In my writing I’ve always been inspired by the visual, which is why I seek out opportunities to view visual art in its many forms: film, photography, painting, sculpture, pottery, book arts, collage. In our “Write a Novel in a Month Class” today we did a series of writing sprints: 5 minutes, then 10 minutes,… Read More
One of the most interesting aspects about my work-in-progress is the amount of research that I’m doing; about Eastern cottontail rabbits, of course, but also about their predators. A main character in my animal adventure/fantasy is a barred owl who develops an unlikely friendship with Nettie Rabbit. I’ve been fascinated by barred owls ever since… Read More
One of the most enjoyable learning experiences that I’ve had was in 2006, when I was in the MFA Program in Creative Writing at Hamline University and was asked to to serve as the Assistant Editor of the Water~Stone Review. The cover image of Volume 8 was taken by Karolina Karlic, an arresting photograph that… Read More
On this 11th day of the 11th month of 2018, 100 years after Armistice Day, the poppy is a flower of remembrance and sacrifice. Fitting, then, to post this picture of an original oil painting of a girl in a poppy field that hangs in my husband’s home office. This particular work was done by… Read More
Does the world of children’s literature really need another tale about a rabbit? Or, another book by Eileen Beha? What do I have to say that hasn’t already been said before? What story can I tell that hasn’t already been told before? These were the kinds of questions I was asking myself on Day #12… Read More
So, why write a story for young readers about an Eastern cottontail rabbit rather than a tale about an animal that is far less common and may be more interesting? The reason is simple: I’ve had a love affair with rabbits ever since I saw the movie Bambi for the first time. Not only that,… Read More
What does a photo of myself at eight years of age … displayed on a plate from the set of dishes that my Great-Aunt Ida used daily on her farmhouse harvest table … have to do with the novel Watership Down … have to do with a bowl made by Malcolm Stanley, a well-known potter… Read More
On this 15th day of National Novel Writing Month, I’m sending myself a pictorial bouquet of flowers. Why? First, because I’ve met my goal of writing 22,500 words in 15 days! Second, I’m celebrating the fact that I’ve been accepted as a visiting scholar at the St. Benedict Monastery Studium Program in St. Joseph, MN.… Read More
Day #16 of National Novel Writing Month actually began shortly after my NaNoWriMo class at The Loft on Thursday. After allowing myself the freedom to essentially free-write by hand for fifteen days, I decided It would be best to pause and regroup at this midpoint. I needed go back to my original, typewritten drafts of… Read More
Today, Day #17 of National Novel Writing Month, I’ve given myself a “Get Out of Jail Free” card. I did a recount of my word count to date. Currently 22,811 words on my work in progress. If I add in the words I’ve written in these “special edition” NaNoWriMo Facebook posts, total words written since… Read More