Category: Writing
A Mother’s Memory of Her son’s bootcamp graduation.
Some years ago, I took an emeritus class at U.C. Irvine in travel writing. There I learned that a travel essay needs to be more than a travelogue. To grab readers, travel writing should also have attitude. The writer’s voice is essential, as it is through their eyes the reader views the adventure. I hope…
My Research Addiction
And a Word About Fact-Checking. MY LOVE OF RESEARCH COMES from childhood. I was raised in a home where the Encyclopedia Britannica held a place of honor. I spent countless hours sitting cross-legged in front of the bookcase poring through the heavy maroon-colored volumes. My children were brought up in the same tradition. Now we…
The Memory of Smells
PETER NOTICED THE SCENT of lavender first and looked up from cleaning the meat slicer. The young woman peered into his glass case. Under her loose dress, her pregnant belly was noticeably bigger than the last time she came into the shop. “Please, Mr. Whitacre,” she said. “I’d like two of those lovely white chicken…
Editing 1, 2, 3
EVEN MORE THAN THE PROCESS of writing a first draft, I actually enjoy editing. For me, editing in all its phases is akin to polishing and refining a rough gemstone until it shines. Like any craftsman, I take the work one stage at a time, gradually changing my manuscript into what I hope will be…
A Man In Love With His Wife.
Sicily, near Palermo. 1972 We met Albert and Rosalia fifty years ago, and our few minutes of friendship shine in my memory. Tom and I were on the honeymoon of a lifetime, living in a Volkswagen van and traveling from one continent to another, from one country to another. Twenty-four hours before, we had endured…
Inside a Book
Book design is the graphic art of determining the visual and physical characteristics of a book. (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Book_design) Open a book, and what do you see? Words. There may be illustrations or a map, but most of all there are pages and pages of those wonderful words and sentences we writers labor to place in ways…
Finding the Women’s Story Buried in Immigrant Soldier
A Mother and Daughter Relationship Revealed. ________________________________________________________________________________________ I WAS COMPELLED TO WRITE my first novel, Immigrant Soldier, because the true story of my uncle’s role in Patton’s Third Army grabbed me and would not let me go. Herman’s Jewish blood branded him in Nazi eyes, forced him to flee his homeland, and landed him in the…
Resolutions
Happy New Year! Have you made a 2021 resolution? Years ago, I swore I would never again waste my resolution on “losing weight.” Though I usually succeeded with a dozen pounds or more in the short term, by the time January rolled around again, the efforts I had made would be buried under the joys of…
Covid-19 Journals
Recently I spent a few hours looking through my dozens of travel journals. As I flipped through the pages, it occurred to me that now, during the Covid-19 pandemic, would be a good time to keep a diary. Unlike many who love to write, I’ve never been a consistent journalist. In fact, the only times…