Category: reflection
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The Magnificent Storm
Last night, the Lehigh Valley of Pennsylvania had a magnificent thunderstorm— the kind that shook the house, flashed lots of lightning and sent pounding rain into every open window. As the cacophony abounded, I soaked in the storm (pun intended) from the safety of my bedroom. My cats and Goffin’s…
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Reflections on a Battle between Bookshop.org and Amazon.com
I’m thinking about how the world keeps changing. Now I’m not putting a judgment on that reality, but as I approach my 50th birthday in May I have reached that age where the experiences I cherish the most are very different from what happens in my everyday life now. Small…
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Poet Palooza 3
Thank you to everyone who attended Poet Palooza 3 at downtown Easton’s Book & Puppet Company with representatives from other local presses and publications, including Darrell Parry of Stick Figure Poetry. The evening featured 16 local poets and a mini-workshop, and the bookstore itself has a money museum and art gallery. So here’s another reflection, applicable to readers…
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There is no art without story
As a journalist, I know there is always a story. If two people are in a room, I used to tell my interns and new reporters, there is a story. If a meeting gets canceled, there’s a story why. As humans, we cherish story. We may live in day-to-day routines but our entertainment,…
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Writing Advice of the Week
And for all the writers out there wondering how to develop a writing “habit” or how to establish discipline and/or a consistent writing practice, you might want to read the essay E.H. Jacob wrote for Hippocampus Magazine. Read the essay on Hippocampus here. He’ll give you his strategies of how he writes even when…
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Hour by hour storytelling?
I recently watched the 15 episodes of Season One of The Pitt available on streaming service HBO Max. It’s a medical drama with an opening reminiscent of the famous medical series ER that launched the career of George Clooney. It begins with a time on screen: 7 a.m. I have watched 15 episodes and…
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When the books “kick back”
Our art director talks about her experiences with some titles that just refuse to go to press. Is it Ingram? Is it us? I think it’s a combination.
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Inspiration and contemplation
As a traditional publisher, writer myself, freelance editor and journalist, I don’t escape words often. They provide my livelihood, and more than that, I genuinely revel in them. I typically have a window open on my browser where I draft and build my newsletters— like this one— but this edition…
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I went to a writing conference and came home with the keynote’s haircut
I have a “Networking for Writers” talk which I presented at the Greater Lehigh Valley Writers Group a few weeks ago to help prepare members for the conference that happened March 13-15. (You can see the slides as a paid subscriber to my Substack.) In that talk, I assume that everyone listening…
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It’s the Universe that matters
If I learned one lesson recently while reading Fourth Wing and Iron Flame, those books have reminded me that the absolute most important aspect of writing (and reading) is the universe. Readers deserve a universe that is rich, complicated and full of the right details, complex characters and a setting that comes alive. And sure—…
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