Category Archives: Writing

Good News in Author-Land

Posted on May 16, 2013 by

It seems like after many years of hard work, staring down the blank page, a number of my writer-friends have been getting recognized for their talents. There has been so much good news in my community lately. For instance, my … Continue reading →

Posted in Community, Fiction, Writing | Tagged , , , , , | 6 Comments

The Paradise Guest House

Posted on May 13, 2013 by

It was great fun to hear bestselling author Ellen Sussman read from her new book, The Paradise Guest House, and discuss terrorism, book covers, doing research, how Bali has changed, the Boston Marathon bombings, and the publishing industry, at Annie Bloom’s … Continue reading →

Posted in Books, Writing | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment

Finding Readers: Crowd the Book!

Posted on May 2, 2013 by

Your book comes out. You promote the heck out of the launch, and then what? That’s the question we’re acknowledging and exploring as part of the Finding Readers series. (Read the first installment here.) Successful books get noticed long after … Continue reading →

Posted in Community, Finding Readers, small press, Writing | Tagged , , | 5 Comments

My Favorite New Writing Resource

Posted on April 16, 2013 by

I love people who exude positivity, people who look at the world and see opportunities to grow and learn. That kind of glass-half-full outlook is contagious. Christi Krug, the founder of Wildfire Writing, brings that kind of positivity  to writers … Continue reading →

Posted in Books, Community, Revision, Writing | Tagged , , , , , , | 2 Comments

HomeWord Bound

Posted on April 8, 2013 by

I love attending HomeWord Bound, the annual literary themed fundraiser for Community Partners for Affordable Housing. And this year, I attended as one of the guest authors! (Well, guest editors…) It was lovely to sit with so many extremely talented … Continue reading →

Posted in Books, Community, Writing | Tagged , , , , , | 2 Comments

Success Stories: Polly Dugan’s Big Book News

Posted on March 29, 2013 by

You know the dream? The dream that starts with a call from an agent and continues with a two-book deal with a major New York publisher? I’m so excited to announce that Polly Dugan, an Oregon writer I know, is … Continue reading →

Posted in Books, Fiction, Writing | Tagged , , , , | 13 Comments

A Bit of Sweetness (From Chapter Four)

Posted on March 18, 2013 by

I promised myself I’d get back into my novel this month. Forest Avenue Press will still be my primary focus, but I want to make room in my life for Henri, my protagonist now languishing in Chapter Four, draft two, … Continue reading →

Posted in Fiction, Revision, Writing | Tagged , , , , | 7 Comments

The Amazing Amanda Coplin

Posted on March 14, 2013 by

Imagine an overflow crowd of readers, asking questions about your characters as if they were real people. I was one of the few people at Annie Bloom’s Books in Portland on Monday night who hadn’t yet experienced The Orchardist by Amanda Coplin. … Continue reading →

Posted in Books, Fiction, Reading, Writing | Tagged , , | 6 Comments

Giving Back to the Writing Community

Posted on March 11, 2013 by

I celebrated my birthday last week, and a friend asked how I was going to top last year. I thought about that comment all day and realized I don’t want to try. I had an amazing personal and professional year, including … Continue reading →

Posted in Books, Publishing, small press, Writing | Tagged | 7 Comments

Up to My Eyeballs

Posted on February 25, 2013 by

My old editor always used to say he was up to his eyeballs in work, especially on deadline, and that’s how I have been feeling the past few weeks. I have been reading queries and pages for my press, working … Continue reading →

Posted in Writing | 6 Comments