Prague Fraud
For years, I felt like a “Prague Fraud.” After all, Diamonds in Auschwitz reads in part as a love letter to Prague—a city whose beauty, history, and resilience inspired so much of the novel—yet I had never actually been there. Thanks to my incredible book club friends, that finally changed. Walking the streets that inspired Hanna, Samual, and Rachael, crossing Charles Bridge, and visiting the sites woven into the story brought the novel to life in a way I never expected. More than a year after publication, Prague reminded me why I fell in love with this story in the first place—and confirmed that some literary journeys are worth taking twice.
A Room of One’s Own
Virginia Woolf once wrote, “a woman must have money and a room of one’s own if she is to write fiction.” Nearly twenty years after first reading those words, their meaning finally became clear. From writing in a noisy nook between televisions and Xbox games to stepping into a cozy office built with love, discovering the power of a dedicated writing space has transformed both creativity and productivity. This heartfelt reflection explores why every writer needs a room with a door, shelves full of inspiration, and a space that feels entirely their own.
Support Your Library
I’m thankful for the great support from Indiana libraries! I have almost a full schedule of events—book clubs (my favorite!), author fairs, signings, and talks. Libraries are important for our communities. Please support your local library—they make our lives better and always need help.
Listening is Reading Too
I used to be a big book snob.
I think …….
listening to audio books definitely counts as reading.
listening to books can be a completely different experience than reading them
certain books should be read and certain ones should be listened to
Check out my list of “must-listen-to” audio books.
Publication Week Highlight Reel
It’s hard to believe it’s been two weeks since Diamonds in Auschwitz was released! My Amazon Bestseller Campaign was a well-planned effort to be in the top 100 in the categories of Amazon. Don’t get me started on the amazing book launch party at The Cellar Wine Bar and Kitchen! Since I wrote the acknowledgements at the back of the book – almost a year ago – I have been dying to show some of the people mentioned. I love, Love, LOVE getting text message from friends with pictures of my book. It’s a huge relief to know that people actually like the book.
How to help your local writer
While it’s often said that writing is a lonely business, my book has been a team effort. I have nothing but gratitude for my editing team at Greenleaf Book Group. Here are a few ideas on how you can help me promote my book.
Publishing a Book is Terrifying
This is just an honest confession about what it’s like to go through the process of getting a book published. This is not a plug for people to chime in here and say things like of course, people will like your book or you’ve worked so hard, you should be proud. On Friday, I received the email from my publisher that said we are officially out of production and on to printing for Diamonds in Auschwitz.
New Year’s Resolution: Be more like Paul Rudd
New Year’s Resolution: Be more like Paul Rudd
I love Paul Rudd. I highly recommend searching “Forgetting Sarah Marshall surf lesson” in YouTube.
My New Year’s Resolution. Do less.
“The less you do, the more you do. Do less. Try less.”
It’s what’s going to make me (I hope) a more successful writer.
Don’t Kill Fido
When I hired a sensitivity reader for my upcoming novel, Diamonds in Auschwitz, I never imagined the main piece of advice. I wanted someone to read it and show me the things I got wrong in the Jewish faith and culture and make sure I didn’t accidentally write something offensive. Looking back now, I see that my sensitivity reader almost worked like a focus group. My brain went over those arguments for days. I can’t say how grateful I am to have an editor to do that for me. The sensitivity reader saved one life at least.
Lightning and Rain Storms
It’s easy now, three and a half years later, for me to romanticize how I came up with Diamonds in Auschwitz. There were a lot of things that I didn’t realize until I started digging into the research, and then, even later, as I was writing. The problem with romanticizing the strike of lightning that was Diamonds in Auschwitz is that it paralyzed me to start my next work in progress. The idea for the book I just started writing has come slowly, building over two years. I was afraid to write it for a long time. I had to just get started and make this rain shower a storm of words.
Confessions of a Non Editor
Confession: I was truly ignorant in regards to the process of writing/preparing a novel for publication. Having just finished the developmental editing phase of publication, I can say without a doubt: I was right. Enter: My Editor. Btw, my editor is fabulous. I was finally given a little direction on major edits. And I loved it! the developmental editing experience was not just essential to get Diamonds in Auschwitz ready for true book form, but it was an amazing lesson.
Writing and Middle School Robotics
Have you ever attended a middle school robotics competition? In these competitions, there are a lot of misplaced outbursts of anger, a lot of asking “why am I even doing this?”, a lot of tears. I was recently faced with the same dilemma – continue down the path of the novel I was currently writing with very little hope of publishing OR completely start over in hopes of making something spectacular. There was definitely one night of lying in bed deciding that I was done. Done researching, done writing, done trying to make this dream come true. If my twelve-year-old can do it; so can I.
Shopping for an agent at Target
I found my literary agent in Target. And why not? I can find everything else there. In the middle of Target’s health and beauty section, I had a 20-minute conversation with my top pick of literary agents. I felt truly seen. He described my book back to me with all the words I used in my head. The craziest part was that he was trying to sell me on him.
May the Odds Be Ever in Your Favor
After completing the first… and then the second… draft of Diamonds in Auschwitz, I decided it was time to find an agent. I weighed the pros and cons. Then I hit the agency websites. I looked up each agent, again trying to surmise if they were interested in the type of book I had written. Just to keep you in suspense, you’ll have to see my next blog post to find out the results.
A Blank Canvas
I learned to see a new work in progress like a blank canvas. The blank page is not a sign of failure or backtracking. Where will this new adventure take me? To a haunted cathedral of Charleston, across the sea to England during the Age of Enlightenment, or deep into the rooms of the Constantinople harem during Ottoman Empire? Stay tuned to find out what my blank canvas becomes.
The Death of My WIP
My WIP is not dead. I went through the stages of grief. I bought a stack of different nonfiction books, from different locations and different time periods, to find the next story that inspires me and makes me fall in love. I’m excited for my next adventure. My WIP is resting… waiting... frozen in time, until it’s the right time to shine.
Family Vacations = Memories and More Ideas
I fall in love with places much easier than I fall in love with people. As a historical fiction writer, many of my earlier ideas are from books. I’m finding myself more and more inspired by places than anything else. Hawaii- with its less than perfect history; Charleston, North Carolina- home of uncountable hauntings and ghost sightings; or Istanbul, Turkey home of the Spoonmaker’s Diamond. These places are filling up my coffer of story ideas.
Adoption, Injured Geese and the Patience of Publishing
I’m not one to handle disappointments, rejections, failures, etc. stoically, or even well. I look at my daughter today – this daughter who is the perfect one for me at the perfect time. I know that those stacks of NOs from publishers that I am collecting are not really nos, but just not yets.
Frau Friedl in Real Life
Frau Friedl deserves so much more than the few chapters in which she appears in Diamonds in Auschwitz. Unlike many of the artists in Terezin who were afraid to draw the true conditions and afraid to sign their name to anything incriminating, Frau Friedl encouraged the children to draw what they saw, what they felt, what they dreamed of. Four years later, she smuggled over 4,500 drawings in two suitcases out of the camp.
The Living, Breathing Streets of Prague
I knew nothing of the city, nothing of its people or its experience during World War II. But as the story unfolded itself to me, starting backwards in Auschwitz, reversing in time to Terezin, the origin became obvious to me. It’s more than a place. It’s a living, breathing part of the story.