writing « A Writer Afoot

The Turn of the Wheel–writing season begins

Here it is, arriving suddenly. On Thursday, it was still Indian summer, sunny and hot. Today is Saturday and that season has fled. This is a wet snow, and won’t stick. Next week, it will be warm again—but instead of collecting a few more roses, another couple of squashes, I will put the garden [...]

The fun side of ebooks

This is what can be fun about the shift in the way books come to market. A Bed of Spices was my first historical. It’s a dark, wildly romantic Romeo and Juliet tale, and I loved it madly. It was, however, set in an unusual location, and it did not sell all that [...]

The anvil of holiday guilt

First: we’re working behind the scenes on the Barbara O’Neal and Barbara Samuel webpages, which should be up early next week. Lots of new features, better navigation…and of course, contests will be kicking off with the release of How to Bake a Perfect Life, coming December 21. Stay tuned!

————-

Every year, I promise [...]

Fresh local food…from my backyard

Today, I harvested two handfuls of red potatoes from a black potato sack. I’ve never grown potatoes before, afraid of them for no reason I can really pinpoint, maybe just because they grow deep in the mysterious earth and you have to dig them up. How would I ever know when I should harvest [...]

Whispers of autumn

photo by ha Ree

This morning, I had to put on tennis shoes and pull on my fleece before I walked the dog. The sky is clear and the sun is like lemon juice dripping between shadows, but there’s a bite to the breeze. On the western horizon, Pikes Peak is drawn in [...]

Elsewhere, a blog on walking

No one here will be surprised at this post that I wrote for Writer Unboxed. I knew some of you would enjoy reading it, but keep forgetting to post a link here.

The Writer’s Toolbox: Walking

One of the number one requirements of a commercial fiction career is that you must reliably produce [...]

The damp, dewy beginning

I’m at the beginning of a new book. This is probably my favorite part of writing—every possibility exists. There is a freshness to the material, a scent of dew and dawn filling my work hours. There is always the chance that this time I will have matured enough, learned enough, that I will be [...]

Showing up

Pretty sure I’ve posted a blog that says more or less this same thing at least 63 times, but it’s worth saying again. I get more work done, more good pages, more excellent rewriting done when I actually put myself in the chair during my most productive hours (8 am to 12 pm) and…uh…work.

[...]

Right brain book building

My youngest son has a cat named Knucks, a long legged and elegant creature who must be coaxed and seduced into letting me play with him or pet him. He will play, he wants to play, and he especially wants me to rub his long black nose so he can purr almost silently, nose [...]

In the Rain

I’m warmly ensconced at an Italian restaurant in Lee’s Summit, Missouri. I came t0 town to hear Elizabeth Gilbert speak and do some focused work away from the distractions at home. But after three days of my own company, I had to get out of the hotel. It’s pouring rain, which means I am [...]

A Writer Afoot

Barbara O’Neal Books

More Recent Releases

MORE Books

eBooks