Each author has her or his own approach, but the trick to writing a book is trusting the process.  As Hemingway advised a young writer, “the first draft of anything is shit!” explaining that the real work comes in the revising, rewriting, and reworking of a manuscript as many as forty, maybe fifty times, to get to the finished product. For many writers, myself included, the first draft can be the hardest to complete, even though it is rarely where the bulk of the time lies.  Read More

To begin 2016, I spend most of January in an empty hotel on Mackinac Island.  r-e-d-R-U-M, R-E-D-R-U-M!!  As a Chicago author and avid sailor the opportunity to visit in the winter was simply too unique and tantalizing to pass up.  Having participated multiple times in the Chicago-Mac Race, I was quite familiar with the island in high-season — when the primary means of transportation is by bicycle, wagon, or carriage.  Here this more than 100 year-old way of life has been preserved, and except for emergency vehicles, no automobiles are allowed on the island.   Read More