Linda K Sienkiewicz

Writing life, line by line

How to finish the damn book: Advice from Jacquelyn Mitchard

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If it was easy, maybe we’d all have a book Did you know 97% of books started are never finished? One year after I finished and published my first book, I began to worry I’d never finish book two. Luckily I met up— again— with one of my literary heroes at Lost Lake Writer's Retreat, and she gave me the encouragement and inspiration I needed in a workshop. Years prior, Jacquelyn Mitchard … [Read more...]

How Leigh Stein’s Murderless Mystery Sparked My Murder Dream

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A dream invasion just in time for Halloween: After a brief exchange with author Leigh Stein on Instagram about how she wrote a murder mystery without a murder (If You’re Seeing This It’s Meant For You), I dreamt I murdered someone. Or did I? Only my subconscious knows. The dream involved an annoying woman and her grown son who came to my house. I didn't know what she wanted from me, but … [Read more...]

Five Marriages and a Brother Away from Vincent van Gogh

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We're related, if you squint really hard: You know those people who claim they’re vaguely related to someone famous? As in “My grandmother’s neighbor’s hairdresser once cut Brad Pitt’s hair when he was a boy!” Well, through Geni, I discovered my famous relative is Vincent van Gogh. Van Gogh is my great uncle's (on my mother's side) first cousin's husband's second cousin's wife's first … [Read more...]

From Highclere to King Tut: The Story Behind Katherine Kirkpatrick’s historical novel

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From childhood travels abroad to standing awestruck before Tutankhamun’s golden mask at the Met, Katherine Kirkpatrick has long carried a fascination with history and Egypt’s mysteries. Shaped by both wonder and loss, she turned to writing early in life, a path that led to her new historical novel To Chase the Glowing Hours, fifteen years in the making. Welcome, Katherine! What: My new … [Read more...]

From Treadle to Kenmore: A Family Sewing Legacy That Outlasts JoAnn Fabrics

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Passing Down a Sewing Legacy: My grandmother Elsie taught me basics of hand sewing. My mother sewed clothes and doll dresses for me, and then taught me sewing on her Singer treadle machine. I still remember the pump of the metal foot pedal, the soft hum of the mechanics, and the smell of machine oil. When she upgraded to an electric sewing machine, I resisted because it didn’t feel the same, … [Read more...]