Mirka Muse

There are places where we don’t expect high ethical conduct, and are pleasantly surprised to find it. (Example: Does anyone expect i...

After the dry spells, the rain must-needs-come.    (Paraphrasing Matthew 18:7) This August I got some revision work done, and criti...

You've got to accentuate the positive Eliminate the negative Latch on to the affirmative Don't mess with Mister In-Between Y...

There is a  of video showing Ellen DeGeneres crying at the intro to her (otherwise upbeat) talk show , saying that “today is a bad day.” ...

Allow me this frivolous empty-headed meditation on the empty nester in summer. It is summer, and the heat makes me lo...

In the middle of June, I was a victim of crime. It happened like this: Before eight, still in my nightgown, the doorbell rang...

Nothing much happens in August. August is when the Parisians leave Paris for calmer grounds. August is when the well-heeled Engl...

There are a lot of websites and blogs that offer nice checklists to go through and make certain a manuscript is ready for submission or pu...

…and the Homophone that Snuck by L Despite having been read and re-read by the author (me) too many times to count, and three beta rea...

memories… … light the corners of my mind… A  few weeks ago, reunion fever spread amongst my classmates. I’m talking about ...

Now that we have just marked our nation’s 240 th year of independence, I got to thinking about what it means. Not only the national, bu...

The world of commerce pushes brands. Now, I hear, we must even brand ourselves if we want to make it in any arena. If you haven’t h...

What to do when trusted critics give advice that contradicts your sense? Anyone who’s ever asked for opinion on their work has been there...

On this day, June 14, in the year 1642 , the first compulsory education law in America passed by Massachusetts. There are some amo...

*-- Otherwise known as the other Big W Question I’m re-reading a lovely collection of successful writers’ accounts, called WHY W...

You won’t find me making many, or any, political statements. Once I passed my younger youth, I no longer found sustenance in that arena,...

Or— Now, be Nice In this election cycle, the word “win” and “lose” are ubiquitous. One of the candidates, in particular, is fo...

The question comes up now and then on kid-lit chat boards— when is it right to follow-up on a reply from an agent or editor, when the re...