Myth, Lore, Legends, and Heroes

Myth, Lore, Legends, and Heroes

I recently finished the novel Song of Achilles by Madeline Miller, the story of Achilles’s and Patrocles’s eternal love that ultimately led to the end of the Trojan War. The story is brilliant, beautiful and incredibly told and when I was planning the next...
On Top of the World

On Top of the World

    Dinner Over Athens We look down at the ancient city below us and we eat delicious foreign fare, fresh fish from the sea we can see, sauces made with fresh vegetables, wine from local vineyards. We are hundreds of feet above Athens, the air as fresh as...
Art and Soul

Art and Soul

I am six years old, sitting in my playroom with one of several cartoon-covered journals in my hand. The pages are scribbled with thousands of single-syllable words in pinks and purples: character names, magic spells, fantastical places I’m going to visit one...
Reading and Writing Is Living

Reading and Writing Is Living

I used to wonder how I would react to true tragedy. As a Type A creative with a Gemini star sign and enough anxiety to power the grid at least for a day, I wondered this probably more than I should. But the answer was always the same–I would read my way through....
Adding More Books

Adding More Books

As writers, we’re told that it’s fundamental to read as many books as possible–and it’s true. Reading is what makes us better writers. It teaches us how to tell genuine stories, what pitfalls to avoid, what makes for strong characterization and how to hold a reader’s...