• Novel Spaces

    It’s Not Your Job

    I do my best to support my fellow Caribbean authors, so when I came across a new book by an author from the region I looked for it on Amazon and took a “Look Inside”. I did this because although I am a self-published author and wholly support self-publishing, I am painfully aware of the wide variety in quality that…

  • Novel Spaces

    Praise for a Prize

    Sometime in 2010, while I was living in Ghana, a friend insisted on introducing me to a young woman who was doing something remarkable in the world of literacy. “You have to meet her and hear her story,” my friend insisted, and what a story it was.

  • Novel Spaces

    The New Guy in my Life

    I’m a messy writer. I make notes everywhere, backs of envelopes, receipts, box tops. If pen or pencil will make an impression on it I will write on it.

  • Novel Spaces

    Keeping Me Honest

    Happy New Year! I know it is a little late, but the year still feels fresh although January is almost halfway gone. On New Year’s Day a friend asked me what were my resolutions for 2014. I sensed a bit of disappointment when I admitted that I didn’t have any, so I quickly clarified that I have plans for my…

  • Novel Spaces

    More than words

    My daughter and I have a standing “joke” about singers. If two songs by the same artist play on the radio in a row (and it’s not two-fer Tuesday) it might be the artist’s birthday. If three songs are played in a row, we know that it is definitely bad news, they have probably died. So, she knew exactly what…

  • Novel Spaces

    Temporarily Out Of Stock

    Wikipedia’s definition of Print on Demand is as follows: “Print on demand (POD) is a printing technology and business process in which new copies of a book (or other document) are not printed until an order has been received, which means books can be printed one at a time.”

  • Novel Spaces

    The Real Audience

    I wrote my first young adult novel this year. A young adult (YA) novel is a book that will most likely be enjoyed by children 12-18 years old. Since all of my previous books had been written for a younger audience, I did a lot of research before and during the process.

  • Novel Spaces

    Astrid Lindgren Award nomination

    As a writer honing the art of short-story writing, I was very pleased to hear that Alice Munro was selected as the winner of the 2013 Nobel Prize for Literature. In the past, the prize has generally been awarded to authors of novels and very often to authors of novels with a political slant. In Ms. Munro’s words, “I would…

  • Novel Spaces

    And the Emmy Goes To …

    As a writer honing the art of short-story writing, I was very pleased to hear that Alice Munro was selected as the winner of the 2013 Nobel Prize for Literature. In the past, the prize has generally been awarded to authors of novels and very often to authors of novels with a political slant. In Ms. Munro’s words, “I would…

  • Novel Spaces

    Keeping Pace

    My children and I have a well developed history of reading together. Before they were able to read, I would read to them every night. When they were developing their reading skills, we would take turns to read out loud. Even after they were reading fluently, I continued reading to them every bedtime, mainly books that I knew they would…