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Barbara Falconer Newhall

Veteran journalist Barbara Falconer Newhall riffs on life as she knows it.

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On Writing & Reading

Here you'll find author profiles as well as mini – and not-so-mini – book reviews. I’m a writer who loves to talk about writing, so if you like to write I hope you’ll stop by now and then for some writing tips and to chat about the writing life.

Yippee! I Did It — I Finished My Book

February 20, 2014 By Barbara Falconer Newhall 19 Comments

the first page of Barbara Falconer Newhall's manuscript for Wrestling With God appears on her computer monitor. Photo by BF Newhall

At 6:02 p.m. yesterday evening I hit the send button and sent the manuscript for Wrestling With God off to my publisher, Patheos Press. To tell you the truth, I’m very proud of this book. Read more.

Making Friends — Trying To — With the Dread Serial Comma

February 6, 2014 By Barbara Falconer Newhall 7 Comments

Barbara Falconer Newhall in her writing room with book contract. Photo by Jon Newhall

My book contract says that I’m to deliver my book manuscript “in conformity with the provisions in ‘The Chicago Manual of Style.’” That means that, at long last, I’m finally going head-to-head with the serial comma. Read more.

Armistead Maupin: The Man Who Wrote the Quintessential San Francisco Novel — On a Newspaper Deadline

January 23, 2014 By Barbara Falconer Newhall 6 Comments

Tales of the City author Armistead Maupin reads from "The Days of Ana Madrigal" at Book Passage, SF Ferry Building

Army’s assignment was to show up at the offices of the San Francisco Chronicle every weekday morning and produce seven hundred words, give or take. The challenging part was this: Unlike most newspaper journalists, Army did not sit down to his Selectric typewriter fortified with a fat notebook of stats and quotes. Army’s job was not to report the news. It was to make it up. Read more.

Books I Might Read If I Weren’t So Danged Busy Writing My Own

November 28, 2013 By Barbara Falconer Newhall 2 Comments

cover of don lattin's book "Distilled Spirits."

 

So many books. So little time. And a manuscript deadline — Dec. 1 — looming so near. Debbie Blue’s new book. Don Lattin’s latest. John Shelby Spong’s thoughts on the Gospel of John . . . and so many others. Read more.

Gary Kamiya — A Fun Guy Sings a Love Song to San Francisco

October 17, 2013 By Barbara Falconer Newhall 2 Comments

Bearded author, editor and cofounder of Salon.com Gary Kamiya reads from his new book at Book Passage. Photo by BF Newhall

Due to a common writing misstep, Gary Kamiya, a highly experienced writer and editor, found himself with only six months to write a 385-page book. The San Francisco author and co-founder of Salon.com described his predicament recently to a gathering of writers at Book Passage, Marin county’s powerhouse independent bookstore. Read more.

The Lost Poems of Jane Johnston Schoolcraft — A Native Michigan Voice Rediscovered

September 19, 2013 By Barbara Falconer Newhall 8 Comments

Pine and oak trees growing on a bluff along Lake Michigan. Photo by BF Newhall

In the process of moving their collection, the librarians at the Illinois State Historical Library came across some boxes of old documents. One of them contained a lost cache of writings by Jane Johnston Schoolcraft, a little known Ojibwe poet from Michigan. Read more.

Yea! A Book Contract for “Wrestling with God”

July 25, 2013 By Barbara Falconer Newhall 30 Comments

Writer Barbara Falconer Newhall in her writing room holding a copy of her book contract with Bondfire Books. Photo by Jon Newhall

Good news. I’ve signed a contract with a publisher for my book "Wrestling With God." The publisher is Bondfire Books in partnership with Patheos.com.

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LET’S CONNECT

ON THE FUNNY SIDE

I Decided to Stop Bad-Mouthing Donald Trump. But Will I?

Donald Trump victorious on cable TV. I'm going to stop bad-mouthing Donald Trump. Photo by Barbara Newhall

Last Tuesday night I made a decision. I decided to stop bad-mouthing Donald Trump. I would give him a chance. I’d keep an open mind. But could I? Read more.

MORE "ON THE FUNNY SIDE"

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TO MY READERS

Please feel free to share links to my posts with one and all and to quote briefly from them in your own writing, remembering, of course, to attribute the quote to me and to provide a link back to this site.

My Oakland Tribune columns, btw, are reprinted by permission of the Trib. With the exception of review copies of books, I do not accept ads or freebies of any kind. Click on the "Contact" button if you have questions. Enjoy!

 

DON’T MISS!

Copy of a jury duty summons and juror badge superior court of california. Photo by BF Newhall

In Judge Harbin-Forte’s Courtroom — Where Jury Duty Is an Exercise in Mindfulness

Noah Lukeman on the Colon, That Most Majestic of Punctuation Marks . . .

A Generation of Preschoolers Trapped in Their Yards

Winter Solstice — My Mother’s Last Words to Me Before She Died

MORE DON'T MISS!

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