The Z-Axis

What Lightning in a Bottle Music Festival Taught Me About Writing Great Characters

By: Amira K. June 8, 2018August 11, 2021

Musings, Writingcharacterization, craft, creating characters, how to write great characters, lightning in a bottle, memoir, music, music festival, personal experience, reading, writing, writing as craftLeave a Comment

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…

Book Review: A Gentleman in Moscow by Amor Towles

By: Amira K. May 18, 2018June 7, 2018

Book ReviewA Gentleman in Moscow, Amor Towles, Bolshevik, fine dining, food, historical fiction, literary fiction, Moscow, October Revolution, Russia, service, wineLeave a Comment

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…

What I’ve Learned from Two Years of Writing Full-Time

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…

A Meditation on Lunch, or, Why You Should Eat Alone Sometimes

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…

Why it’s Totally Okay if You Haven’t Read My Books (and Why it’s Almost Always Okay to Not Read Someone’s Book)

By: Amira K. February 27, 2018February 27, 2018

Musings, Publishing, Writingapologies, apologize, friends, friendship, how not to say sorry, how to say sorry, publishing, readers, reading, sorry, writing5 Comments

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…

The Literary Libations Secret: How to Pair Famous Books with Great Drinks, Explained with Funny Gifs and Sample Pairings

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…

Literary Libations: For Whom The Bell Tolls

By: Amira K. February 8, 2018

Publishing, What To Drink With What You Read, Wine, Writingbooks, booze, drinking, Ernest Hemingway, For Whom The Bell Tolls, Hemingway, literary libations, reading, vlogging, What To Drink With What You Read, wine, writing2 Comments

Check 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!

Bury yourself beneath a pile of rotting vegetables. It'll be better. I promise.

The Case For Decomposing Into Nutrient-Dense Compost Now That the Republican Tax Bill Might Actually Become Law

By: Amira K. December 5, 2017

Musings, Politicscompost, decomposition, Humor, political, politics, Republican tax overhaul, resist, satire, taxes, the resistanceLeave a Comment

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…

Introducing LITERARY LIBATIONS: The Video Series

By: Amira K. November 17, 2017

Musings2 Comments

What’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?

New Book Alert! LITERARY LIBATIONS to Be Published by Skyhorse Press

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!