

It’s shaping up to be a busy summer. Here’s where you can catch up with me: June 7-13 Tinker Mountain Writers Workshop, Hollins University, Roanoke, VA June 10 Hollins Branch Public Library, Roanoke, VA Reading, 7 pm (the book club meeting begins at 6:30, public reading at 7) June 16 Private Book Club Appearance, Cincinnati, …Read More

My husband, Pinckney, and I are such fans of Katie Estill’s work that we knew our 2007 Surreal South anthology wouldn’t be complete without one of her stories. She very kindly let us publish The Drinking Gourd, an historical haint which formed itself out of the house in which she lives. This year, Katie’s heart-wrenching …Read More