Dear Susan, Circa 2008

Q: If you could talk to the person you were when you were writing your first-published novel, what insights and guidance would you give yourself about the writing life?"
- from Susan

1.     The laundry can wait. So can Facebook and closet reorganizations and TV reruns. Make a commitment to your professional goal of finishing the first book and honor it, and yourself.
2.     Trust your instincts. You may have been to one or a few writers’ workshops, picked...