Goddesses and Doormats
Titles are tough. I pull my hair out over them. I was using End Game for my novel in progress. Then, through my usual late night angst that’s characterized by an iPad and old movies, I discovered this...
View ArticleFull-Time Author, Part-Time Groupie
It started with Stephen King. He was seated at a table on the other side of a vast banquet hall. I knew he was there, though I couldn’t see him as I consumed several glasses of wine, working up my...
View Article1964: The Last World of the Fair
The Sixties were an era rather than a chronological decade. They began on November 22, 1963 and ended on August 9, 1974, bracketed by the events that double-stunned the nation: the assassination of...
View ArticlePrologue, Part II
Hi, All. Last month, I posted Part I of the Prologue to my novel in progress. Here’s Part II: Pell College had been transforming doe-eyed girls into proud, confident women ever since 1823. “Longer than...
View ArticleNo Rest For The Vacation-Weary
It’s summer, which means every other TV commercial I see is from some state’s tourism bureau. Here in New Jersey, we get a lot of commercials for New York, Connecticut, New Hampshire, Michigan, Florida...
View ArticleAlgonquin Round Table: Movie Memories
Tom Sawyer’s post last week about the trouble with modern-day movies struck a chord here at Algonquin Redux. We all agreed that, by and large, they just don’t make ‘em like they used to. (And this...
View ArticleAlgonquin Round Table: Caped Crusaders
Last week marked the start of San Diego Comic-Con, an annual gathering of comic book, sci-fi and fantasy fans. Many attendees dress up as their favorite characters, creating a parade of caped...
View ArticleAlgonquin Round Table: TV Winners
The Emmy Awards are tonight, which means Hollywood will be patting itself on the back for a season of quality TV. And it has been a season of quality shows, whether you watched them online, on Netflix...
View ArticleMethod Writing
A first for me on Algonquin Redux. Maybe on the web at large for anyone, although that’s a bold and difficult thing to claim and prove. I am composing this post on my typewriter. Old school. To...
View ArticleEVERYDAY HEROES COME IN MANY FORMS
How many times have you heard someone say, “You dirty dog” or “You’re worse than an animal?” Phrases like these demean animals and imply that humans who behave badly are animal-like, less human....
View ArticleStrange Request at a Funeral Home
I published a book in 2001 called Cemetery Stories. We’re in the Halloween season, so this excerpt seems appropriate. I interviewed a lot of people for this book and one of my favorites tales features...
View ArticleMaster Class
So there I was, just like Rodney Dangerfield. Remember that movie? “Listen, Sherlock! While you were tucked away up here working on your ethics, I was out there busting my hump in the REAL world.”...
View ArticleOwls Made of Shells
I am getting ready to prune my library. This hygienic effort is necessary every few years unless you are the kind of person—we all know a few—who is a first-rank bibliohoarder. I am not one of those....
View ArticleRemember When?
The world is moving at light speed. Mobile phones, social media, and tablets, have put us instantly into a new world. The iPhone that you are holding right now, because you are holding it or it is in...
View ArticleBethlehemicity
I was born in Bethlehem. On Christmas Eve. There was a star. Absolutely, literally true. Those statements show how deceptive the whole truth can be. It’s all about context. Here’s the context: I am...
View ArticleThe Argument Faze
I think Virginia Woolf stated it beautifully a while back, but lately the ‘room of my own’ has taken on a whole new meaning for me. If I was to rent out a room in my house to someone, I would think...
View ArticleThe spirit photographs of William Mumler
Before there was Photoshop, there was William Mumler. He was a photographer in the 1860s, back when the art form was still relatively new and startling innovations were being made every day. Mumler’s...
View ArticleTruth and Parable
Years ago, I heard a story that stuck with me and has been one that I’ve shared at writers conferences around the country ever since. Here it is, short and sweet, a little parable about….parables. Long...
View ArticleDo I Scare You?
One day over lunch, I showed my editor a ring I’d bought in New Orleans. “It’s a poison ring,” I explained, showing her the secret compartment while gleefully speculating about some toxic powder that...
View ArticleA Dear Algonquin (Abby) Moment
Heading out to various writer’s events, listening to authors on panels talk about everything from their projects to handing out writing advice, is an absolute thrill for me. I like learning more no...
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