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Creative Gratitude

Creative Gratitude

The end of the year is bearing down on us. Amidst all the celebrations, this is a good time to assess how creativity entered your life over the past year. How did a spark of intrigue develop into a more substantial blaze over the course of the year? Seize this moment...
The Vitality of Publishing

The Vitality of Publishing

Penguin Random House wants to merge with Simon & Schuster. Such an action would bring together two of the biggest players in the publishing world. Penguin Random House alone owns 300 imprints worldwide and releases 15,000 titles a year. Often, Penguin and Simon...
Drawing Dragons

Drawing Dragons

I lost one of my favorite childhood books. It was called “The Wizard of Maldoone.” For some reason, this book came to mind a couple of weeks ago. It was suddenly very important for me to locate another copy of this book. I had a very clear impression of the book –...
The Suspense of the Idea

The Suspense of the Idea

For inspiration, I frequently turn to Patricia Highsmith’s classic on fiction writing, “Plotting and Writing Suspense Fiction.” She turned out many psychologically gripping tales, including “The Talented Mr. Ripley” and “Strangers on a Train,” during her heralded...
Puppets, Escape, and the Artist

Puppets, Escape, and the Artist

Last week, I wrote an entry about Amal, the larger-than-life puppet who has made her way from the Turkish border to the United Kingdom over the past several weeks. Little Amal is a Syrian refugee, desperately trying to escape the terror of a long-standing civil war in...