Reimagining.

My first novel, STANDING STILL, sprang partly from my own fears and issues, and partly from an obsession with the case of Elizabeth Smart: How could a child be kidnapped from the second floor of a mansion with an alarm system? I reimagined the scenario, changing the story to save my "Elizabeth", and put someone else in peril.

Now, I learn that Elizabeth was married yesterday in a temple in Hawaii. How perfect that she wrote her own happy ending, too.

Just A Little Early Holiday Story. No Links. Nothing to Buy.

It's too beautiful to sit inside writing all day. The bike must be ridden a bit. What else are 66 degree November days for?

I weave through the trucks up and down the street, the trucks driven by the foremen, the stone masons, the plumbers, the roofers, the plasterers, the kitchen designers, the marble cutters, the mural painters who replicate the Sistine Chapel in the breakfast nooks.

Our neighborhood, once divided equally between lush woods and modest homes, has been under construction for 10 years. Wooded lot by wooded lot. McMansion by McMansion. Truck by truck. The noise some days requires headphones indoors. Outside, riding my bike, it's even worse. As a little girl in one of my not-yet-published novellas says, as she stares at a wood chipper: "Is that the sound of the tree screaming?"

Yes. Yes it is.

Some of these homes are beautiful beyond measure, filled with fine people I have loved getting to know. But two of them, the ones built later, at precisely the wrong time, sit empty, in limbo. Too expensive to sell. Too big to rent. Too showy to do anything but attempt to keep up appearances. Raked, trimmed, tidied. Chin up! Last weekend a service came and put up Christmas decorations and lights. Part of me finds this absurd, and part of me is grateful that someone is trying. Someone is staying cheerful, showing up, lighting the light. Fighting the fight.

Surely these homes would sell faster if they knew an author lived in the neighborhood. ;-) Or knew, perhaps, simply that someone who cared was home, and listening for them. And hoping all would turn out merry and bright.

On My Mind: One Word Tips. NaNoWriMo. Cajones.

Saturday at Montgomery County Writer's Conference (which was a beautifully organized event on a gorgeous campus with great food -- how often does THAT happen?) I taught a 75 minute class called Do's & Don'ts for Writing. I adapted it for the Thriller genre,as they requested, but it's a good primer for any plot-based fiction, and I worked really hard developing the material and the point of view, culled from all my how-to books and working knowledge as an author.

Afterwards, a gentleman came up to me and said, "Great class. The best of the day." I thanked him, and then he said something so bold I didn't even understand it: "Can I have that paper you're reading from?" I asked him to repeat himself. He pointed to the stapled outline in my hand. "The notes you taught the class from. Can I have them?" And I burst out laughing. "No," I said. "Why?" he asked. "Because it contains trade secrets," I whispered.

Given my overall openness at sharing writing tips on my blog, and on twitter, and helping complete strangers who write to me and ask, maybe I shouldn't have been that shocked. But I was. If he had been a man with no hands, or a blind man, or a deaf man, I would have given him the world. "Take notes!" I wanted to scream at him. "Bring a pencil or a laptop, you knucklehead!" He walked away and I was still shaking my head over his nerve, when he walked up a few minutes later with a copy of my first novel, STANDING STILL and asked me to sign it. This was surprise number two, that he wasn't angry with me, and was willing to buy it abook. Then he unleashed surprise number three, as I bent my head over the title page. "Just write your phone number down," he said.

Sigh. Apparently, "Can I have your notes?" is a pick-up line.

I know slides are turned over in the corporate world all the time. But a lifetime of writing advice? Weigh in, guys, go ahead. Tell me I'm wrong.

In the meantime. . . in the spirit of "handing over my notes" -- here are my twitter writing tips from the week:


Today's #NaNoWriMo Tip: STUCK? Maybe someone new needs to knock on the door. Or someone needs to travel to a new place.

1-Word Tip for #NaNoWriMo: SENSES. As in what does your character smell, taste, hear? Use the senses to show.

1-Word Tip for #NaNoWriMo: DESPERATE. If desperate to up the word count, add a dream, flashback or prologue.

Today's 1-Word Tip for #NaNoWriMo: WHY. As in give every character a concrete reason for their actions and desires.

1-Word Tip for #NaNoWriMo: CONFLICT. As in inner conflict. Two paths to take. Two lovers to choose. Creates tension!

1- Word Tip for #NaNoWriMo: DESIRE. Your lead character must want something badly and have obstacles in the way.

Just a Story. No Links. No Sell-i-ness.

Order In The House.


When I was eight, I wanted to be a librarian when I grew up.I thought this would be the best job in the world, because it involved two of my favorite things: Books, and orderliness.

Now, maybe it wasn’t natural for a child to hang her Barbie clothes by color, or line up her days-of-the-week panties in her top drawer in descending order, from Monday to Sunday. In the years since, I have let down my standards quite a bit: My spice rack is not alphabetized. My driveway is covered with leaves. But at eight, order still ruled.

Which was why every book I owned was listed in a card catalog by subject, author, and title. And if someone wanted to borrow it, I filled out a little slip with a due date and paper-clipped it to the inside flap. And if my friends dared to return these books a day late?. . . I fined them a quarter. I know: what a little bi--h, right?

Luckily, I married a man who appreciates order almost as much as I do. And who would never leave a wet towel on the floor * Shudder *

Last year, after painting our living room, I decided to re-shelve some books by color. The result, after a few hours’ work, was beautiful: the yellow spines gave way to cream gave way to white: green to turquoise to blue. When I wrote each morning, I could look up at those books and take in the beautiful rainbow.

About a month ago, I came home from the grocery store and noticed, with horror, that the books had been rearranged by height, from shortest to tallest. The rainbow was dead!

You guessed it: The hubby did it. And oh, how I wanted to fine his a—.

Name In Lights! Maybe Film Deal to Follow?

Okay, everyone should do this at least once: Have a book signing at a cool renovated theatre that does this for you! The renovated-but-original Genesee Theatre is in Waukegan Illinois--a cool little town on Lake Michigan where I grew up. It's a place where you can dine on award-winning ribs at Big Ed's, hear live blues at Greentown, and hear authors like me and David Sedaris (who is often compared to me ha!)at The Genesee Theatre -- or maybe come down and watch Sheryl Crow (whose name was on the other side.)

You know, lots of people have baked me cakes and given me gifts when I visit their book clubs, libraries, and stores, and I have loved them and been touched by them all. But this raises it to a whole new level, people! Maybe I can decorate my house for Christmas this way . . . hmmmm . . . . in the meantime we'll wish for someone smart to snap up the film rights to Standing Still or The Bird House. (Oh right, it's the actors names that would be in lights . . .must rethink.)

Ten Tips for Book Clubs

From iVillage, Ten Tips for Starting or Invigorating a Book Club.
(I'm included as one of the ways, yay!)

Link here.

Maybe some dramz for Alec Baldwin?

In my movie-deal dreams, I've always kind of pictured Greg Kinnear or Viggo Mortensen playing the role of Sam in Standing Still. But I've decided Alec Baldwin has just the right amount of good and evil in him. And have we seen him in a drama lately? Mais non! Come on, let's get er done. . .

Tips for Energizing your Book Club

I've visited close to 200 book clubs to promote Standing Still. They're all populated with interesting, lively women who I'd love to know better -- but every once in a while, one stands out. Last night, I traveled to a charming B&B in New Hope, PA to meet with a book group from Bethlehem on their annual retreat. Yep, a book club with an annual retreat. You gotta love that! Here's how it works -- They contribute a small amount of money at every meeting to help fund an annual getaway in late Spring. They all bring food for the weekend, and everyone drives and brings their bikes. Then they choose a local author to visit by talking to the knowledgable, local independent bookstore owner (Farley's). Like many clubs, they have a name-- but they also have a great looking logo, and t-shirts, sweatshirts, and hats sporting it. They keep a journal and ratings on every book they've read -- which is something lots of clubs do, either by hand or online. But they take it a step further -- creating homemade laminated bookmarks that list a years worth of books and authors. So when their friends ask for book recos, they simply give them a bookmark. Genius!

Does your club do something unusual? I'd love to hear about it!

Writers' Secret Tapes Revealed!

Maybe it's just Carrie Prejean's title, Still Standing, being so close to my novel, Standing Still-- but I am wondering if all writers must now consider releasing a sex tape in order to get publicity. This has always worked for actresses, why not writers?

Can't you just see John Irving wearing only boxing gloves? Or maybe witnessing Jennifer Weiner actually being Good In Bed? Not sure this tactic would work for my book tho. Given the topic of Standing Still, a tape of having a panic attack in lingerie would be more appropriate. (And only Woody Allen might find that titillating.)

Holiday Shopping with a Heart

Of course all independent bookstores have a heart . . .but Womrath's in Tenafly, New Jersey, is committed to helping others in a special way. Womrath's was started 60 years ago by World War II Vet Harry Kutik, who survived being shot 13 times overseas, only to come home and make a fresh start selling books. Today, his family continues the tradition and is celebrating the 60th Anniversary with The Liars Club Saturday from noon-3pm. The store is on 12 Washington Street in Tenafly, and we'll have great food, games and book and bookbag giveaways courtesy of the Liars Club. Best of all, a percentage of the profits will benefit disabled veterans. So you and your heart come out and do your holiday shopping!

Did you know . . . October is also National Reading Group Month?
That must be why I had such a nice evening with two book groups in Reading, PA last week - - and why I'll be at Harleysville Books October 29 to meet with book groups who have read Standing Still.