My Writerly Life

  • HARDING: THIS OTHER EDEN

    Paul Harding roared onto the literary scene in 2010 by winning the Pulitzer for his first novel, Tinkers—a beautiful work of art marked by its rhythmic prose reflective of his musical background. Harding’s third novel, This Other Eden, certainly maintains his reputation for lyrical, complex writing that forces you past the surface plot into deeper… Read more

  • THE CRAFT OF WRITING

    Let me start with an admission that no writing conference would dare ask me to lecture because I am far too blunt with young writers. The average conference wants every kind of budding author to come, enjoy, return; I want to share the truth about the rigors of our craft. I have this firm belief… Read more

  • ROSSETTI’S GOBLIN MEN

    Almost 30 years ago I came upon a tiny “gift book” containing Christina Rossetti’s 567-line ballad Goblin Market, illustrated by the art of her brother Dante Gabriel Rossetti. Back then I was a businesswoman, years removed from my early college classes in English literature, so I did not tend to “analyze” my reads quite so… Read more

  • GET BACK ON THE HORSE

    Because of my Texas beginnings, I suppose, I have this fascination with westerners who have a rural or ranching background, move out and up in the city environment, but retain their love for and lessons learned in their beginnings—and I often write about western women. When Betty Sue Morris was a young girl, she was… Read more