Friendship and ‘A Time to Talk’ with Robert Frost

As we all know,

Christmas is fast approaching,

the silly season has begun,

in gift shops,

in department stores,

kids unable to settle in the classroom,

grass is brown and dry,

barbecue grills are being checked,

sunscreen is stockpiled,

food is flying off the supermarket shelves,

chlorine levels are dosed,

wrapping paper is being unfurled,

groups are having break-up parties,

bells jingle in the hands of Santa as he strolls through the mall,

queues in to the carpark,

queues out of the carpark,

tempers rise,

decisions have to be made about Christmas lunch,

European or Australian,

the temperature is predicted to be in the high 30°s Celsius,

the air-conditioning struggles at midday,

birds welcome the water in birdbaths,

dog water bowls appear outside cafés,

hats and beach umbrellas are selling fast,

flashy new decorations for an old tree,

family car washed and waxed ready to collect grandparents,

music is Christmas themed,

commercials blare out what we need for a happy fun festive season,

there is more than one man behind Christmas,

the wealth in the world prefers to use a generic symbol,

An old lady sits alone on the edge of her bed,

tears in her eyes,

sad for what is lost,

sad for who has gone,

that t-shirt-stained boy who sits on a park bench,

heatwaves shimmering off the concrete path,

wondering if he will see his Dad,

wondering if he will get a present,

put it under the tree he created from twigs,

we need each other,

we need our friends,

text a lunch date,

money spent at Christmastime isn’t going to mean much,

if there’s nobody to reminisce with in the new year,

friends share your life whether it seems like it or not,

they are part of you.

♥ © Gretchen Bernet-Ward

“A Time to Talk”

WHEN a friend calls to me from the road

And slows his horse to a meaning walk,

I don’t stand still and look around

On all the hills I haven’t hoed,

And shout from where I am, What is it?

No, not as there is a time to talk.

I thrust my hoe in the mellow ground,

Blade-end up and five feet tall,

And plod: I go up to the stone wall

For a friendly visit.

Robert Frost (1874–1963)

Poetry Collection “Mountain Interval” 1920

Audre Lorde, Poet

IMG_20191122_203220

Audre Geraldine Lorde was born on February 1934 in New York City, and went on to become a leading African-American poet and essayist who gave voice to issues of race, gender and sexuality.

Lorde’s love of poetry started at a young age, and she began writing as a teenager. She attended Hunter College, working to support herself through school. After graduating in 1959, she went on to get a master’s degree in library science from Columbia University in 1961 and was head librarian at Town School Library in New York City.

‘The Black Unicorn’ (1978), a volume in which Lorde explored her African heritage, is considered one of her greatest works by many critics. In addition to poetry, Lorde was a powerful essayist and writer.

In terms of her nonfiction work, Lorde is best remembered for ‘The Cancer Journals’ (1980) in which she documents her own struggle with breast cancer. She died November 1992 on the US island of St. Croix.

Information from The Biography.com website https://www.biography.com/scholar/audre-lorde

Citation Information

Article Title
Audre Lorde Biography

Author
Biography.com Editors

Website Name
The Biography.com website

Access Date
November 27, 2019

Publisher
A&E Television Networks

Last Updated
April 16, 2019

♥ Gretchen Bernet-Ward

Publishing, Bookselling and a Bus

In November I attended two important events for any emerging writer – publishing and bookselling. There is a bonus short story at the end of my report.

The first event I attended was “Pathways to Publishing” at Brisbane Square Library CBD hosted by Kylie Kaden, Carolyn Martinez and David Bobis. Dr Kate Steele was unable to attend but there was much advice to hear and many questions to ask. No trade secrets here. The photos (below) show the tilted windows behind the speakers platform but not a clear view of the Victoria Bridge and the ferries going up and down the Brisbane River.

The Discussion Panel

Kylie Kaden is an internationally published author of women’s fiction, Carolyn Martinez is the Director of Hawkeye Publishing and David Bobis writes fiction short stories for newspapers and magazines. Pantera Press and Alison Green were mentioned and I made a note that editor Lauren Daniels of Brisbane Writers Workshop is an exponent of “show not tell” method.

One hour flew by. However, I’m too lazy to embrace the promotional rigors of self-publishing. I did learn that persistence pays off. Flipside: if you are traditionally published your publisher takes the weight off but the finished product is up to them, cover design and all. Meanwhile I must try to write a completed manuscript.

BCC Silent Book Club — Just wanted to add this Brisbane City Council library poster. Good idea or bad idea? Uncomfortable or relaxed? Weird or fun? I haven’t made up my mind if this would work for me. I think I’d be too busy watching the other readers. GBW.

Got a load of newly minted books in boxes in your hallway?
Congrats, next comes The Bookselling

The second event I attended was GenreCon Night Market held at State Library of Queensland, South Bank. The whole event ran for three days but I was there on Friday evening in my brand-new capacity as Secretary for Society of Women Writers Qld Inc sharing a table with two authors Toni Risson and Mocco Wollert. Further down the room were Australian Authors, FAWQ, Virginia Miranda, Russell Perry and Indrani Ganguly. We were surrounded by authors of every genre hoping to sell their nicely displayed wares. Yes, cash and I were soon parted.

State Library has many rooms but this room is stunning with a mirrored ceiling and one end open to the balmy night breeze. The permanent wall display cases are crowded with valuable antique tea cups and saucers.

GenreCon QWC Brisbane Nov 2019 002 — GenreCon 2019 featured a smorgasbord of leading names in Australian and international genre fiction. They had a spectacular line up of panels, workshops, author talks and special events where you could join over 200 writers, editors, agents and publishers for three days of celebrating genre plus Night Market, Costume Gala, GenreCon Badge and Conference Pack https://genrecon.com.au/

The venue filled up and was buzzing from 5pm-9pm but unfortunately nobody knew there was a Meet & Greet in another section with food and wine, so by the end of the night we were famished.

Early on, a cup of hot coffee had spilled across our table. It soaked a lovely tablecloth which had to be discreetly removed. I scored a beverage-damaged book which I shall enjoy reading even if the aroma of caffeine tingles my tastebuds.

No book sales for our table but it was a night of lively conversation and I handed out several SWWQ membership leaflets.

Your Bonus Reading

Being an exponent of public transport on both occasions I travelled to and from the venues in council buses. Waiting at a city bus stop on a Friday night can be an interesting experience.

I saw the drunk staggering along the pavement and I hoped he and his wildly waving bottle of spirits would keep going. No, he lurched to a stop in front of me. To attract my attention, he bellowed “Hey, hey darlin” and leaned forward. His voice dropped. “I jus wanna say that’s a lovely dress ya wearin.” He let out a cackle and stumbled away, only to stop again. I refused eye contact but I knew he was looking back at me. He shouted in triumph “Bet ya didn’t expect that!” I gave a tiny smile then jumped up and practically ran to my bus.

Guess what? The bus driver was new, took a wrong turn and actually got his whole busload of passengers lost! I didn’t notice until I looked up and had not the foggiest idea where we were. Neither did the bus driver. The bus meandered through the night while we muttered to each other. Thankfully a school teacher-type woman gave him directions on how to get back on route. Good old human navigation.

I’ve no complaints because it was an almost magical Harry Potter experience being somewhere unrecognisable, going down steep streets, swerving around wide corners, passing twinkling cafes and glittering nightclubs. The woman who got us back on track left the bus before me. Eventually I arrived at my stop, none the worse for an unscheduled detour. As I alighted I experienced a twinge of regret for not raising my voice and saying “Thank you” to the woman for her calm control of the situation.

♥ Gretchen Bernet-Ward

Three Things #8

Looking Thinking Reading! Three Things very different this time—Tawny Frogmouths, Blogging Reward plus authors Malcolm Gladwell, Rohan Wilson, Mocco Wollert and Maree Kimberley—mix the sequence, have a sticky-beak. GBW.

LOOKING

On my Home page there was an image of two Tawny Frogmouths which live in my front garden. If you missed it, for your edification I have re-posted my original “Photo Of The Week” image—I change them every Saturday. I think this photo shows the unique adaptability of nature. GBW.

A Tawny Frogmouth Couple in Flame Tree Nov2019 — CAN YOU SPOT THE TAWNY FROGMOUTH? Actually there are two Tawny Frogmouths in my tree. They are night birds with an owl-like appearance but are actually more closely related to the nightjars and they lack the curved talons of owls. The general plumage of the Tawny Frogmouth is silver-grey, slightly paler below, streaked and mottled with black and rufous. During the day, these Tawny Frogmouths perch in the tree, well camouflaged as part of the branches. At night they hunt nocturnal insects, worms, snails, and often catch moths in the air during flight. They make a soft, deep and continuous ‘oom oom oom’ sound. They live all around Australia in a variety of habitats from city to rural areas. GBW. https://australianmuseum.net.au/learn/animals/birds/tawny-frogmouth/

THINKING

Quote “I think the pleasure of completed work is what makes blogging so popular. You have to believe most bloggers have few if any actual readers. The writers are in it for other reasons. Blogging is like work, but without co-workers thwarting you at every turn. All you get is the pleasure of a completed task.” —Scott Adams “Dilbert”.

Gretchen says: Like many things, e.g. press columns, literary reviews, magazine articles, in the blogging world I am only as good as my latest post. This idea isn’t new, and it’s debatable, but there’s so much coming along all the time that nobody has two seconds to scroll through my back posts – except spammers looking for a way in. Accordingly Scott Adams is right, for me it’s the pleasure of completing a task. Reimbursement? Pfft… that ain’t on my cards, baby. GBW.

Quote “And it occurred to me that there is no such thing as blogging. There is no such thing as a blogger. Blogging is just writing—writing using a particularly efficient type of publishing technology.”—Simon Dumenco “Media Guy”.

Gretchen says: Hmm, “just writing” hey? Each and every blogger is using this individualistic approach to writing. And they “publish” their little hearts out. I think blogging is more artistic than “just writing”. Yet I agree with Dumenco. All writers have their own agenda, and possibly two or three outlets, regardless of the name. I accept the term “blogger” because that efficient “publishing technology” supports me as I tread a path of my own making. GBW.

READING

A change of pace.
Four vastly different books.
A mixed bunch of authors.

Talking to Strangers by Malcolm Gladwell.
The #1 New York Times and top ten Sunday Times bestseller quote “I love this book … reading it will actually change not just how you see strangers, but how you look at yourself, the news – the world.” So far I have found nothing new but I will persevere in the hope that something startling will be uncovered considering “No one shows us who we are like Malcolm Gladwell.”
https://www.gladwellbooks.com/

Daughter of Bad Times by Rohan Wilson.
This dystopian novel comes well recommended. “In its vision of the future, Daughter of Bad Times explores the truth about a growing inhumanity, as profit becomes the priority. Supposedly dead, Rin’s lover Yamaan survives a natural disaster and turns up in an immigration detention facility in Australia, no ordinary facility, it’s a corrupt private prison company built to exploit the flood of environmental refugees.”
https://www.allenandunwin.com/authors/w/rohan-wilson

Bloody-Bastard-Beautiful-Mocco-Wollert SWWQ

Bloody Bastard Beautiful by Mocco Wollert.
“The frank and hilarious account of an immigrant girl who follows her German lover to Darwin. Adventurous, loveable and laughable, Mocco captures the heat and vibrancy of Darwin and its larrikins, in a decade where the Northern Territory makes its own rules.” Or as Mocco says “I am on my way to Darwin to find a job. I have no money to buy petrol or oil, man, I am desperate.” I met her at GenreCon and she’s quite a lady.
https://www.boolarongpress.com.au/our-authors/authors-w/mocco-wollert/

Never the Tracked: And other Stories by Maree Kimberley.
At GenreCon, I signed up for Maree’s newsletter and she gave me this booklet of outstanding short stories with a twist. I will be buying her forthcoming book because I love a bit of surrealism. “Coming in late 2020 from Text Publishing, Dirt Circus League is set in modern-day remote Queensland, a YA genre-bending slice of Australian paranormal fantasy and surrealism.”
https://mareekimberley.com.au/

Did I mention that I am a thorough reader? Don’t wait up!

♥ Gretchen Bernet-Ward

HISTORICAL NOTE—One post in three parts “Reading Looking Thinking” a neat idea started by blogger Paula Bardell-Hedley.

Check out Book Jotter her informative, interesting and totally book-related website!

Review ‘The Man in the Water’ by David Burton

David Burton has written an outstanding story about a tenacious young man determined to solve a mystery. In a tightly woven and highly readable plot he keeps the pressure up, and keeps it real. Shaun sees a man’s body floating in the local lake and when he returns with Constable Charlie Thompson the body has gone. The story kicks off from there and Shaun begins to investigate the mysterious death. He uncovers far more than he ever imagined. And he has a good imagination!

Set in a gritty, rundown Queensland coal mining town, the atmosphere is hot, dry and pulsating with undercurrents from personal relationships through to shonky mining regulations. My assumptions were overturned, clues were flipped and hopes were dashed. From angry picket lines headed by volatile Peter Grant, head of the mine workers union, to various forms of small town mindset, Shaun’s investigations pull him deeper and deeper into a world of unanswered questions.

The subtext throughout the story is “Who believes Shaun actually saw the man in the water?”. Not many people, it seems. Even his mother Linda struggles to accept the situation, although a family death may be clouding her reasoning. Shaun does appear to have a kind of obsessional limerence.

Fortunately Shaun has a keen ally in his long-time friend Will, a larrikin with a charming manner. They both believe the drowned man was murdered and someone has masterminded a cover-up. They negotiate their way through a minefield of possibilities, taking risks, and discovering the mental and physical challenges faced by coal workers and their families. Only once did I suspend disbelief when Shaun infiltrates a building, but it’s a pivotal moment.

In between covert operations, annoying teachers and school classes, Shaun and Will are on the school debating team with Megan Grant. Shaun adores Megan from afar and he imagines a future of “happy ever afters” together. Investigations continue in Brisbane with their debating team when a challenge is held in a Harry Potteresque private school perched on a hillside (I recognised it) and they stay overnight in enemy territory. A gripping spy-like chapter for you to discover.

I loved the personalities David Burton has created, the characters often did the opposite to what I expected, making them fallible yet understandable. In certain cases, there’s a fine line between liking and loathing. There is power in subtlety, and from the frustration of workers about to lose their jobs, to the death of a loved one, nothing is overstated.

David Burton has given Shaun a proactive role with plenty of intrigue. I have no hesitation in saying “The Man in the Water” is an excellent mystery for young adults and older readers. I became fully absorbed in the story and was right beside young Shaun trying to unravel the riddle. The end result is definitely worth it!

Quote from Chapter 32 “From the sky, Shaun’s home town looked like it was surrounded by yawning black holes. It was epic. The mines were colossal dark wounds in the earth, the town a sort of defiance among the rubble. It was a god’s sandpit. He pressed his face against the window and watched as the earth turned with the plane. They were coming in to land.”

♥ Gretchen Bernet-Ward

AUTHOR PROFILE

David Burton Writer and Playwright — David Burton, Author and Playwright

David Burton is an award-winning director, playwright and author. By the age of 30, he’d written over two dozen professionally produced plays, published a book, and been a core part of some of the most innovative theatrical projects in Australia.

He’s now 32, a Dad, and has written a new YA fiction book “The Man in the Water” which I reviewed.

Visit http://www.daveburton.com.au/

Booktopia https://www.booktopia.com.au/the-man-in-the-water-david-burton/book/9780702262524.html

It’s a long way… to the shops… or how I designed and produced my first range of earrings

Beautiful designer earrings don’t just happen, they are created by sheer love and dedication and Zoë Collins of Hoodlum Friends says “All the years of fiddling around, making mistakes, learning what it feels like to create things I love, and things I hate (and things I feel lukewarm about)… it all lead down a path to 287 pairs of unique, very limited edition drops, hoops, studs…”

Follow Zoë Collins creative journey and be inspired, and maybe think about treating yourself to an original pre-Christmas gift right now! ♥ Gretchen Bernet-Ward

This is Hoodlum Friends, by Zoë Collins.

Have you cough heard about those earrings I made? NO?! Come on! I’ve been talking talking talking about them, like an excited kid talking about his new transformer (trust me, the kid is non-stop transforminationing).

Earrings are not my first foray into product design. Many years ago I tried my hand at greeting cards. I tried to set up a shop selling prints, I tried Society6, and more recently Redbubble. Most of these forays into selling my artwork were… overwhelming to set up, and underwhelming in self-esteem indicators and sales performance. (Most were well before social media). You see, I had very little experience as a designer and as an illustrator. I knew technically how to make greeting cards, how to set up files for print, how to draw a little — but looking back on those early cards (I still have some! ha!) I can see they are lacking…

View original post 654 more words

‘Dead Man Switch’ Mystery by Tara Moss

My recent reading had been on the gloomy side so I was looking forward to a rollicking read—the first thing I noticed in ‘Dead Man Switch’ was the initial lack of thrills and spills although they do make an appearance in the final chapters.

Tara Moss hints that protagonist Billie Walker, private inquiry agent, has a wild past but she seems a bit too reined-in for someone with such a pedigree, her father was a former policeman turned PI and she inherited his business. Even the business relationship between Billie and her ex-soldier assistant Samuel Baker seems flat, more diligence than derring-do, and similarly from starchy DI Hank Cooper from Central Police.

Regardless, I launched into ‘Dead Man Switch’ with high hopes and discovered Tara Moss has written a great book for the novice crime reader. Loaded with adjectives and story recapping, this mystery novel is a nice entry point for those graduating from cosy crime into something slightly more improper.

There are a lot of people draping themselves around the 1940s Sydney scene. There’s a knack to letting characters unfold, and piling them all in the front of the book slowed the action for me. First up we meet stoic lift operator John Wilson and then Mrs Lettie Brown of Brown & Co Fine Furs visiting Billie’s agency asking for help to find her missing son Adin. Business is slow, money is tight, Billie takes the case.

Somebody is spying on Billie from afar, while chunks of author research are on show; the stolen generations via quiet Shyla; WWII atrocities; the fur trade; Sydney nightclubs; Billie’s mother Baroness Ella von Hooft and her lady’s maid Alma representing a dying aristocracy—all jostling in a narrative where deployment of the five senses wouldn’t go amiss, and neither would more showing less telling.

Is Billie glamorous? I did not conjure her, as did a Greek café owner, looking like US film star Ava Gardner (above).

Billie is indirectly responsible for four deaths, although she herself does hang by a thread in one dire situation. She breaks the law, a rather humorous chapter involving her zany mother, and she bribes men with an Australian shilling. It’s hard to believe that when they were phased out in 1966 a shilling was worth 10 cents. But in 1940s, one shilling could buy a loaf of bread and a pint of milk so that’s breakfast sorted.

The Hydro Majestic Hotel in the Blue Mountains makes an appearance (below) with a corny filmscript car chase. Was this due to the writing, editing or my longing for a more unpredictable encounter? Billie is allowed to make mistakes to further the plot but one of them was transparent and I was disappointed in her naivety. Oh well, it is crime fiction after all.

With a view to a series, this first book is a light read with tasty clothes and much eyebrow-raising and head tilting. I sincerely hope Book 2 ups-the-ante. In the meantime, you will learn what to do with Fighting Red, the meaning of ‘dead man switch’ and discover what happens to young Adin Brown.

♥ Gretchen Bernet-Ward

NOTE This debut Billie Walker Mystery may also be titled ‘The War Widow’ due to Billie’s photojournalist husband missing, presumed dead.

VISIT AUTHOR TARA MOSS FOR A FEAST OF BOOKS AND BACKGROUND TO HER LIFE https://taramoss.com/

Among her other books Tara Moss has also written
Makedde Vanderwall
1. Fetish (1999)
2. Split (2002)
3. Covet (2004)
4. Hit (2006)
5. Siren (2009)
6. The Assassin (2012)

Hydro Majestic Hotel Blue Mountains NSW 02 — HYDRO EXPRESS DAY TRAIN The NSW Rail Museum and Hydro Majestic Hotel have partnered to create a unique scenic day trip featuring vintage train travel and afternoon High Tea at the Hydro Majestic Hotel in Blue Mountains, NSW, Australia. Upon arrival at Medlow Bath Station, you will be guided on a short walk to the beautifully restored Hydro Majestic Hotel and the Wintergarden Room where High Tea will be served on three-tiered silver stands and consist of petite pastries, finger sandwiches, freshly baked scones served with homemade jam and fresh clotted cream, accompanied by freshly brewed specialty teas and coffees. An optional complimentary history tour of the Hydro Majestic Hotel will take place following your High Tea sitting. Two dates Saturday 23rd or Sunday 24th November 2019 https://www.hydromajestic.com.au/events/hydro-express

My Sisters-in-Crime Membership Card

IMG_20191029_133057 — I kept the postage stamp but the envelope has been recycled.

How is this for the personal touch! Sisters-in-Crime mailed a white 9×4 envelope with my address neatly printed on it and a postage stamp stuck in the corner. The stamp, if you are interested, commemorates 50 years since the moon landing. Australia had a hand in the Apollo 11 lunar module ‘Eagle’ landing on the moon.

Back to the goodies in the envelope:

A welcome letter from Carmel, Secretary & National Co-convenor.

Diary Dates and information on 26th Scarlet Stiletto Awards.

Leaflet for ‘Murder She Wrote’ Readers and Writers Festival to be held in Tasmania under the title ‘Terror Australis’ .

Bookmark stating all the wonderful things Sisters-in-Crime can offer me.

Info on bookshop discounts, panels, discussions, debates, tours, launches, festivals.

And, of course, my Membership Card!

Every department store in the world wants to give you a plastic card but this is a Crime Card. Not plastic; written on by hand; the nostalgic beauty of it.

Who or what are the Sisters-in-Crime? Let me fill you in—

Sisters-in-Crime is a world-wide organisation but the Australian chapter was launched at the Feminist Book Festival in Melbourne in September 1991, inspired by the American organisation of the same name, which was founded in 1986 by Sara Paretsky (creator of Chicago PI VI Warshawski) and other women crime writers at the Bouchercon crime convention. Members are authors, readers, publishers, agents, booksellers and librarians bound by their affection for the mystery genre and their support of women who write mysteries. Chapters currently meet in Melbourne, Perth, and Brisbane. The Melbourne chapter holds very regular events and partners with festivals, libraries and other organisations.

There are annual crime-writing competitions, the Scarlet Stiletto Awards (big prize money) and the Davitt Awards for the best crime books by Australian women published in the previous year.

I missed ‘Murder She Wrote’, the readers and writers Terror Australis Festival in Huon Valley, Tasmania, from 31 October to 5 November 2019. It was jam-packed with amazing stuff; panel sessions, masterclasses, Hall of Writers, book launches, Murder Mystery Dinner, etc. Hear my teeth gnashing…

I am currently reading ‘Dead Man Switch’ by Tara Moss and she attended the Festival. Quote ‘I would kill to be at the Terror Australis Festival, but thankfully I was invited so I won’t need to.’ – Tara Moss, author.

Maybe next year <sigh>

♥ Gretchen Bernet-Ward

Too Much…

IMG_20191103_131127 — https://www.becomingminimalist.com/becoming-minimalist-start-here/ and also https://clutterfreenow.com/blog/decluttering/do-you-suffer-from-acute-iicp-aka-clutter-paralysis/

♥ Gretchen Bernet-Ward

Review ‘The Dreamers’ by Karen Thompson Walker

IMG_20191026_181529

The pretty embossed bookcover hides a dark and disturbing story and I would not recommend it to immature readers, or people I know with sleep disorders.

I think the apocalyptic nature of the book could have a tendency to induce fear and possibly depression in anyone sensitive to a crisis situation with unstoppable consequences.

If I was watching this as a disaster movie about a virus starting in a school dormitory, causing people to fall asleep and may never wake up, I bet most of the theatre-goers around me would be shallow breathing, wondering if it were true.

Lesser books have been known to cause restless sleep, or bad dreams.

Of course, the virulent virus comes from the fertile imagination of Karen Thompson Walker who said in a BWF 2019 panel discussion “Why we dream is unknown” although she puts forward some interesting theories in this story.

‘The Dreamers’ could just as easily die from any airborne disease and here lies the crux of the matter.

The author does an excellent job in researching and creating botched medical care, civil unrest, mass panic, and then bringing it right back down to the most helpless, two young girls and their kittens, alone in an old house.

In a clipped journalistic writing style, there are heroes, references to new life, new love and parental devotion striving against all odds yet feeling strangely hollow and disjointed. For me, the ending is unresolved.

This type of plotting is not my preferred reading, however, I respect the level of apprehension Karen Thompson Walker has created even while I think ‘The Dreamers’ could unsettle vulnerable readers. Or create fear around the new Corona Virus.

Postscript July 2023: My review was written in November 2019 and the world did not fully know what horrors Covid-19 was going to unleash. A global virus, a pandemic nightmare of epic proportions. Karen Thompson Walker was ahead of the curve.

♥ Gretchen Bernet-Ward

AUTHOR PROFILE—Karen Thompson Walker was born and raised in San Diego, California, where her first book ‘The Age of Miracles’ is set. She studied English and creative writing at UCLA, where she wrote for the UCLA Daily Bruin. An assistant professor of creative writing at the University of Oregon, she lives in Portland with her husband, the novelist Casey Walker, and their two daughters.
http://karenthompsonwalker.com/

Thoughts Become Words

Primary Menu

Author: ThoughtsBecomeWords

Audre Lorde, Poet

Publishing, Bookselling and a Bus

The Discussion Panel

Got a load of newly minted books in boxes in your hallway?
Congrats, next comes The Bookselling

Your Bonus Reading

Three Things #8

LOOKING

THINKING

Quote “And it occurred to me that there is no such thing as blogging. There is no such thing as a blogger. Blogging is just writing—writing using a particularly efficient type of publishing technology.”—Simon Dumenco “Media Guy”.

READING

Review ‘The Man in the Water’ by David Burton

It’s a long way… to the shops… or how I designed and produced my first range of earrings

Have you cough heard about those earrings I made? NO?! Come on! I’ve been talking talking talking about them, like an excited kid talking about his new transformer (trust me, the kid is non-stop transforminationing).

‘Dead Man Switch’ Mystery by Tara Moss

My Sisters-in-Crime Membership Card

Too Much…

Review ‘The Dreamers’ by Karen Thompson Walker

“A Time to Talk”

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The Discussion Panel

Got a load of newly minted books in boxes in your hallway? Congrats, next comes The Bookselling

Your Bonus Reading

Share this:

LOOKING

THINKING

Quote “And it occurred to me that there is no such thing as blogging. There is no such thing as a blogger. Blogging is just writing—writing using a particularly efficient type of publishing technology.”—Simon Dumenco “Media Guy”.

READING

Share this:

Share this:

Have you *cough* heard about those earrings I made? NO?! Come on! I’ve been talking talking talking about them, like an excited kid talking about his new transformer (trust me, the kid is non-stop transforminationing).

Share this:

Share this:

Share this:

Share this:

Share this:

Got a load of newly minted books in boxes in your hallway?
Congrats, next comes The Bookselling

Have you cough heard about those earrings I made? NO?! Come on! I’ve been talking talking talking about them, like an excited kid talking about his new transformer (trust me, the kid is non-stop transforminationing).