The historian tells you what happened.
The novelist will tell you what it felt like.
-E.L. Doctorow
Across oceans and centuries, my novels follow characters changed by events as drastic as a plague or as small as a thought. I love history, especially those periods, like the sixteenth century, that changed man’s entire way of thinking.
My stories are important, but so are yours. I founded the Village Writing School to teach people how to write their stories in the most engaging way. When I’m speaking at a conference on the power of words or teaching a workshop on subtext, I’m thinking how important some of the stories in that audience may be.
Beyond writing and teaching, I try to be a good person because the greatest act of creation is to fashion a beautiful life.
To Not Be Silent
"We have said this not in order to say something, but in order not to remain altogether silent." -- Augustine of Hippo Not to remain altogether silent. What a modest, humble goal. We don't know if our words have any innate value or if anyone will find anything of use...
The Tension between Art & Life
Art is part of the larger ecosystem of our lives. Organic, growing and changing constantly, it lives within the interplay of all we experience. Our task is to create from the deepest place possible for that is where we are connected to the mystery that is All. The...
Creating a Meaningful Pause
Dear Readers & Writers: A long pause. Is that what all this feels like to you? Even if you’ve gone back to work or never stopped, does the rest of your life seem off-kilter? Do you find that your old routines are no longer working? Did you find that the...