Mama Says #38

Me? Personally, I like seasons. Not extreme ones, mind you, but gentle indications of movement through the seasons of my life. Mom hates winter too much to put up with it in exchange for surprises of spring and fall. Her weather report from south Florida is usually...

Who Decides a Book’s Title?

I like to tell people the titles of my new books. I just don’t always know the titles. Here’s how it goes. A writer pulls her hair out trying to come up with a zinger of a title that will grab an agent or editor’s attention. Then you sell the project—which may or may...

One Reason to Read Your Old Notes

Old notes follow you around. I had this note about bindweed written in a small notebook for about a year. Then I ripped it out of the notebook and put it in a folder in my office for a long time. I keep looking at it. It’s about bindweed. I made the note one day after...

Mama Says #37

One lazy Sunday afternoon Mom and I were talking about some recent event in the news. I can’t say we really knew much about it. I can well imagine Mom on her chair on the lanai, waving her hand as she said, “If they don’t print it up on the sky over...

How Many Editors Does One Book Need?

Over the winter I had a short-term job. I signed on for seven months with an organization producing textbooks. The project was mid-stream, and the commitment was just until the books went to press. I’ve been away for a couple of months now. Last week the printed books...