Monthly Archives: September 2016

Self-Publishing Resource

Self publishing can be bewildering. While it offers exciting potential, getting your book  printed — and then letting the world know about it via marketing — can be overwhelming. There are content and editing challenges, formatting and printing challenges — … Continue reading

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Kindred Spirits

It’s always so energizing to be among writers — and doubly so, when they are young, talented, and committed. So it was a total pleasure to spend time with the staff of The Middlebury Campus (https://middleburycampus.com). The occasion: a panel … Continue reading

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Changing Lives

“Books are the building blocks that we are talking about. They hold the ideas of our culture. People are figuring out how their worlds work while reading percolates inside their brains. As a bookseller all these many years, I just … Continue reading

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“The Magic”

On a quick hop up to Vermont, my son Alex and I each wandered through The Vermont Book Shop, a cozy and inviting indie with plenty of fuel to feed bookaholic fires on cold winter nights. In his browse-around amble, … Continue reading

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Something Wonderful

In celebration of the balmy and beautiful autumn we’re having: “Autumn is a second spring when every leaf is a flower.” Albert Camus “Every leaf speaks bliss to me fluttering from the autumn tree.” Emily Bronte “If I were a … Continue reading

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Writing Simply

“I emerged from the womb hollering for a pencil sharpener…I’m still working every day on writing simply.” Toby Stein What more energizing and enlivening a way to spend an evening than rhapsodizing about words in all their glory with the … Continue reading

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Keep Sweeping

“You have to sweep the temple steps a lot in hopes that the god appears.” Dean Young Whatever we’re writing, we’ve all had the same experience: There are many times — moments, days, and even weeks — when we simply … Continue reading

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Don’t Quit

In my rambles today, I came across a sheaf of quotes by Muhammad Ali, many of which seem fresh and energizing. He’s surely one guy who wrote his own story in his own way! Some of his words to ponder: … Continue reading

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Shifting Gears

Bruce Springsteen describes writing his new autobiography, Born to Run:* “In 2009, we played the Super Bowl and I wrote a little essay for a website. I felt like I found a good voice to write in with it and … Continue reading

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Dangerous Opportunities

A familiar story:  Chinese word for “crisis” is made up of two picture characters — the first one means “danger” and the second means “opportunity.” A little-known tale: Consider for a moment, how these two words came into play in … Continue reading

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