Readers of my memoir, Swimming with Maya, often approach and say something like, “After reading your story, I feel as if I know you as an intimate friend. Wasn’t it hard to be so open about your life?” I readily admit that yes, it was hard – the striptease of writing...
Work has always been a refuge for me. It signified perhaps more than it should have - that I was valued, worthwhile, accomplished. Like many Baby Boomer women, when I first began working in the early 1970s it was still unusual for women to have careers outside of...
My daughter died 24 years ago on April 6,1992. While more than two decades have passed, the impact of Maya's short life continues. Grieving for Maya invited me to mature spiritually and emotionally, and to reach a new understanding of the meaning of love. Love, in my...
Many writers are excited about publishing and promoting their work online. So many options, so little time. It can seem overwhelming. So when fellow Dream of Things author Madeline Sharples asked me to join her on a panel at the Greater Los Angeles Writers Conference,...
Today is Maya’s 43rd birthday. I was 43 years old when Maya died, and she was 19. So this year, a mysterious circle is forming. There are so many “I wonders” inside the circle of synchronicity, so many “What ifs?” What if Maya had lived to be middle aged? Who would...
Being a mother who outlives her child is mind blowing. It’s a lot of other things too, of course. But on this day, the 23rd anniversary of Maya’s death, it’s the mind-bending aspect that grabs me. Maya’s beautiful face, her fierce brown eyes that snapped with wit and...
Faced with conflicting feedback, what's a writer to do? My answer is simple but not easy: Trust your instincts and be willing to revise your work. My former agent Laurie Harper consults with authors to help them shape their books and their careers. She recently asked...
Today, sitting outside at a cafe on Grand Avenue, I met a two-month old baby, Stella, her mother, and her grandmother. We chatted under the shade of a tree, while Stella followed her grandmother's words with her blue gray eyes, alert to every syllable. I couldn't...
http://lameredith.com/2014/09/swimming-with-maya-interview-with-author-eleanor-vincent/ Lizbeth Meredith recently interviewed me for her blog, LAMeredith, and here is the result - some insights about writing, publication, promotion, and how to detach enough to write a...
I love games and words equally, so – voila! – blog tag with two wonderful writers. Thanks to my fellow Dream of Things author David Berner, whose new memoir recently won the Chicago Writers Association Book of the Year award, for "tagging" me. Our publisher, Mike...