Well, it happened: My adolescent crush died. Rod McKuen passed away last Thursday. According to a New York Times article, McKuen, 81, had been ill with pneumonia. McKuen’s numerous poetry books (29) sold millions, and he also penned popular songs. (Remember Seasons in the Sun? “We had joy/we had fun/we had seasons in the sun/….”) While McKuen… Read More Goodbye, Rod McKuen (or, what is “real” poetry)
I was having a bit of a bad day, you see. My stomach hurt and the cat threw up a hairball on my pillow and there was nothing good to eat for lunch. Then, while browsing Facebook (Facebook is the most splendid way of avoiding writing one’s novel), I discovered that it was Robert Olen Butler’s… Read More OMG! It’s Robert Olen Butler’s birthday (two days’ late)
What I like about my eReader is that it allows me to browse books that I normally wouldn’t read, books outside the usual genres I favor (literary fiction, women’s fiction, memoir, poetry and just about anything running related). Sometimes, being pulled out of my comfort zone is a good thing. Sometimes it isn’t. In the… Read More Whereas Cinthia reads and reviews a mystery novel
“There was nothing glorious about the life of a drinker or the life of a writer.” Charles Bukowski Writing is hard. I know, I know: They tell you that in grad school but did I listen? Does anyone? It’s taken me years to realize the truth: That writing is hard. That it’s work. That it’s… Read More The hard act of writing (or why I ate two bowls of popcorn in one sitting)
Okay, I’m probably the last person in the world to have finished Gone Girl and I’m equally fascinated, frustrated, obsessed and in awe. **Warning: Spoiler alerts*** I finished the book in less than three days. I stayed up until 5 a.m. reading two nights ago; I literarily couldn’t put it down (don’t you love when that… Read More Gone girl (yes, I finally read it)
In the spirit of gratitude as we look forward to Thanksgiving, here’s a popular post on giving back, first published in 2009, by author Cinthia Ritchie. Growing up, I read all the time. I read while riding my horse and when I was supposed to be feeding the calves. I read during baling harvest and… Read More Giving thanks (to the writers you love)
Ever since I got my Kindle (and just because I love my Kindle doesn’t mean I love Amazon or approve of their tactics in the whole Hachette/Amazon fiasco, which was recently resolved but not after Amazon “hijacked” my book Dolls Behaving Badly for close to a year), I’ve been happily downloading books that I wouldn’t have… Read More What I’m reading (and Barbie, with zits)
When I read Occasional Soulmates last month, I became so excited that I wanted to call up the author and invite her out to lunch. I imagined drinking tea and talking about men and, you know, having a good ol’ girl talk. Except that Occasional Soulmates is actually written by a man named Kevin Brennan (Kevin,… Read More Hell of a woman (except he’s really a man)
Originally posted on Jackie Mallon:
I bet you think I’ve been tripping the light fantastic these past few weeks and that’s why you haven’t heard from me. Well, not exactly. But I have been somewhere exciting, A veritable event I’d call it. It cost me no cab fare nor board and lodgings. There was no…
Why is it easier to write while away from home? Is it because, once out of your normal environment, you feel free of burdens, free of constraints, free of all of those nagging doubts and insecurities that settle down wherever you call home? Last week I left Anchorage and flew to my sister’s in Philly, where I met my… Read More Writing while away from home
Cinthia Ritchie 