Proof Positive

Because to the reader, a book goes from vague idea to hardback-in-hand, I’m doing a series of blog posts (no spoilers!) about the actual process for The Lantern’s Dance. (Though rest assured—it’s still pretty magical.) I’ve just finished the proof pages—those pages where the much-marked-up manuscript is formatted to look like the actual final hardback.…

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Not Just a Pretty Face: Cover Art

(Because what I do for a living often seems like magic—I come up with an idea and *POOF* the book’s in your hand—I thought I might do a series of blog posts (no spoilers!) about the actual process. (Though rest assured—it’s still pretty magical.) In the publishing world, cover art comes before the book is…

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Feeling the Draft(s), First to Final

Because what I do for a living often seems like magic—I come up with an idea and *POOF* you have the book in your hand—I thought I might do a series of spoiler-free blog posts about the actual process. (Though rest assured—it’s still pretty magical.) April 1: first draft sent. (I talk about the earlier…

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The Business of Writing: The Editor (2)

Last day of February, the last of February’s posts celebrating 30 years of A Grave Talent. ** About a year after Grave Talent came out in 1993, St. Martins Press published The Beekeeper’s Apprentice. Two months later, in April, 1994, Grave Talent won the Edgar award for Best First Novel. Nonetheless, the sub-editor in charge of the…

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The Case of the Upside-Down Hebrew

A Grave Talent, as my first book was dedicated to my husband, Noel–in Hebrew, which is only right between two scholars. Amos 3:4 means, more or less, Can two people walk together unless they be in agreement? I know, scholars are really romantic, right?     Now, there are two mysteries here (beyond the mystery of…

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The Business of Writing: Your Friend, The Agent

Part of the 30-year anniversary celebration of A Grave Talent. Like most first novelists, I had no clue about how to run my life as a business. In 1993, the only people who did self-publishing were the desperate souls who just HAD to have a volume to put in the hands of family and friends.…

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A Writer to Watch!

Part of the month-long celebration of A Grave Talent, the Edgar-winning first novel about SFPD Inspector Kate Martinelli that started my writing career. One of the surprises I found as a new author was that people not only read the book, but talked about it as if it mattered. Take reviews: who knew they were…

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Writing Kate

(Celebrating the 30th anniversary of A Grave Talent, here’s part of a 2017 post on Kate Martinelli.) Grave Talent began with two ideas: What would Rembrandt look like if he were a woman? And, Can I write a novel in which the protagonist does nothing? The question of women in what are generally assumed to be…

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Mom’s Christmas Cookies

If Dad produced odd German spicy treats every year (as my recent post talked about), my mother could be depended on for the kinds of cookies you could give to the postman without imagining his puzzled look. Mostly sweet, best eaten fresh, and decorative. Some were super-sweet, like her “Matrimonials.” She produced decorated butter cookies, of…

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Bees Abroad

I had a perfectly charming Zoom meet on Friday with members of Bees Abroad, an organization in the UK that trains & supports African women & those with disabilities to become Beekeepers for Life. But these lovely people not only teach beekeeping skills, they also help people figure out how to sell honey and beeswax…

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