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Barbara Falconer Newhall

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

  • A CASE OF THE HUMAN CONDITION
  • MY EVER-CHANGING FAMILY
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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.

Author Event at Book Passage in Corte Madera — Come Help Me Celebrate

April 2, 2015 By Barbara Falconer Newhall

Author Barbara Falconer Newhall joyfully shows off her copy of Wrestling with God with cover design by Michelle Lenger. Photo by Barbara Newhall

You are invited to  an author event for my book at Book Passage bookstore in Marin county at 7 p.m., Saturday, April 11, 2015, 51 Tamal Vista Blvd., Corte Madera. Read more.

KidSpirit OnLine: Where Young Souls Take On the Big–Old–Questions

October 30, 2014 By Barbara Falconer Newhall

The logo of KidSpirit OnLine.

Does truth have inherent value? What is beauty? Those are big questions, but the brave, young souls of KidSpirit OnLine are ready to take on the big ideas. Read more.

Dale Chihuly’s Glass: Fine Art? Kitsch? Or Both?

September 25, 2014 By Barbara Falconer Newhall

Dale Chihuly's early 1970s "Glass Forest" glass sculpture at Chihuly Garden and Glass museum in Seattle. Photo by Barbara NewhallI can’t make up my mind about Dale Chihuly. He’s a glassblower, which makes him a craftsman. But is he also an artist? He’s prolific and his work is popular; does that mean he’s pandering to a mass audience? Is his work fine art—or shameless kitsch? Read more.

Journalists Killed in the Line of Duty: Foley, Sotloff Joined by Dozens Each Year

September 18, 2014 By Barbara Falconer Newhall

Memorial to journalists killed in the line of duty at the Newseum in Washington, D.C, bears the names of thousands of journalists. Photo by Sam Kittner/Newseum

James Foley and Steven Sotloff are just two of the 50 journalists killed world-wide in the line of duty so far this year. Read more.

Writers Need Editors – And Mine Wants My Manuscript Turned In, Now

August 21, 2014 By Barbara Falconer Newhall

Barbara Falconer Newhall frowns and frets as she gets started on editing the manuscript for her book, "Wrestling with God." Photo by Barbara Newhall

It’s time to put the final tweaks and edits on my book manuscript so that my editor can send it off to be formatted – and published. It’s been years since I started work on “Wrestling with God.” I’ve written draft after draft and tried format after format. I’ve been wrestling with that manuscript and what I want this book to be as fiercely as I’ve been wrestling with God and who that might be. Read more.

Tulips and Sex — Writing as If Everyone I Know Were Dead

April 3, 2014 By Barbara Falconer Newhall

looking at pink tulips just opening from the underside at Mountain View Cemetery in Oakland, CA. Photo by BF Newhall

I want to write about tulips today. I don’t want to write about sex. The trouble is, for me, writing about tulips means writing about sex: something about their juicy curves brings erotic metaphors to my particular mind. I had thought that once my mother — and father — were no longer alive and reading over my shoulder, I’d be able to write my heart out, but . . . Read more.

You’ve Got the Agent, You’ve Got the Publisher — But Do You Have the Publicist?

March 13, 2014 By Barbara Falconer Newhall

Computer monitor shows title page of "Wrestling with God" book manuscript ready to send to publisher. Photo by BF Newhall

You get an idea for a book. You like it a lot. You think people are going to want to read this book. You’re stoked. Then you fret for months and years over how to transform this idea you like so much into a 250-page manuscript that people will actually read. Read more.

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LET’S CONNECT

ON THE FUNNY SIDE

I Can’t Believe I Got in the Water With That 1400-Pound Whale

Marine World foto, Newspaper reporter Barbara Falconer Newhall in wet suit and Marine World trainer Deirdre Ballou in boots and rain coat with bottle-nosed dolphin Spock at edge of tank in 1979. Marine World photo.

Last weekend I watched the CNN documentary “Blackfish” and saw a Sea World trainer attacked and pulled underwater by an out-of-control killer whale. I had to wonder — could that have been me? “Blackfish” traces the deadly history of killer whales at places like Sea World, and it brought back memories of the day I found myself in a tank of water with a 1400-pound pilot whale named Koko. 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!

anne lamott at montclair presbyterian church november 2012. photo by bf newhall

Good Books I Haven’t Really Read: Anna Quindlen, Stephen Prothero, David Talbot and a Book About French Love . . .

Detail of a grren, white and red mural depicting the Virgin of Guadalupe on the outer wall of a laundromat in East Austin , TX. Photo by BF Newhall.

SXSW: Austin — A City With Its Soul on Its Sleeve

An August sunset over Lake Michigan from a beach near Pentwater, MI. Photo by BF Newhall

On the Shores of Lake Michigan — Eagle Top, a Wild Place Tamed

An older woman tries on dresses for her daughter's wedding day. Photo by Barbara Newhall

Mother-of-the-Bride Dress: What, Oh, What Do I Wear to My Daughter’s Wedding?

MORE DON'T MISS!

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