a chance to refine the craft, chapter one

As Prince Edward Island welcomed its first rays of warm summer, ripe red strawberries, and car loads of families and travelers waiting for a glimpse of our famous Anne of Green Gables, I trotted off expectantly to Montpelier Vermont, and to my first Master’s writing residency at Vermont College of Fine Arts.

Thinking Big

I know that as a writer, I’m not supposed to obsess about publishing. I’m supposed to put my head down and keep writing, and never to get discouraged when the rejection letters come.

A real domain

Hey FurtherMo fans!

As the blog is officially one and a half years old, I have decided to upgrade to an actual DOMAIN! I know, it’s unheard of. I know you’re all thinking, what’s next for the blog, is she going get to get a cookbook and cook every single thing in it, posting her creations each day? Or will she learn how to knit scarves so she can report?

Taxi!

I see one coming! hold on tight!
we’ll reach it Leila, be alright!

Noodles swish I drop my lunch
there go the chopsticks off my bunch

here! we’re here, please stop for us!
he’s pulling over, Lei, enough!

the smell of pumpkins, the sound of voices

Fall is a magical time for children and adults, with transforming leaves, cozy sweaters and hot cups of tea outside in the evening. Along the side of the road, the pumpkin patch calls, as do the apple trees, the carrots, and our small (but loyal) plot of potatoes. It is a time of harvest.

teaspoons of sugar

Oh glorious summer! You’re slipping away so quickly. Thanks for the great times, Summer, for keeping the sun worshiping, south shore ocean dipping, lobster cracking, oyster shucking soul in me forever blessed by your sandy toes and your smoky barbeques.

querying: finding light in the dark ages

So i’ve ripped and i’ve torn it , shaped it and , formed it ~ and for the moment, I’ve  finished my memoir.

Whew!  Twenty months of writing, eight months of revising and a pile of edits and rewrites have finally gotten me to this most critical stage: Querying.

the back door to blogs

A lot of people say to me, hey, mo, i love your blog. (I may get embarrassed and try to redirect the conversation). Especially when they usually follow it up with, Actually…it’s the only one  i read. (I still have friends who haven’t entered the ‘mobile phone’ realm). I smile, unsure how to proceed. Sometimes they might stop for a moment, puzzled, and say How did you even manage to start a blog?

now go and write the final chapter

So here I am five months into the editorial process and facing writing the last chapter and epilogue of the Tya Chronicles, my memoir of motherhood and loss. But for some reason I’m at a standstill, sitting at the edge and gazing into the abyss, and thinking about what happens at the end of this […]

the heart’s voice: writing the book i need

Deep in my heart I’ve always been a writer. I was just so incredibly daunted by the publishing industry that for years I just didn’t dare to go there. I’ve thought about writing books about almost everything: the countries I have visited, the mysticism that I explored, and the exceptional transition that I underwent in […]