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On Saturday, I sent American Blonde off to New York and my editor. From February till June 1, I conceptualized, outlined, researched, wrote, and edited 753 pages, which became the 525 pages I emailed on Saturday. Let's just say it was the hardest thing I've ever had to write...
On May 17, I wrote an article for National Geographic's website about my 2005 journey to Wrangel Island, the setting of my first two books. Here are a few more pictures from and of the island (and the trip by Russian icebreaker), which I'll be traveling back to in August of 2014...
In 1917, The Evening Independent published an article on high heels that began: “Style decrees that women wear high-heel foot wear, which buckles up the toes, producing painful corns; then many women cut at these pests, which is a most dangerous preceding, because one is simply inviting infection or an awful death from lockjaw..."
I love research that takes you places. Because there are some forensic elements to the next book, American Blonde, I've been studying up on all things crime-related-- which led me recently to a crime lab workshop at L.A.'s regional crime laboratory...
In my research for American Blonde, I've been learning all about forensics and the Los Angeles County Coroner, particularly in the 1940s. But one of the most fascinating things I discovered is that the Los Angeles Coroner has a gift shop...
As I labor away on a very daunting rewrite of the fourth Velva Jean novel, American Blonde, I'm making a list of the things that are helping me get to the end of the Worst Deadline I've Ever Known...
Growing up, one of my favorite writers was Ray Bradbury. The book I love most is his collected short stories, but in Zen in the Art of Writing, he writes about writing. Because I'm often asked to share my own rules on writing, I thought this time I would share some inspiration from someone I find inspiring...
Imagine my elation when I lifted my head long enough from 1946 (where I'm buried in the next Velva Jean novel) to hear the news that M.A.C has just released an Archie's Girls cosmetic line...
In 2000, I did my first ever interview as a published author (for The Ice Master) with Connie Martinson, whose television show, Connie Martinson Talks Books, has been on the air since 1979. And, last October, I spoke with her about Becoming Clementine...
In honor of the 100th anniversary of the Canadian Arctic Expedition, the doomed ship Karluk, and the men, woman, and children who found themselves stranded in the Arctic, here is one of my favorite stories related to writing The Ice Master...
There are literary cats and then there are Literary Cats. I have three literary kitties and, while I love them equally, I am particularly bonded with Lulu. She, like Charles Dickens's Wilhelmina, is a Literary Cat of the highest order...
This year marks the 100th anniversary of the Canadian Arctic Expedition, whose story I recounted in The Ice Master . It was supposed to be the grandest Arctic expedition in history, but turned out to be one of the most harrowing survival stories of all time...
This week, in the spirit of Valentine's Day, popular e-zine Be Inkandescent is featuring an article on collaborating couples-- those who work side by side as they balance two powerful, time-consuming, stressful, successful careers. You can read the full article here, but I couldn't resist sharing a portion of it...
I used to love buying Valentine's Cards at Hook's Drugstore when I was growing up in Indiana. This year, as I'm working away madly on the next Velva Jean book, I started thinking about the type of card Velva Jean might send to her own Valentines...
Right now I am at my desk many, many hours every day (that includes weekends). The current project: American Blonde, the fourth novel in the Velva Jean series. Technically, I'm supposed to be editing the novel right now, based on my editor's first round of notes. But what I'm actually doing is re-envisioning and re-outlining and, for the most part, rewriting the entire book from about page 15 on...