Tag: writers

Do You have Strange Rituals when Writing?

Strange habits of very successful writers.  Courtesy:  Kelton Reid, Copyblogger Media writer.

1.Try writing horizontally.

George Orwell, Mark Twain, Edith Wharton, famous quotes, famous writers, history, poetry, Bukowski, ChurchillWinston Churchill, and Marcel Proustproust were all famous for churning out pages while lying in bed. Novelist Truman Capote also wrote everything in longhand in the horizontal position. Don’t forget, proper rest is crucial to creativity, so if you’re already there, why not grab the laptop and give it a try?

2.Take a walk or bike ride without a destination in mind.

Charles Dickens and Henry Miller both used to wander around Europe trying to get lost, a technique that psychologists say can foster creativity. Continue reading “Do You have Strange Rituals when Writing?”

Ten Reasons Why Writing is Good for You

Happened to Stumbled Upon This Great List of why Writing and Creating is good for you!   As if we didn’t already know!write1

Creativity has been proven to have positive effects on health, self-esteem and vitality

Writing is good for your brain, creates a state similar to meditation

Writing hones your powers of observation, giving you a fuller experience of life

Writing hones your powers of concentration and attention, which is more fractured than ever thanks to technology and TV

Writing connects you with others through blogging, writing groups, live readings, and self-publishing outlets
Continue reading “Ten Reasons Why Writing is Good for You”

Interview with best selling Author, Lee Goldberg (part 1)

Goldberg.1photo-3     I first met Lee while publishing my interview with Janet Evanovich.  He recently co-wrote The Chase with Janet.  His two careers, novelist and TV writer, merged when he wrote the eight books in the Diagnosis Murder series of original novels, based on the hit CBS TV mystery that he also wrote and produced. He followed that up by writing fifteen bestselling novels based on Monk, another TV show that he worked on. So I was delighted when Lee agreed to be interviewed.

Q. Where do you write? Do you have a special room, shed, barn, special space for your writing? (please upload a photo/s of your shed, room, closet, barn….)

A. I have an office in my house where I write surrounded by books and James Bond posters (I alternate the posters every month or so). But I can, and do, write just about anywhere.

Q. Do you have any special rituals when you sit down to write? (a neat work space, sharpened #2 pencils, legal pad, cup of tea, glass of brandy, favorite pajamas, etc.) Continue reading “Interview with best selling Author, Lee Goldberg (part 1)”

“Emma and the Lost Unicorn” performing at the Villagers Theatre in New Jersey

NEWS!!  The Fabled Forest Series (children’s plays),   will be a part of 

Villagers Theatre’s  2013-2014  Season!  faeries, elves, warlocks, fables, riddles, fairy tales, theatre

NOW RUNNING THROUGH MARCH 16TH.

Located in Somerset, New Jersey this community theatre has two stages and a diverse season.

March 8–16 with Fri., Sat., and Sunday performances

Tickets: $15.
Reservations:  732-873-2710

Visit their web site for more…
http://www.villagerstheatre.com/viewproductions/emma-and-the-lost-unicorn/

Rainey, the unicorn, is a prince who has been banished, for centuries, by the warlock, Hazard. He can never return home unless Emma solves more riddles than Kodak. Hazard’s Lieutenant reveals his secret weakness. The fable ends with a surprise twist Continue reading ““Emma and the Lost Unicorn” performing at the Villagers Theatre in New Jersey”

FREE Audio Book…Enjoy the Act of Murder for free!

Act.Murder.Cover.Book3   “The Act of Murder”  Book 3 of the World of Murder Series is now available in AUDIO books!

FREE Download!   Write me here at https://www.writeratplay.com/contact-me/ and I’ll send you the promotional code.

Take a Listen:  Act.Sample.ActoM–RAS

In Book 3 of The World of Murder series, O’Roarke and Garcia are called when a famous Broadway director dies. It appears that everyone hated this man, making the murder cops’ job just that much harder. They have their pick of suspects as everyone within a five mile radius of Broadway had a reason to want this guy dead. From the jealous stage manager, to the resentful actors, to a disappointed and hurt lover. From a scorned understudy, to his ex-wives, any one of them could have done it. This mystery takes the reader back stage into the tumultuous, gossip ridden, world of the theatre. Continue reading “FREE Audio Book…Enjoy the Act of Murder for free!”

Don’t Be Afraid to Ask for Help!

helpWriting my newest mystery has been a challenge as I found my detectives, O’Roarke and Garcia and the killer in several situations where I have Cover.Angel - Copylittle or no knowledge and the Internet produced hardly anything with regard to my research.

So, I had to ‘rely on the kindness
of strangers….’

Since my fourth murder mysteries is heavy on police procedural, forensics, and pathology, not to mention the Catholic faith, I made several cold calls to people I didn’t know.  Would they help me?
Continue reading “Don’t Be Afraid to Ask for Help!”

Suicide by Heroin…A Eulogy

Philip_Seymour_Hoffman_2011[1]Philip Seymour Hoffman died last week by his own hand.  Shoving a needle into his arm, one last time and making our world a little more pale and less interesting.  Why do the brilliant feel the need to destroy themselves?  The heroin was just the ‘fix’ (aptly named) dulling the pain, banishing the demons…for a little while.   ‘An accidental overdose’ you say?  What was accidental about him sticking the bloody needle into his arm?  I ask.

And what does that say about the rest of us; living and struggling on, sometimes in quiet, brave desperation.  His actions were pure selfishness and I am royally pissed off at him!

And I earned the right  to be angry with him….being a survivor of suicide and the horror and  confusion that follows.  This man was an inspiration to all artists, actors, directors, writers, painters, dancers….he made us want to be better at our chosen craft …to aspire to his brilliance.   And now he’s gone.
Continue reading “Suicide by Heroin…A Eulogy”

My Interview with mystery writer, Andrew Grant (Part 2)

Andrew
Art by Lichtenstein

Q. Who or what is your “Muse” at the moment ?

A. For the book I just finished writing it was a bizarre combination of Roy Lichtenstein and Pat Benatar. Lichtenstein’s paintings ended up playing a major role in the book, but sadly Benatar’s music remained trapped on my iPod.

Q. When did you begin to write seriously?

A. When I quit my job in June 2006.

Q. How long after that were you published?

A. I finished the manuscript in June 2007, found an agent in December 2007, was offered a contract in February 2008, and my first book was published in May 2009.

Q. What makes a writer great?

A. The ability to create characters that readers care about as much – or more – as they do about real people.

Q. and the all important: What does the process of going from “no book” to “finished book” look like? Continue reading “My Interview with mystery writer, Andrew Grant (Part 2)”

An Interview with Author, Andrew Grant

andrew_09newAndrew is a slick, clever mystery writer with tight interesting plots.  I ‘met’ him through his writer/wife, Tasha Alexander.  Can’t wait for his newest release coming out in the fall of 2014.

Q. Where do you write? Do you have a special room, shed, barn, special space for your writing? 

A. Whenever possible I write in what was originally the maid’s room in our apartment in Chicago (there was no sign of the maid when we moved in, so I figured someone may as well use it…) but due to the amount of traveling I have to do, I often find myself working on planes or in airport lounges, or any other place where I won’t get either wet or arrested!

Q. Do you have any special rituals when you sit down to write? (a neat work space, sharpened #2 pencils, legal pad, cup of tea, glass of brandy, favorite pajamas)

A. I’m an obsessively tidy person, so I guess that tendency extends itself to my work space. Other than tidiness, all I need to get started in the morning is a giant pot of coffee. Followed by several more giant pots of coffee as the day (and sometimes, the night) progresses.
Continue reading “An Interview with Author, Andrew Grant”

Famous Quotes….and What I Think!

Dylan Thomas
Dylan Thomas

“My education was the liberty I had to read indiscriminately and all the time, with my eyes hanging out.” – Dylan Thomas

“When I’m not writing, I am reading….and I think, along with many other authors, that it makes me a better writer.” Me

“I went to brush something off my cheek and it was the floor.”  Unknown.

“But it had to have been said by one of these famous drunks.  Hemingway? Tennessee Williams? James Joyce? F. Scott Fitzgerald? Bukowski?”  Me

Ernest Hemingway
Ernest Hemingway

 “There is nothing to writing.  All you do is sit down at a typewriter and bleed.”  Hemingway

“Bleeding words…..things could be worse. I live for those days.”  Me

Continue reading “Famous Quotes….and What I Think!”