Musings In The Third Dimension | by Amira K Makansi
A music festival might not seem the ideal place to spend a lot of time thinking about writing, but that’s pretty much all I thought about while I was at Lightning in a Bottle, an electronic music festival at Lake San Antonio, California. Lightning in a Bottle is no ordinary music festival. It’s not like Sasquatch or…
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Two years ago, I quit my job as a winemaker to become a full-time writer. I had plans to stay in the wine industry intermittently, particularly during the busy harvest season, but my goal was to dedicate myself to writing full-time during the off-season. I can say with confidence that I’ve done that. In the…
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It is my great pleasure to announce that my forthcoming LITERARY LIBATIONS: WHAT TO DRINK WITH WHAT YOU READ has been contracted for publication by Skyhorse Press in Fall of 2018!
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By now most of you know that in addition to being a blogger, runner, winemaker, and constant consumer of too much food, I also write books. I have a variety of interests, so I write on a variety of topics. For about ten years now I’ve been in love with cocktails, wine, beer, and spirits…
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My name is Amira. I eat a lot of food. I’m a lot of different things, but I’m three things primarily: a writer, a winemaker, and a historian. I also cook a lot. (See above.) I’m not a blogger by trade, but I write here sometimes about things that I’m interested in. I have co-authored…
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Are you a first-time novelist who’s just typed out the magic words “The End” – but doesn’t know where to go next? A new writer who wants to get published but isn’t ready to hit the market? Or even a seasoned author looking for insight and advice on a new manuscript? I’m here to help.…
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Learn what to pour when you open A SCANNER DARKLY by Philip K. Dick
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My friends, I have a special treat for you today. I am here to introduce you to the inestimable majesty that is Amor Towles’ newest novel, A GENTLEMAN IN MOSCOW. I have written before that life often hands you the book you most need at exactly the time you most need it, and I find it…
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I work at home. My partner works at a winery in the area, so except for the rare occasion once a month or so when he comes home midday, I eat lunch alone every day. Lunch is an opportunity to break up the day’s tasks. Usually I try to get a certain amount of editing…
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Sometimes when I run into acquaintances or old friends, people I’ve stayed in touch with via social media, one of the first things I hear is “I’m sorry I haven’t read your books yet!” My response is usually something like, “Why are you sorry? It’s not your job to read my books.” I’m constantly surprised…
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LITERARY LIBATIONS, the book I’m working on, is great fun because it allows me to spend a lot of time doing two of my favorite things in the world: reading and drinking. But writing drink pairings for famous books isn’t as easy as tossing back a cocktail or two, sitting in a leather armchair, and…
Read MoreCheck it out! The newest episode of the Literary Libations video series is out today. You’ll find out what to drink when you sit down with Ernest Hemingway’s FOR WHOM THE BELL TOLLS, and you might even learn something about Hemingway himself. Enjoy!
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On Friday, the Republican-controlled Senate passed their tax overhaul plan, which, when reconciled with the House bill, will most likely shrivel the U.S. economy like that bag of wilting spinach in the back of your refrigerator. Even though nonpartisan organizations across the country have agreed that this will take away health insurance for up to 13…
Read MoreWhat’s the perfect pairing for Alexandre Dumas’ THE COUNT OF MONTE CRISTO? What on Earth is one to drink while reading an out-of-this-world story like Heinlein’s A STRANGER IN A STRANGE LAND? And how are you to pick the perfect drink to go with a novel by that consummate alcoholic, Ernest Hemingway?
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The first thing I loved about America was that it was colorful, vibrant, wild, and strange. There was more to see on that tiny little island than I could explore in a lifetime. I lived in a mostly-white suburb, but that wasn’t America. America was New York. America was the world. America was everything.
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“In this post, I’ve included a few words that most professional writers and editors will cut as often as possible. You can use this post as a guide to identify overused words in your own writing and cut them out to make your work clearer and more concise.”
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