At the hotel, I picked up Tracy Chevalier’s book “the Virgin Blue” (by the author of “Girl With A Pearl Earring”) and have been reading it on the train. Because I have access to Bluetooth I have access to the internet and because I have access to the internet, I googled Tracy Chevalier http://www.tchevalier.com/students.html
and found her website where she has written answers to frequently asked questions:
This is my favorite:
What do you do when you have writer’s block?
Writer’s block is for wimps – or men. I have only ever heard men complain of writer’s block. Frankly, I have so little time to write (only during my son’s school hours) that I can’t afford to be blocked. If I reach a sticky point, I do some research, read around the subject – that’s what’s so handy about writing historical novels, there’s always one more source to read.[return to questions]
I also love her open letter to students. She seems like a very nice person, helpful and patient considering her fame and creative success. Well, she is a mommy after all.
One of my New York “Dorothy, you’re not in Kansas anymore” moments took place at one of our regular playgrounds in Brooklyn few years ago. We were chatting and chasing toddlers and Jennifer Egan and Sheri Holman were comparing notes on the difficulties of doing a book tour while nursing infants.