Jun 12, 2019 | On Writing
1. Thou shalt not have strange genres before me. Aspiring authors often tell me, “I don’t want to be typecast.” And I tell them, “You should be so lucky.” Sure, when you’re first starting out, you might have to write in a number of genres before you find your sweet...
Nov 11, 2017 | On Mindfulness, On Writing
When after thirty-plus years of child-rearing I found myself with an empty nest, I needed something to do. Something to help me figure out who I was if I wasn’t a mom, first and foremost. Of course, I had other roles to play: agent, author, editor, significant other,...
Jun 22, 2016 | On Writing
I love writing. I love baseball. And I love the Boston Red Sox. These are the truisms that direct my summers. Like most every writer I know, I have a day job—literary agent—and my own writing takes place outside the 50 to 60 hours a week I dedicate to helping other...
Dec 18, 2014 | On Mindfulness
Books make the best gifts. And giving books is good reading for the receiver, good business for the industry, and good karma for the giver. I need all the good karma I can get, so I give people a lot of books. So many that when my kids inspect the presents under the...
Nov 21, 2014 | On K-9s, On Writing
Telling stories and selling stories—as a writer, editor, and agent—that’s how I spend my days. And most nights, truth be told. I’m one of the lucky ones. I truly love my work—and would do it whether I got paid or not. (Which is just as well, since not getting paid is...
