When I wrote Shred Sisters, I didn’t tell anyone I was writing it. (Except my husband who saw me get out of bed every morning at 5:00, brew a pot of coffee, and head up to my office.) I felt a bit self-conscious as I’d always been a non-fiction person. Who was I to try my hand at a novel? I also deeply believe something Spike Lee said in an interview (and I’m paraphrasing), that the more he blabbed about whatever he was working on, the less likely he would get it done. I think it’s almost essential that you build a wall around your projects. Not for fear that anyone will take your ideas, but because you need to protect the work and the relationship you have with it. Talking about it dilutes it, lets the air out, subjects it to the elements.

Agree, disagree, thoughts?

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I’m thrilled to share that my novel Shred Sisters has been long-listed for the Center for Fiction’s First Novel Prize. I’m going to wager that I’m the oldest girl on the list. I should have written the book when I was 24 instead of 64 but I just didn’t have my shit together. Who says you have write your coming of age story in real time? This post is dedicated to all the late bloomers out there. I love us.

Summer’s almost over – how’s the writing coming?

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