AmiMaxine

UW Madison Arboretum

I spent my entire life with no idea that the city of Madison was home to a 1,200 acre arboretum (with an addition 513 acres in outlying properties). It shouldn’t surprise me, given most cities have large parks and my own UW campus houses an arboretum, as well. I’d just never stumbled upon it –Continue reading “UW Madison Arboretum”

Hello, Detective

If you’ve read past posts about my books, then you will know how much thought and time I put into naming my characters. I like the names to mean something – to tell a little bit more about the person they’re given to. When I started writing my murder mystery, I decided to take aContinue reading “Hello, Detective”

Learning my Genre

I’ll be honest – when I first started writing novel-length stories, genre was the furthest thing from my mind. I just knew I had stories I wanted to tell. So I just wrestled them onto the page. But then I started querying and publishing. And suddenly, I had to put my stories into tidy littleContinue reading “Learning my Genre”

First Friday Rec: The Nineties

Title: The NinetiesAuthor: Chuck KlostermanGenre: Nonfiction, essays, HistoryPages: 384Publication Date: January 31, 2023StoryGraph* Moods: Informative, Reflective, FunnyHow I Stumbled Upon This Book: Wandering around B&NOther Books by Klosterman: But What if We’re Wrong?, Chuck Klosterman X: A Highly Specific, Defiantly Incomplete History of the Early 21st Century, Raised in Captivity*StoryGraph also offers content warnings. Description:Continue reading “First Friday Rec: The Nineties”

Writing as a Process

There are so many writers out there who are adamant that a writer must do this or a writer must do that. That someone isn’t a writer unless they XYZ. The most common one I hear is that to be a writer, you must write every day. When I hear things like that, I can’tContinue reading “Writing as a Process”

Travel Map

I’m the sort of organizational geek that has themes to the rooms of her house regarding what is hanging on the walls. My living room, for example, is “the Ashley room” – all art by my dear friend Ashley Megal that I’ve collected over the years. For a while now, I’ve been wanting to makeContinue reading “Travel Map”

Cloud Pictures

When I was a kid, I remember how any time my papa (material grandfather) returned from a trip, he would have a stack of photos from his adventure. I loved flipping through them with him and hearing all his stories (he is still, to this day, my favorite storyteller). Whenever his adventure involved a plane,Continue reading “Cloud Pictures”

First Friday Rec: Babel

Title: BabelAuthor: R.F. KuangGenre: Fiction, Fantasy, HistoricalPages: 560Publication Date: August 29, 2023StoryGraph* Moods: Dark, Emotional, ChallengingHow I Stumbled Upon This Book: Book ClubOther Books by Kuang: The Poppy War Trilogy, Yellowface*StoryGraph also offers content warnings. Description: A young orphan boy is taken from his home of China and brought to England to study translation (whichContinue reading “First Friday Rec: Babel”

Musicals to Be Buried With, Part Two

Here are the answers to the second six questions Goldstein asks on his podcast. To read the first six, see last week’s post. What is the sexiest musical? — I guess I would have to say Cabaret. I first saw this (film, not in person) when I was a kid and remember thinking, I don’t knowContinue reading “Musicals to Be Buried With, Part Two”

Musicals to Be Buried With, Part One

Previously, I’ve answered the questions Brett Goldstein poses on his podcast Films to Be Buried With. First, I kept to the premise – movies. Then I answered the questions about TV shows and books. This time, my answers will all be musicals. I’ve loved theater ever since I was a kid. There’s something about the butterfliesContinue reading “Musicals to Be Buried With, Part One”