blog about the novel writing process
I’m thinking of adding a tag line to the title of my novel: The Death of the Gecko, “Fruit of the Devil”, “La Fruta del Diablo”. That’s what the freseros, the people who pick in the strawberry fields, call strawberries. Strawberries are a beautiful fruit, and very nutritious, when grown organically. Fruit is one of […]
The Santa Barbara Writers Conference was an outstanding experience. I took the Pacific Coast Starlight down to the conference. Salinas to Santa Barbara. Good solitary writing time in the observation car. Interesting characters on the train. Beautiful landscapes, never seen from the highway. California Coast from the train One of the highlights for me
The Santa Barbara Writers’ Conference Read More »
I’m at the Santa Barbara Writer’s Conference. Today was Agent’s Day. I met with five agents, who each read my first five pages and heard my pitch. All of the agents were shocked and amazed by the fact that methyl bromide and chloropicrin are still being used to grow strawberries. All felt strongly that the
I attended a lecture last night at UCSC on Brain, Mind, and Consciousnes – part of a fascinating week-long conference. The speakers were Nora Bateson, daughter of Gregory Bateson (An Ecology of Mind) and Dr. David Presti, neuroscientist and UC Berkley professor, who has been teaching neuroscience to Tibetan monks in India at the request
when fiction bleeds into reality Read More »
Yesterday I Came Out. Five of my very knowledgeable and astute friends accepted copies of the First Draft of The Death of the Gecko to read and critique. After writing “in the closet” for two and a half years, it was a very exhilarating and scary feeling to expose my work to other people. Being
Coming Out: Exultation and Sorrow Read More »
Posted on February 20, 2012 by msflo Went to the EcoFarm Conference at Assilomar for research on sustainable agriculture. I learned so much and was very inspired! Besides gaining information for my story, I learned more about how to manage my own evolving mini micro urban farm, with chickens and fruit. Currently, Ms. B is
underwater (archived) Read More »
Posted on October 19, 2011 by msflo Finished the scene where Ms. B attends her first meeting of the Watsonville Wetlands Watch and learns about the struggle to save the Tai Property on the ocean side of Highway 1. Doing background research for this scene, I learned more about the courage, perseverance, wisdom and genius
it’s my birthday. (archived) Read More »
Posted on August 17, 2011 by msflo I honestly thought I’d be finished with my first draft at least by June. Well, it’s already August, and I’m at about 450 pages. I’ve been writing this novel for a year! Working on it, hacking out the words, nearly every day. But it’s been in my head,
How Long? (archived) Read More »
Work in Progress Posted on May 16, 2011 by msflo I’m coming along with the first draft of my novel, The Death of the Gecko. Been working on it pretty much full time since last September. Here is a brief summary of its direction: The Death of the Gecko by Amanda Byrd (pen name) …a
First Post (archived) Read More »
I’ve finished the first draft of The Death of the Gecko. The elation of finishing such a monumental task lasted only about an afternoon. Then the compulsion to revise and edit, polish and ready the manuscript for release set in! I’m back to rigorous daily work on the manuscript. I started reading from the beginning
The First Draft is Finished! Read More »
The last part of my story takes part in a magical world, where the Salmon People get out of their salmon bodies and dwell in Río Abajo Río (Clarissa Estés term) in a village on the river that runs underneath this river. It is a magical and erotic section, and was very fun to write.
Writing magical eroticism Read More »
Well, the story is a thriller. So of course there is a cop. Detective Sargent Charlie Rosa of the Santa Cruz County Sheriff’s Department. Charlie is so real to me that, these days, I look into every cop car I pass on the road to see if he’s there! So, far, I haven’t found him,
I had the great honor and privilege of connecting with a Fish and Game Captain recently. I was working on a scene where my Fish and Game Warden responds to a situation on Corralitos Creek, and I wanted to get my details right. I was very fortunate to meet Captain Kelly, who has been tremendously
Spent many years teaching watershed ecology to little kids. Death of the Gecko is a story about watershed ecology for grown-ups. Had a dream the other night. I was at a university, and it was the end of the semester. A professor of geology or geography was looking over his text books, and I was
writing about the watershed Read More »
That’s the way the story starts. Death is on my mind tonight. My beloved Godmother, Grace, died on May 3rd. And I just learned today about the deaths of two of my friends. Cecile, I knew was sick, but it never occurred to me she might die. She did, fairly suddenly, this week. Barbara, I
A priest is murdered. Read More »