It’s long been an adage that any publicity is good publicity, which is why I have to wonder if Kathy Griffin’s pointedly reading the ad taken about her Emmy speech from a Tennessee theater group didn’t serve to boost interest in other businesses in the town in question – like Pigeon Forge cabin rentals for [...]

Lest anyone think I’ve packed up the camping gear and gone into hiding, I thought I’d better post. First, I’ve had company for almost a week, and while I’ve been reading like crazy, I’ve been enjoying some non-net time. Second, I’ve been working out reviews in my head, so I can post them here, trying [...]

Killing time while waiting for my husband to finish a work emergency so we can go to dinner and the grocery store, my brain is still thinking in terms of making lists. Right now, having just bought 300 feet of white exterior lighting – Christmas lighting, really – that my lawn guy will be hanging [...]

It’s early, I know, to be thinking about Super Bowl tickets, but I saw them mentioned on a wish list on some blog or other I tripped across recently, and, because it’s Sunday, and we grocery shop on Sundays, and I’m in a listing kind of mood, I thought, “Hmm, are there novels about the [...]

As well as being the Book Aunt. I have a Book Aunt. She’s my mother’s younger sister Patti (who was interviewed here in connection with her book The Earth Knows My Name) and for as long as I can remember brown paper packages from her have shown up in my mailboxes containing fabulous things to [...]

The old checking account took a bit of a hit tonight as we visited Barnes and Nobel after going to Fridays for dinner. We don’t have a ton of Christmas shopping to do, but as the book aunt, books are a part of everything we give. As you know, earlier this week, I asked for [...]

My personal library includes classics, bestsellers, chick-lit, genre fiction, and movie/tv tie-ins sitting right next to each other on the shelves. One of my favorite authors of the latter is Keith R. A. DeCandido, who is funny, smart, friendly (he agreed to email answers to my questions, after all), and really just a nifty guy. [...]

Last month, one of my favorite authors, Keith R. A. DeCandido, took some time away from writing books to answer some questions for me. Here’s part one of our emailed interview. (The intro is here. Part 2 is here.) * * * * * What question are you never, or rarely, asked in interviews, that [...]

Last month, one of my favorite authors, Keith R. A. DeCandido, took some time away from writing books to answer some questions for me. Here’s part two of our emailed interview. (The intro is here. Part 1 is here.) * * * * * How do you start a project? Do you begin with a [...]

One of my favorite parts of Divine Secrets of the YaYa Sisterhood, the part that they didn’t focus enough on in the movie (though I do understand the decision not to) was The BOOK. You know, the scrapbook kept in a box. The one that held between its covers, not just pictures, but newspaper clippings, [...]