Michele Torrey's Blog, page 4

Writing must be the loneliest occupation on the planet. Okay, maybe working in the space station is lonelier, or captaining a sailboat after all your crew has drowned, but it's got to rank up there somewhere. Just you and the computer . . . just you and (gulp) the blank page. . . . We writers don't get out much. And when we do, it's often frantic– booksignings, school visits, speaking engagements, and the like, where we blink like moles in the sun and afterwards climb back into our holes...

The Hour I First Believed: A Novel by Wally Lamb


My rating: 4 of 5 stars
At first I wasn't so sure about this book . . . Eighty-odd pages into it, the protagonist/1st-person-narrator, Caelum Quirk, was a real jerk — one of those kind of people whom I avoid in real life. But the novel (all 723 pages of it) promised something of more significance than just a journey into jerkdom. So I gave the bestselling author, Wally Lamb, fifty more pages to convince me that, indeed, the rest of the book...

Face it. It's a jungle out there.  Finding a literary agent can be a confusing, agonizing, and frustrating ordeal. This ordeal is made even scarier by the fact that there are plenty of not-so-savory agents, ready to take advantage of the unwary, aspiring writer. Take Robert Fletcher at Writer's Literary Agency, for example. In a current lawsuit, it is alleged that Fletcher made $600,000 per year on fees solicited from over 20 websites, yet sold only a few books. Fletcher admitted to having...

Face it. It's a jungle out there.  Finding a literary agent can be a confusing, agonizing, and frustrating ordeal. This ordeal is made even scarier by the fact that there are plenty of not-so-savory agents, ready to take advantage of the unwary, aspiring writer. Take Robert Fletcher at Writer's Literary Agency, for example. In a current lawsuit, it is alleged that Fletcher made $600,000 per year on fees solicited from over 20 websites, yet sold only a few books. Fletcher admitted to having...

First of all, I'm home safe and sound after being in Africa for almost five weeks — no problem (hakuna matata). Secondly, thank you to everyone who sent well wishes and prayers my way. I felt your strength and support throughout. Third, the mission trip was wildly successful, and I'm totally pumped yet again. Fourth, yes I summitted Mt. Kilimanjaro. Woo-hoo!

As I doubt anyone has the patience to read through a 100-page summary of all my experiences, I'll be merciful and brief. Maybe in the...

First of all, I'm home safe and sound after being in Africa for almost five weeks — no problem (hakuna matata). Secondly, thank you to everyone who sent well wishes and prayers my way. I felt your strength and support throughout. Third, the mission trip was wildly successful, and I'm totally pumped yet again. Fourth, yes I summitted Mt. Kilimanjaro. Woo-hoo!

As I doubt anyone has the patience to read through a 100-page summary of all my experiences, I'll be merciful and brief. Maybe in the coming

Well, this is it.

After weeks of scurrying around trying to get everything ready, I am still scurrying around at the eleventh hour. I have yet to gather all my vital paperwork, or organize anything. I then need to cram a mountain of stuff into my suitcases and backpack (sit on them first), and then drive the two hours to Tacoma, sleep, and fly out in the morning. So, please understand that this will be a shortie.

I'll be doing Orphans Africa project work in Tanzania through August 13, at which ...

Well, this is it.

After weeks of scurrying around trying to get everything ready, I am still scurrying around at the eleventh hour. I have yet to gather all my vital paperwork, or organize anything. I then need to cram a mountain of stuff into my suitcases and backpack (sit on them first), and then drive the two hours to Tacoma, sleep, and fly out in the morning. So, please understand that this will be a shortie.

I'll be doing Orphans Africa project work in Tanzania through August 13, at which tim

Author Susan Marlow

I first met Susan Marlow at a writers' critique group, where we took turns critiquing one another's book excerpt or short story. I immediately   "took a shine" to Susan. She was down-to-earth, insightful, and funny, her writing strong and resonant. Although at the time she'd not been published in the book publishing world, I felt confident that it was only a matter of time. Finally, after years of meeting together, there came a day when Susan excitedly shared the news: the ...

Author Susan Marlow

I first met Susan Marlow at a writers' critique group, where we took turns critiquing one another's book excerpt or short story. I immediately   "took a shine" to Susan. She was down-to-earth, insightful, and funny, her writing strong and resonant. Although at the time she'd not been published in the book publishing world, I felt confident that it was only a matter of time. Finally, after years of meeting together, there came a day when Susan excitedly shared the news: the edi