“What is a work of art?” seems as profound a question as, “Why are we here?” After centuries of debate, we modern humans are no closer to defining art than was the caveman. The subject just keeps getting more complicated. Recently, a painting created by an elephant sold at auc

I’ve been following a woman’s blog for a while because it’s well written and gives a glimpse into the rhythms of life in a small community. Sydney Stevens lives in Oysterville, Oregon — a place famous for its oyster beds — and is the author of several histories which

I had lunch recently with a woman with whom I’d previously corresponded but never met. She works for the alumnae publication of my college and has always been careful to print notices about each of my books. I decided the time had come to thank her by inviting her to lunch. I’m gl

As a blog writer with a few books behind me, I get numerous questions about how to find an agent or a publisher or how to promote books. As to the latter, I haven’t a clue. Why some writers get attention and others don’t is a mystery to me. But I do know queries about finding a pu

Don Merrill did a radio interview on my new book and my thoughst on writing.  It’s a half hour long.  Know everyone is busy, I’m providing the link here for anyone who might be curious: http://kboo.fm/node/53328 I hope those of you who listen will enjoy it.     &nb

Todd Purdum in February’s Vanity Fair catalogues the decline of the human condition. He notes, for example, that technology has made privacy obsolete. Gone, too, is the power of nation states, superseded by the multi-national elite — corporations and multibillionaires who play

Recently, I received a rejection for a story I’d submitted to a literary magazine. It came with the standard explanation: the material does not meet our editorial needs. Okay, I can accept rejection. A writer must. But I won’t accept the request that came with it: that I purchase

According to my birth sign, I’m an organized individual. In my personal life, that’s true. I keep files with the names and phone numbers of friends long since dead, and my business calendars go as far back as the 80s. I’m not a pack rat. But I live in a museum of paper records,

Yesterday I wrote a check for $25 to one of those electronic services that promises to distribute information about my book, Trompe l’Oeil to 500 bloggers and various social media sites. To be honest, as a form of advertisement, I suspect I might just as well have written the title

A local newspaper recently wrote the following about my new novel, Trompe l’Oeil: Suspense builds as the reader tries to decipher what is real and what is illusion. Ms. Miller’s knowledge of literature and poetry is cleverly interjected into the story giving the book traces of mor