Writerly themes

Recently, the writer Katharine Weber told me that she almost always has fire in her novels (including her knockout upcoming one, True Confections), which is startling because she never really has much to do with fire in real life. I almost always have people driving crazily --which really has nothing to do with me except that I am phobic about driving and have not been behind a wheel since I was 16 and was given my license by a bored instructor who made me drive around the block before barking, "Think you can drive? Good. Then you passed."

Obsession always make for interesting writing and what strikes me is sometimes writers don't even realize what is obsessing them until it begins cropping up in their writing--which just proves that maybe we really are writing the books we ourselves want and need to be reading.

It's tough getting started again after vacation. I admit I am cranky, still a little sick, sunburned even after wearing SPF 90 (90! I could go on the sun!) and suffering withdrawal from all that delicious, intoxicating sugar of ice cream, fudge and more ice cream.