Easter is a time of resurrection. Flowers and trees and the animal world come alive after a winter dormancy. I feel that way in my life right now. I’m entering a new phase, and I’m excited and terrified: home ownership! I know, I know, millions of people do it. But I’ve been avoiding it. Commitment… Read More Tale of a Terrified First-Time Home Buyer
I promised I would share a few pictures from Left Coast Crime – Crimelandia, an annual crime fiction conference for fans. Every year it switches city. This year I got lucky because it was in Portland, my home town. I find that conference photos fall into a few main categories. Event Photos This would be… Read More A Few Pictures from Left Coast Crime
I’m going gangbusters on my second novel. I’m finally, finally feeling momentum, some excitement, some hope. I go through a stage during the revision process where I slow way down because I can’t see how to improve the mighty crap bucket of words I’ve created. Then I start to despair and feel overwhelmed. Then maybe… Read More Gangbusters and Round Ups: A Quick Week in Review
Happy St. Patrick’s Day! Fifty two weeks ago today KILMOON came out to the world. It seems propitious that my Irish novel’s first publication birthday is today. Why not celebrate it? This has been such a nutty year! Being a debut author is a special thing. We only have one first novel, one first novel… Read More Happy One Year Anniversary: Being a Published Author
For years, I’ve been saying I’d like to single-handedly revive the art of letter writing. I buy stationery and note cards and store them away like little nuts. I think about the pen pals I had as a child. I think about our mailman, Frank, who was so sweet. He always gave our dog Penny… Read More Writing a Letter the Old-Fashioned Way
Have you ever noticed how lifeless everyone looks in laundromats? Doesn’t matter who we are, we step over the threshold and we become glazed-over drone people. There’s something about the overhead florescent lights and the rows of shiny machines and the dingy floor tiles … Laundromats are just so … I don’t know … reality-based.… Read More What Is it About Laundromats Anyhow?
Oscar night for movie and fashion fans is like the Super Bowl for football fans. There’s tons of hype, people throw parties and often dress up, and emotions can run high. The events inspire staycation days in which you’re likely to blow off the normal Sunday errand running and housecleaning and whatever-ing. Also, you might… Read More Oscar Sundays and Super Bowl Sundays — They’re Not So Different
I just spent an hour writing a blog post for this week. I bored myself silly rambling about my new critique group before deleting everything I’d written. Here’s a bulleted list of the highlights: Critique groups are funny things. (Wow, that’s profound, isn’t it?) Personalities come into play. I’m glad to be an experienced writer,… Read More Random Thoughts About Critique Groups
Every six or seven years I head back into therapy for a mental tune-up. I dig the process, so every once in awhile I might share some insights from my sessions with “Doc,” my awesome psychologist. A few sessions ago, Doc brought up the theory of dandelions and orchids. The high-level gist is that genetically… Read More Dandelion or Orchid — Which Are You?
I am happy to announce that I DO know who won the Super Bowl yesterday — the Patriots! However, I had to ask what city the team is from. Answer: New England. Not a city, but OK. (Seriously, what is the Patriots’s home city?) And I had to ask who they were playing. Answer: Seattle… Read More What I Did on My Super Bowl Sunday
Lisa Alber's Words at Play 