a.k.a. Good Food

One of the most exciting, and most pleasant, parts of writing is celebrating the success of fellow scribes. Lamentably, I’ve yet to break into the big time (or small time), but I have friends who now appear on the shelves of Barnes & Noble, Borders, Amazon, and our local libraries. Knowing just how [...]

I know Sunday is Valentine’s Day, but it also marks the start of a new Chinese Year — the Year of the Tiger.  Seems fitting that I should want to do well this year, doesn’t it?
I’m actually an Ox, at least according to Chinese lore.  Does birth date really influence who you are and what [...]

I hate to admit it, even to myself, but now the easy part is over. The book, such as it is, is written (analogous to being pregnant and giving birth); now comes the hard part (raising the off-spring and sending him/her off into the world). Disclaimer: I’ve never had a child, so this is entire [...]

Writers Reading. That’s the name the Wilton Library gave our second appearance. My critique group, as I’ve previously mentioned, is blessed with the support of our library, which provides us with a meeting room every other week, regular speakers and workshops and, once a year, with a forum to preview our works in progress.
Tuesday [...]

Last weekend I attended Fiction Fest, sponsored by the Connecticut chapter of the Romance Writers of America (CTWRA). Obviously romance is not my genre, but there were writers of other genres there as well.

Yesterday I had the pleasure of attending a reading of Julie Curtis’ irreverent essay: My Radioactive Home. Julie is a member of my writing/critique group.

The Westport Arts Center came up with the idea of tying in a writing competition with the art exhibit they had planned. The concept was to integrate visual arts, [...]

For those of you who don’t subscribe to RSS feeds (and you should – there are some very good ones out there) I thought I’d pass along a question raised yesterday by Nathan Bransford: When do you start calling yourself “a writer?” And what about “author?”

As I’ve mentioned before, I’m fortunate to live in a town with a dynamic library, one which actively supports the Arts in all forms: music, painting, sculpture, literature.
Yesterday I attended a library-sponsored workshop led by Susan Breen, author of The Fiction Class. This is the second time I’ve taken her workshop and I found it [...]

Hi, my name is Toni and I’m a closet perfectionist.
There, I said it. It’s a dirty little secret I’ve been hiding — not always successfully – for many years. I need to find a local chapter of Perfectionists Anonymous and attend weekly, if not daily, meetings. I suspect it’s a great place [...]

I applied for the NYC Pitch & Shop Conference with hope, trepidation, and a total ignorance of what to expect.  After 4 days I left with a finely honed pitch, 2 reads and 14 new friends with whom to celebrate successes, commiserate on rejections and share advice, opinions, and tips.  Pretty good bang for my [...]