We interrupt this blog for an announcement. My actor son Michael had a co-star on Rosewood last night. He was great.

The end.

Note to Maggie Stiefvater: My spellcheck recognized your name. I believe this is the pinnacle of success. I just finished the last book of the Raven Boys cycle. Spellcheck is right.

The ending made me cry, because

1. It’s beautiful
2. Now the series is over
3. I didn’t write it.

*I have tweeted about this a few** times, but I’m not a literary stalker, honest. Merely an OA who loves YA

**Possibly more

Three-hour critique group, four hours writing at my coffee place. This was not an attempt to avoid cleaning my house. I would have avoided it anyway.

*Pretend you care. It will increase my sense of self worth

The Lithuanian  ambassador Vygaudas Ušackas.** His driver helped. He was very nice, but not famous.

*Actually, there’s only been one. It’s a very short street.

**He also gave us some excellent tea and an odd brandy whose name I forget

The two attractive young people a few tables away from me in my writing place are clearly on a blind date. They are also having a loud discussion about getting toilet paper stuck to the bottom of their shoes. Romance is in the air!

Someone contacted me today and asked if I’d like to form a critique group. I said ‘yes.’ That makes three. I figure that’s one more day a month I have an excuse not to organize my office.

Our pianist has been trying to get us to perform at her church since the Middle Ages.*

She wept afterwards.** This would be a first, for us, as our show could be accurately described as, “Not King Lear.”

*Refers to me, as opposed to an historical period.

**With joy, or possibly relief.

I find croissants more inspiring than bagels when I write, but they get more crumbs on my computer.

How much time a day/week do you get to write? When is the best time for you to write (morning or night)?

You can find me bent over my laptop, sipping a latte, and eating a cookie at my favorite coffee place for three hours nearly every afternoon. This is old news to my blog readers who are seriously tired of reading my latte-centric posts.

Did you go to college for writing?

No. I went for a practical degree. BFA Music Voice Performance

What bothers you more: spelling errors, punctuation errors or grammar errors?

I ain’t conserned about that stuff?

What is the best writing advice that anyone has given you?

Write —given to me by a Pulitzer Prize winner.*

What advice would you give to another writer?

See above

*Absolutely true

 

 

What’s the name of your favourite* character and why?

I’m shamelessly in love with Dani Rosen, protagonist of my YA mystery Dread & Breakfast, now in final edit stage. Dani is a street smart, wiseass, Brooklyn Jewish girl with an ongoing inner monologue that’s usually funny and sometimes (understatement) inappropriate. Sample conversation.

Nick throws me a look and shifts into creep mode again.

“So, Dani, tell us something about yourself.”

Yes, I use birth control, I’m legal, and I’m a 34D. If you make any attempt to verify that, I will cut your balls off.

     “Oh, not much to tell. I live in Sherier, Maryland. I’m a senior at Sherier High. My goal in life is to be the next Meryl Streep, and my first choice school is NYU. I’m desperate to get back to New York.”

*First clue that I didn’t write these questions. It was some nice British person.