And so I arrive again in a part of the first-draft woods I know all too well. The “OH MY GOD HOW IS THIS GOING TO END?” part. I always assumed that A Telling of Stars would remain an under-the-bed manuscript, destined for reading by my lucky children, and their lucky...

Hawthorne, Nebraska probably reminded moviegoers from all over North America of Fill-in-the-Blanksville. It reminded me of Essex, Ontario. The single road that crosses railroad tracks and passes some silos and a water tower before it becomes, briefly, Main Street,...

The girl strides down the hall, her knapsack slung over one shoulder. It's a full knapsack, and it drags her back down into an odd, Quasimodo-ish shape, but she doesn't care: one-shouldered is the only way to do this. She strides. She knows where she's going—locker to...

My sister and I decided this, the other day: reading Wolf Hall is just like watching Game of Thrones. So many names; so many places; a world that's impossibly evocative, while also being utterly confounding. Granted, I'm not all that smart when it comes to anything...

A couple of weeks ago, the wondrous Erik Mohr did several cover mock-ups for me—all of which made their way to me for comment. One was utterly, immediately right; another was absolutely lovely. The resounding first choice was nixed, utterly and immediately, because it...

“I know,” said my writing student yesterday, “that you’re not supposed to throw prophecies in at the beginning of a book. But I have. Three of them, in fact. I couldn’t help it!” (They are, in fact, perfectly acceptable prophecies, and it's a truly remarkable book.)...

As a doula, I see new parents who, while they'll admit to knowing almost nothing about babies, are also filled with certainty. One couple's infant is sleeping through the night. Another's doesn't sleep at all unless he's in the Sobey's produce section. Even though, at...