After I signed my contract with Griffyn Ink, Eli Jackson, indie publisher badass, sent me an envelope with two really nice pens. The enclosed note said they were for signing copies when my book came out. I put them in my desk box, the closest thing I have to a...
I listen to music when I write. It helps set my mood and puts me in the place I need to be with the characters. Who by Water was influenced by a copious amount of Leonard Cohen, both back catalogue and his last release You Want It Darker. At some point, I imagined...
If you'd like your very own copy of my shiny, new book when it drops on May 4 you can purchase it any number of ways. Preorder the paperback on Amazon Preorder the Kindle ebook Preorder the iBook version Preorder the GooglePlay ebook Autographed copies (will ship...
Sunday I'll be hurtling over the Atlantic on a return visit to Slovenia with my son in tow. I've got more research to do, an article on Slovenian microbreweries to write, and a need to show Julian the Alps he's named for. The thought of being there again still gives...
I have been walking around with a completely stunned expression on my face for at least two days. The book is real. It's for sale. My. Book. Is. For. Sale. Well, it's available for pre-order. I've never really understood that word. Is pre-order really a thing? I mean...
There's a cover! (I'm not saying there's video of me jumping up and down with excitement anywhere, but there could be.) And, there are book launch events scheduled and getting scheduled. If you'd like to know when I'll be out in the world showing off my new baby like...
This is an edited repost from my previous blog ars culinaria. It originally appeared in January 2010 but still captures my feelings about Twelfth Night and midwinter. The old winter season of merrymaking kicked off on All Saints’ Day in November and lasted straight...
Thanksgiving is in two days as I write this. I've ordered the turkey and braved the grocery. I'll start cooking tomorrow with a batch of my mom's cornbread - without the sugar - for her Down South dressing from the 1940s edition of the Good Housekeeping Cookbook. I...
My husband and son would be the first to let you know that I am not the placidly calm human I am often mistaken for. I don't think I have a very good poker face, which makes me think what people take for an even-keeled visage is actually my panic and/or conflict...
I've been back in Knoxville over a year. That year mark is usually where I start to feel like I live somewhere, a new space, a new place. The transition here has been different than my last few moves which were all just to new rentals in Nashville. Moving back to...