A word after a word after a word is power." –Margaret Atwood Writing isn't just for writers, it's for anyone with a small business to promote. You might think as an author and book editor that most of my clients are other authors. Think again. People don't write new books every month. Many people take years to finish a first draft. If I waited unti...

BOOK LAUNCH LESSONS

​In 2013, I published my first novel King of the Class (KOTC). Three months later I wrote a post titled "What I learned from Publishing my First Novel." It was a necessary integration of what I'd gleaned after three months of full-time, dedicated hard work—the kind of 24-hour work after which you can't even think about the topic. I was burnt out of...

 Guest Post Ahead

 I won't make you wait. Here are three things I learned from writing my second novel Passport Control. 1. You can deviate from the traditional coming-of-age structure. Classically, protagonists in coming-of-age stories encounter a singularly painful experience that make them realize once and for all that they are alone in the world. They soon ...

​I am thrilled to be hosted today by Christi Craig. In addition to my guest post, we are having a book giveaway courtesy of my publisher S&H Publishing. 

 Thank you Sasson Magazine for posting "Roller Coaster," an excerpt from my novel in stories White Zion, forthcoming from Cervena Barva Press, April 2019.  Faith was too late getting down the stairs. By the time she made it into the living room it was over. She could only look from her son to her husband. Shock parachuted into the room li...

Today I was thrilled to be hosted on the Ottawa Mommy Club blog. Your Failure to Thrive Baby Doesn't make you a Failure as a Mother When most mothers think of challenging events in the first two years of an average child's life, they might think of vaccinations, fevers, tantrums, and night-waking. What about weighings? Believe it or not, for some m...

My new article is out in the latest Wrapt.   On Balance: The Biggest Mistake Working Mothers Make Got hot nit gekent zayn umetum, hot er beshafn mames. "God couldn't be everywhere, so He created mothers." A Yiddish proverb I won't write about work-life balance or for many of us, work-life-work balance. It's not because I think you've read...

Warm up with a free copy of Passport Control. ​Thank you to Christi Craig who is hosting me this week on her blog. To add to the occasion I'm doing my first ever book giveaway courtesy of my publisher S&H Publishing.  

My vlog is on WOW-womenonwriting's The Muffin

I'm excited to share with you that my vlog: "What is the difference between non fiction flash & essay writing?" is on today's The Muffin on the WOW-women on writing site.  If you have a question about writing, contact me and I'll do my best to vlog the answer in one minute or less. I'd love to hear from you. 

Image courtesy of City of Ottawa Archives

  My newest flash fiction piece is out on Writer's Bone.  Britannia is a hilly area with duplexes and triplexes on tree-lined streets. The Dillain's new convenience store is on the corner at the bottom of the hill. It has a picturesque frontal view of the large, local park and the Ottawa River, the chief tributary of the Saint Lawrence Ri...

I wrote this post back in 2013 and it's fascinating for me to read now. The landscape has changed so much in five years that I felt compelled to repost. Yet, much of it remains spot on #2, #4, #8 #9 and did I mention #4? It also serves as a prompt for me to write a "Ten Things I learned from Publishing Passport Control" post at the end of this year...

Do you have burning questions about the publication process and how to publicize your book once it's "out there"? We've paired a Canadian-Israeli novelist and short-story writer together with a German-American essayist and memoirist to share the fruits of their hard-won knowledge with you. Sign up and submit your question in advance so you can get ...

Come as you are, with a fifth version of a piece you've been working on since your high school graduation or as a writer who has never heard of flash until you saw this advertisement and rushed to sign up. In the first part of this masterclass, we'll define flash fiction and take you all the way from idea to premise to micro flash, threading imager...

I'm thrilled to have one of the most influential editors on my work here today on my blog. I met Mark as a student at Bar Ilan University fourteen years ago and I've been lucky enough to continue to learn from him. He is a constant support.  Mark Jay Mirsky is professor of English at the City College of New York, a former director of its ...

 To all of my family, friends, and colleagues Happy Holidays!

​Jerusalem's Old City is the ideal place to vlog about setting

 The tribalism that reigned in Beit Shemesh for a decade is over Female mayor's election curtails runaway extremism in Beit Shemesh | Arizona Jewish Life Enter some description here... http://azjewishlife.com/female-mayors-election-curtails-runaway-extremism-in-beit-shemesh/

I recommend this emotional page-turner by Pinar Tarhan, Addicted to Writing Thank you, Pinar, for the review on your excellent blog Addicted to Writing. I look forward to our upcoming interview.  I'll try to keep the plot summary short and sweet as to avoid spoilers. There are several twists, and they are pretty jaw-dropping. Plot Summary Due ...

When I tell people I teach a virtual flash fiction course, I sometimes get strange responses, even laughter. Isn't flash fiction just really short fiction? What's the point of taking a specific flash class? No, flash is its own genre deserving of its own class, and it's still underrated as a way to break into publication. I say "still" because I ta...

Gila Green's post in today's Fiction Magazine

Are Arabic-speaking Christian writers ever advised to make their heroines Hebrew-speaking Jews? Gila Green  Gila Green sent me a very talented novel "Passport Control," that raised some of the most painful and yet important questions about contemporary Israel and how its political riddles touched the lives both of Israelis, Palestinians. What ...

​A big thank you to fellow Canadian scribe Kathy Steinemann for hosting this guest post on her site today.  When my youngest child was finally old enough for me to leave her without feeling guilt-ridden, I decided to attend a writing seminar in Montreal—an ocean way from my home. You know, those seminars you're always reading about and thinkin...

I'll Bet You Think This Story's about You: When People Keep Finding Themselves in Your Fiction It was an honor today to be hosted on The Millions site. In today's post you can read a conversation with my mother. https://themillions.com/2018/11/ill-bet-you-think-this-storys-about-you-the-un-omitted-omissions-and-the-real.html

​Write great flash 

I'm thrilled to share with you that my latest flash piece, "Cutty Sark" has been accepted to the Writer's Bone. This piece is part of a larger manuscript titled Backroad.  

Slow the pace

​Thank you Kathryn Schleich for having me as a guest on your blog. 'Show don't tell' is common advice. It's been unpacked in dozens of blogs. Luckily, this won't be one of them. That's because it's repeated so often, it crowds out other important writing errors such as, pace. Pace is all about rhythm and speed in a story. Think: how much time has e...

I was thrilled this morning to find myself at the top of the Book Club Reader Recommended list on the Jewish Women's Archive site.  Thank you JWA!

Today's question comes from Naomi in Beit Shemesh. Thanks for emailing me. Naomi asks, what is the difference between essay writing and writing a non-fiction flash piece?  

Imaginative truth and non-fiction

Today's question is one of two questions from Naomi in Beit Shemesh. Thanks for writing. Please email me any additional questions and I'll try to answer them in a one-minute vlog. Naomi asks if her non-fiction piece has some imaginative truth, does that make her piece flash fiction?