I’ve got a new story out about Oregon ghost towns and thought I’d check in with my friend Sheldon Traver about the best way to photograph them. Sheldon’s a professional photographer, so when his daughter was ready to do a senior portrait photo shoot, he jumped at the chance to photographer her at some of […]
Things are getting real over at the Emily Grosvenor studio, ahem, in the corner room where I pound out my words every morning. So real, in fact, that I’ve made a real fake book cover for my current writing project. Why? I believe firmly in the power of visual dreaming. It’s been a bit of […]
You might recognize this feeling I’ve been having. The summer is ending and I am completely unmoored from my writing routine. My own reason is specific to the work-at-home mom whose kids are there all summer and who gets hammered with freelance work, but really, all of our reasons are the same. Life gets in […]
I’m talking writer websites this Thursday to a great group, the Washington County Writers Forum. As with all my talks, my goal is to give people in the audience actionable steps for making their big projects happen. Writer websites are a problem. Most are just placeholders, somebody out there standing in place, waiting to be […]
My partner and I celebrated our 11-year anniversary yesterday in bang-up, Oregon wine country picnic style. Just like for our original honeymoon, when he indulged me by taking me to the writers’ homes in the Berkshires (hello, Edith Wharton’s Mount!), Adam was more than happy to step into my idea of bliss: Opera in the […]
Small towns slay summer doldrums. Don’t believe me? In Oregon wine country, it’s actually possible to fill all those late sunsets with every kind of party and none of the hassle. With a scene set for late-night strolls, nightlife that is just happening enough, and spaces meant to maximize the easy living of the wine country lifestyle, McMinnville might be just the right place to go big on summer.
Traveling as a lifestyle habit and professional reason of existing is one thing. Truly relaxing is another entirely. I usually don’t relax while I travel. I am fully engaged, feeling ALL the things, trying to find the way in and the transformation that can happen through a change of perspective. So when I want to […]
A couple of months ago I finally bit the bullet and dyed my hair pink. The flood of Pinterest images with awesome pink hairstyles, a lingering Barbie fetish from my youth, and the realization that everything I love came into my life when I was in fourth grade made me decide to just go for […]
If there’s one thing I hear most from people who work from home, it’s the challenge of ignoring household duties to focus on your work. The struggle is real. In my decade of professional creative work I’ve developed a lot of jedi mind tricks for getting in the zone. But today I’m going to offer […]
I’m waist-deep in a new memoir book proposal. The juices are flowing, the words seem to be flying off my fingers (my mom, a typing teacher, would be so proud!) and I’ve got that thrilling new project feeling. But I know myself. I am very good at starting projects. There’s little at stake in starting, […]
