Mirka Muse

Apparently the book scans sale numbers for The Cuckoo’s Calling were all of five hundred sales in the U.S.A. despite very strong reviews. ...

© Shelagh Duffett Y’all know by now that I am a fan of Shelagh Duffett’s folk art. She was DS’s discovery on  EBay,   and continues t...

Summertime-- and the living is easy. I spent a whole afternoon watching a series on YouTube , from Israeli television, about various conspi...

Synopsis done. Two revisions by self, and two after Beta readers had a go at it. I should be getting into submission mode.  But I’m not su...

I forgot the movie, but in it there’s a scene in which a character orders their coffee at one of the franchises that invented their own lin...

Synopses are summaries of books, written in third person present tense. Most writers don’t like writing them, because how can we, for all t...

When my kids were smaller, I ran Camp Mama every summer. Summers became the time I did not write any first drafts. Their school vacation ...

When Jeannette Walls finally told her  beau  that if he knew the true story of her childhood he would not want to be with her anymore, she ...

So many of my stories began with a house . I see a house in real life or in my mind, and the house won't let go. What happened here? W...

Or- A Little Goes a Long Way About a year ago a friend asked for my feedback on a new story she wrote. Writers do this with each oth...

Sometimes it’s what’s needed. The griping and groaning of winter must give way to spring, better late than never. So- Here’s a mi...

Another blogger posted the question- is blogging essay writing? She then quoted the incomparable story teller and essayist E. B. white...

A pet-peeve, by definition, is petty. After a couple of cheerful posts, I hope  I've  earned some credit, which I will use today o...

I patted myself on the back yesterday, because, frankly, there was no one else to do it. When I write not to a deadline set by another, bu...

Waist-deep in first drafting mode now, I pause  just long enough to share this memory here. I recall a dear friend’s question when I f...

How do I know if what I’m writing is interesting? I don’t. But as I strive to offer a riveting-can’t-put-it-down story, I must use the...

Nope. I’m not one of you. Perfectionism is one of the afflictions I have not been burdened with.  It’s evident not only from my occasi...

Drat! Not another one… Sitting down to write a first draft has become a ritual-filled routine. I begin with shutting down all the like...

It  wasn't  until my 30 th birthday that I had this epiphany: If there is something I wish someone would give me for my birthday, tha...

Another blogger’s lamentation of being stuck at home, because she slipped by the washing machine and tore a muscle, brought back a viscera...