It’s been a long time coming. After eight years of researching, writing, and rewriting, and another four years seeking a publisher, my debut novel Line of Flight is publishing with Köehler Books on November 17. I still can’t quite believe it. Maybe when my advanced copies arrive in the next few weeks, it will finally […]
Some Progress on the Publishing Front
I’m thrilled to share the news that an excerpt from Line of Flight has published in the online literary journal, The Writing Disorder (such an appropriate title for this pursuit)! “The Sinking” takes place on the doomed last voyage of the Lusitania. Can’t say more, or I’d spoil it. I hope you enjoy reading it! […]
Resonance
For me, writing is musical. It’s also a quest for precision. How do I channel these images and feelings in my mind and heart into words on the page? Metaphor is, of course, one way to get there, through the back door of memory. Emotional associations with a sound, a smell, a sight or taste […]
Of Blood Transfusions and Brain Magnets
To say that World War I was gruesome is to understate the obvious. Updated weapons—like the 600-bullets-per-minute, rapid-fire machine gun, with a range of more than 1,000 yards—decimated infantries. Chlorine gas, phosgene, and mustard gas maimed more than killed, but caused devastating lung and skin damage. Hellish flame throwers terrorized troops. Deadly ordinance destroyed armies […]
Wordsong
When I write, I hear music. In the words, that is. Some writers play favorite music in the background while writing. I don’t. It distracts me from hearing melodies as they emerge from the page. I can trace my awareness of word rhythms to the beginning of my professional writing career decades ago, in public […]
In the Query Trenches
I’ve been sending out queries for Line of Flight since November, about 10 months, now. So much for any naive assumptions that I’d find a literary agent sooner than later. I’m up to about 40 queries, so far, and have received a variety of form letter rejections and a couple of more personal notes, as […]