• creativity,  depression,  seasonal affective disorder,  the debutante ball,  writing

    Dragons and Daily Word Count Goals

    Today I’m over at The Debutante Ball, where I blog every Wednesday, talking about the unlikely link between dragons, seasonal affective disorder, and writing goals. Here’s a sneak preview: Winter is coming. No, this is not a post about Game of Thrones, though I do love me some dragons and wildlings. We’ll talk about the HBO medieval fantasy series some other time. Really, though. Winter is coming. Even though we’ve had some lovely fall days lately, I can feel the light waning, the change creeping in. The sun is getting further away, its warmth weaker. Sorry to be a downer, but this week’s topic is “seasons” of writing and productivity. This is a…

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  • books,  food,  kitchen

    Julia Child on Obeying Your Whims

    Kickass women, from any period in history, never cease to inspire. Julia Child was one of those women, which is why multi-published author Karen Karbo chose to write about her for the latest book in the Kickass Women series, Julia Child Rules.  Other subjects in Karbo’s series—which are one part biography, one part humor essay, with a dash of motivational speaking tossed in—include Katherine Hepburn, Georgia O’Keefe, and Coco Chanel. Hmmm. Art, fashion, film, and food? Why have we never had lunch, Ms. Karbo? Oh, because you live in Portland. Each chapter of Karbo’s book, Julia Child Rules, lays out a truism that Julia preached and practiced in her life.…

  • agents,  authors,  books,  creativity,  debut author,  lawyer life,  literature,  moms

    Taking Five for the People Behind the Scenes of Vintage

    Today I’m over at The Debutante Ball, where I blog every Wednesday, talking about the people who helped make my debut novel, VINTAGE, possible. Here’s a sneak preview: It takes more than one person to write a novel, and any author who doesn’t admit that is either lying or an egomaniac. In my case, it took a whole lot of people for VINTAGE to go from a glimmer of an idea to a manuscript to a real-life book that hits bookstores in March. Here are five of them, or five categories of people, since I couldn’t actually narrow it down to just five individuals. First, there was my very patient husband,…

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  • debut author,  fashion,  publishing,  vintage,  writing

    I’m a debutante at 34

    Lately, I’ve been dusting off my dancing shoes and picking out the perfect string of pearls. Why, you might ask? Because I learned this month that I’ve been selected as one of five authors to join the Class of 2014 at The Debutante Ball, a blog for debut authors, now in its eighth season. Of course, at thirty-four, I’m a little old to be a real debutante, of the white dress and perfect pedigree variety. But apparent it’s not that old to be making a debut of the literary kind. Laura Ingalls Wilder didn’t publish her first novel until she was sixty-five. The Debutante Ball, a group blog on all things…

  • books,  contests,  vintage

    And the winner is…

    Thank you so very much to everyone who tweeted, linked, and otherwise shared the cover reveal contest for my novel, Vintage.  This was my first giveaway on the blog, and I really felt the love when I saw Vintage’s cover being shared far and wide. I used Rafflecopter to organize the giveaway and pick the winner at random. And so, without further adieu, the winner of the $50 Amazon gift card is…. Congratulations, Jaye! And, in a lovely bit of kismet, Jaye’s first novel is coming out in 2014, too! It’s a YA novel called No Place to Fall. Can’t wait to see her cover when it comes out. Thank you again…

  • fiction,  giveaways,  vintage,  writing

    Vintage Cover Reveal and Giveaway

    I am beyond excited to share with you the cover for my debut novel, VINTAGE, which will be released on March 25, 2014, and is available for pre-order now at Barnes & Noble, Amazon, IndieBound, or your favorite bookstore.   When my publisher, William Morrow/HarperCollins, first shared the cover with me, I couldn’t believe that it looked almost exactly like the cover image I’d had in my head. I had always pictured VINTAGE with a shop window on its cover, since the story centers on a Midwestern vintage clothing shop and a group of women who eventually transform the store and each others’ lives. And now, I am so very…

  • authors,  books,  fiction,  literature,  madison,  recipes,  seasonal,  summer,  sweets

    A French Dessert and a Fresh Read

    For me, one of summer’s great joys is scarfing down mass quantities of berries and stone fruits. Another one of the season’s pleasures is sitting in a shaded spot, curled up with a good book. When the two converge? Serendipity. Last week, the fruit box delivered by my CSA farm was packed tight with eight pounds of sweet cherries. My husband, son, and I stuffed as many into our mouths as we could. Immediately. When we wiped the red juice from our faces, though, we still had quite a few cherries left. Enter, The Good Luck Girls of Shipwreck Lane, the delightful debut novel by Kelly Harms that I happened to be…

  • books,  geekery,  gifts,  vintage,  writing

    Gifts for Book Nerds

    The best gift for a book nerd is, of course, a book. And giving books is easier than ever. Good, old-fashioned paper books are a classic gift and double as decor on a bookshelf when the recipient has finished them. But did you know that you can give specific titles to e-reader owners, too? Yep. Most titles for Kindle and Nook now have a “Give as a Gift” button that allows you to buy that specific book for your recipient. I love this instantaneous and eco-friendly approach to gift-giving. But let’s say you need a little something to go with that beach read or thriller or latest biography. Something appropriate…

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  • creativity,  fiction,  film,  reviews

    In Defense of Gatsby

    I went to see the The Great Gatsby a couple of weekends ago, and I loved every over-the-top second of it. (No spoilers here, by the way, even if you’ve never read the novel). I know it’s been skewered in reviews. The Washington Post gave it two stars. Ouch. CNN called it garish, and The Independent said it lacks subtlety. Well, yes. I don’t know about you, but I don’t expect subtlety when I see movies directed by Baz Luhrmann. I mean, this is the director who gave us the epic Australia. He gave us Prince tunes and drag queens in his 1996 version of Romeo and Juliet. The whores’…

  • 80s,  fashion,  style,  trends

    Yes, you can wear neon

    Yes, you, thirtysomething, fortysomething and beyond. You, in the Dansko clogs. I see you there. Some people say that if you’ve worn a trend once in your life, you can’t wear it again when it comes around a second (or third) time. To that I say hooey. You can wear it again, but you might have to wear it in a different way. For example, maybe you can’t pull off the neon jeans shown below. Maybe, like me, you wore similar yellow jeans to a YMCA dance in eighth grade and simply hate to be seen in the same look twice. (That’s my story and I’m sticking to it. The…