A novel needs characters. Characters need names. And I need those names too, so I can begin to  to create and understand the people in my fictional world. The names of characters in Always Gardenia -- Gardenia Pitkin, Arnold Wiggens, Hans and Milo Pitkin, Torre Pitkin, Sylvia Grant, Hamilton Dodge, Lex Ohashi, Caitlin Curlew, Laurel … Continue reading THE FRIDAY FIVE HUNDRED: NAMING NAMES

My novel Always Gardenia began with a question. Could I write a book in homage to the genius British writer Barbara Pym? Fans of Pym's novels share an affliction, "what-to-read-next-itis." When we've finished all of her thirteen novels, and have reread them, and re-reread them, we are bereft and search for books by other writers that might … Continue reading THE FRIDAY FIVE HUNDRED: GENESIS