There are many afflictions in this world, but none quite as persistent, ridiculous, or quietly feral as Author Brain. If you have it, you already know. If you don’t, congratulations on your peaceful, single-layered existence. Send me a post-card from wherever you live. I’ll put it on my fridge and think of you with envy…

People love the glamorous version of writing. You know the one, right? The ethereal writer sitting beside a window with a cup of tea (in my case, jasmine), gently plucking words from the breeze. The story flows. The characters cooperate. The muse hums like a well-trained choir. Angels descend from heaven and all that jazz. …

There are things no one tells you when you decide to write a novel. They’ll tell you it’s rewarding and meaningful. They’ll tell you to trust the process.  What they won’t tell you is that writing a novel will quietly hijack your daily life and turn you into someone who mutters conversations between fictional people while unloading the…