Michele Torrey's Blog, page 7

We all know the old Catch 22: in order to get published you have to have an agent; in order to get an agent you have to have been published. Sounds like an impossible dilemma, but there is hope for aspiring writers.

First of all, I don’t believe the first statement is entirely true. I believe that writers can get published without agent representation, and not just at the little publishing houses but at the big publishing giants as well. So what’s the secret? The secret is two-fold.

First, you mus

I’m cuckoo for the environment. In fact, each of my Doyle & Fossey: Science Detectives books has a story that is related to the environment, whether its habitat destruction or saving mini-penguins from oil spills. Typically, my environmental activism is limited to my household or to my desk where I plot my next Doyle & Fossey escapade. But on this St. Patrick’s Day, my environmental activism took me to the hallowed halls of my state capitol building in Olympia, Washington.

Climate change is a ho

Words evolve. They come, they go.

There was a time when, if someone called you a “rascal,” you would have run them through with your sword to avenge your honor. Now though, we just laugh with incredulity that anyone would use such a word. “A rascal!? Oh, ho ho, ha ha. That’s rich. Ha ha ha!”

We accept the evolution of words as part of the language territory. But researchers in the U.K. have used a supercomputer to determine that certain everyday words are already on their way out. Words like guts,

Welcome to “Prose & Prattle!” Use this forum to post your own literary work, whether it’s a poem, a paragraph, a short story, or whatever. (Please try to keep it under 500 words. For ages 0 to 99.) Let the muse begin!

Here’s my dirty secret. I’d rather read a good book, write a good book, or watch a movie than go climb a mountain. Especially a mountain that’s so high there’s really not much oxygen at the top to go around. (Yes, there was a time in my teens when I indeed did climb mountains and could hang over 300 foot cliffs without breaking a sweat. But after several decades of sitting on my butt surrounded with books and movies and scones, well, I now break a considerable sweat and think twice about danglin

Two weeks ago while vacationing in Hawaii I literally came to my senses.

It was one of those evenings when the moon hovered full and luminous, painting the harbor with a silver brush stroke. I sat on the lanai with my husband and two friends, enjoying the view and the cool breeze that kissed my forehead. A friend was playing the guitar and singing. In between songs we laughed and told jokes and every now and then just sighed as if life couldn’t get any better than this.

My husband had just bought

Before I write any of my historical novels, I research. Often the research can get boring, especially if I’m reading a very thick, dull research book and am short on sleep. But often the research can be exciting and can lead to some unexpected benefits!

For my book VOYAGE OF ICE, it was necessary to travel to Alaska to further understand the Arctic whaling industry and to experience the wild and woolly north for myself. (You can only learn so much from a book.) In Anchorage I toured a whaling mus

I don’t know about you, but yesterday I was glued to the TV, watching as Barack Obama became the first African-American President of the United States. Yes, it’s been a long time coming.

I kept my tissues handy. I alternately cheered and cried, soon earning myself a baleful stare from my trying-to-snooze cat. I was moved by the power of Obama’s speech — not only the words themselves, but by the strength of their delivery and the hope undergirding it, like a new foundation bolstering an old, decay

A warm welcome to all of you who are visiting my new website (designed by my very talented son!). Whether you’re a fan, a teacher, or a book club leader, it’s chock full of great information about me and my books.

For those of you who know me personally, you won’t be surprised when I say that I tend to be a very private person. Disclosing information about myself in a public forum is really a new experience, and there were times when I had to push myself to continue telling my story. I was surpri