Every night when I go to bed, I promise myself that tomorrow will be the day I show up to write at 9am. I think we all know how the next morning goes. Why else would I be making the same promise night after night since 2009? No matter how many times I promise myself…
Writing and the Zen of Hitting: Getting Past Self-Doubt
“Never let the fear of striking out keep you from playing the game.” – Babe Ruth From age 11-14, I played summer softball. For four years, I consistently led my team in strikeouts and walks. Hits on the other hand? Not so much. Okay, I sucked. It wasn’t that I couldn’t hit the ball. I…
Barb’s Book Reviews
Hey Gang – happy spring! You may have noticed a few changes. I’m redoing the website to reflect my new writing direction. I’m hoping to go for a fun, happy vibe. I’ve also switched up recommended reads. The monthly roundup is now called Barb’s Book Reviews. I thought that was more descriptive and to the…
Retro Cocktail of the Month: The Manhattan
Behind the Scenes: The Picture that Started it All
I can’t remember if I shared these photographs with you or not. It was the summer of 1984. My friends and I had the day off from our summer jobs and, as drama majors and creative types are wont to do, decided to conduct photoshoot around our hometown. We pulled out some of our hippest…
Big Dog Summer Returns: Going All In
I quit my bookseller’s job yesterday. Let me say up front that I loved working at my local Barnes & Noble. I learned a lot and not just about books and store operations. It introduced me to books I would never have read. What’s more, working with young people helped me better understand things like…
Barb’s Recommended Reads
Much of this short month was taken up with reading Diane Arbus: Portrait of a Photographer by Arthur Lubow as I was doing research. Takes a while to read 752 pages. Fortunately, I also managed to squeeze in some really fun reads as well. The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe by C.S. Lewis: Viewers…
Retro Cocktail Friday!
A Few Thoughts on Biographical Fiction
One of the hottest trends in historical fiction right now is biographical fiction, particularly of unsung females in history. Readers, if Goodreads and Amazon are to believed, love them. Me? I’m on the fence. There have been a few books that have blown me away (looking at you Island Queen), but for the most part,…
Behind the Scenes of my WIP: The Silver Factory
A look at the inspiration and historical research behind my latest work The Silver Factory In 1963, artist Andy Warhol visited a haircutting party held at an apartment decked out in silver spray paint and aluminum foil. (Shiny silver being a favorite in amphetamine culture.) Warhol was so taken with the crazy décor – that…