An acquaintance of mine recently congratulated me on my new book, Trompe l’Oeil, my third in five years and sighed that she wished her current biography, which she’s been working on for five years, didn’t require so much research. Her implication was that a fiction writer can kn

When I was young, I took an interest in people whose lives led them along roads less traveled and yet who were influential. Rasputin was one. He lived in the 19th century as a religious pilgrim and was embraced as a healer by Alexandra, the last Czarina of Russia. Count Calistoga was

In my critical reading the other day, I came across a name I failed to recognize: Roland Barthes. Looking him up, I l discovered he was scholar of language and art who argued in Death of the Author that the moment a work is finished, it should be viewed as an object severed from its c

“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 Gone, too, is the power of nation states, superseded by the multi-national elite — corporations and multibillionaires who play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