April Lindner

Glimpsed in Tuscany As the Love, Lucy launch day grows tantalizingly close, some terrific book blogs have been running reviews and, in the case of Dizneeee's World of Books , an interview. Thanks to Lisa for asking me some really great questions, and for letting me share our conversation here with you. *** Q: Thank you for taking the time to answer some questions with me today. My book club recently read Love, Lucy and we had a great time discussing it and dreaming of taking a European excursion to see the sights and meet cute boys! We loved your retelling and spin of  A Room With a View ! What gave you the idea to write a new adventure for this particular story?  A: You’re welcome! I’m so glad you enjoyed the book. Like Lucy, I was given the chance to backpack through Europe when I was pretty young. Ever since, I have wanted to write a novel inspired by my backpacking experiences, and  A Room With a View —Forster’s novel and also the glorious 1985 Mercha...

This morning Andre and I planned to set out on one of our river town daytrips .  We got up, got dressed, went out, made a pit stop for coffee, and realized that on a coldly rainy day like today no road trip could rival staying home in bed and cuddling the dogs. So here I am, doing something I get to do all too rarely: reading for pleasure.  First up, this lovely ARC by Lara Avery: There's so much else I should be doing--dusting, making my grocery list, answering emails.  But today, for once, I'm saving the shoulds for another day. 

Christmas 2014 went by in a flash of blinking lights.  First there was a whole lot of grading, then a whole lot of cleaning, then a trip to the airport to pick up Mom. There were shopping and cooking and then some wonderful warm moments with friends and family--presents to unwrap, bread to break, and, finally, even a little bit of downtime.   Nico chills with Grandma And now it's almost--but not quite--time to take down this year's tree. Just before we ripped into the presents Now that we're poised on the brink of 2015, I'm starting to wrap my mind around my one big New Year's Resolution, not counting the perennial lose weight/hit the gym/give up chocolate:  Write a novel.     The story and characters have been taking shape in my head for a while now,  and I've started putting down words on paper.  So far I'm twenty-five pages in--admittedly not so very far.  But I know the town where my heroine lives. I've walk...

A year a good today this handsome fellow became a part of our family.  In some ways it feels like we've only just adopted him, and in other ways it feels like he's been one of us forever.  Though he gets in his share of trouble , we can't imagine life without Nico. Even Reuben, who was slow to warm to his new sibling, seems to like having him around 99.5% of the time.   Who, me?

Eeyore wishes you all a very happy Halloween.  Or, if you prefer, a happy Dia de los Muertos : Glimpsed on the third floor of Bellarmine Hall, Saint Joseph's University

Before So it's been almost a year since we brought home Nico the formerly-stray cockapoo .  All our other dogs, past and present, have been the rugged kind that don't need much in the way of grooming--a quick brushing and a bath every so often. But Nico's the poofy kind.  When we first met him, he was all matted and tangled from his days on the mean streets of Conshohocken, Pennsylvania.  The Montgomery County SPCA shaved away the worst tangles before they handed him over, but three months later, he was a little black cumulous cloud of curls. Lather, rinse, shave...then repeat.  Every three months. Two days ago, Nico visited the groomer's, where he was de-fluffed and pampered: He came home sleek, neat, and smelling like a daisy.  Lovely, right? After Well, yes.  Except it turns out that the newly sleek Nico--a.k.a. Sleeko--can fit through a gap in our backyard fence--one we'd never even noticed before.  One moment he was in the b...

Can't get enough of YA fiction?   Enter here to win eight novels in a brand new Back-to-School giveaway.  And click here to learn more about each book. I'm thrilled that the new paperback edition of Catherine is included. Nico hearts Catherine... though not as much as he hearts red pepper.

Remember Nico, the little stray cockapoo we adopted back in November? Seven and a half months later, he's adjusted very nicely to life with us.  On days when I write at home, he warms my feet while I work, and follows me from room to room with great interest in whatever I do or say.  He has even won over Reuben, our elder statesdog, who at first was a bit resistant to Nico's charms. Chillin' on the deck--more fun with a friend These days we can leave the house with Nico uncrated, and he mainly just sleeps on the bed or sits on the stairs for a better view out the front door.  And he's successfully trained us not to leave food in reach. As much of a fixture as Nico has become in our lives, we still wonder about his backstory.  The terrible mats in his fur when he arrived at the shelter indicated that he had either lived on the street a good long time or had been seriously neglected by his previous owner. We still look for clues to what his life ...

Two real treats came in the mail today.  The first is yet another memoir by Marlena De Blasi , this one set in Sicily.   Isn't that the most beautiful book cover you've ever seen? The second is the most recent issue of American Arts Quarterly , a journal I always look forward to for its fresh take on representational art, both contemporary and historical.  This time around, though, I've been awaiting AAQ even more breathlessly, because a poem of mine is in it, along with poems by Joseph Bathanti , and  Kim Bridgford . Nico-approved reading I'll post a link to my poem once it's up.  I wrote it shortly after my father's death, and it may be the truest thing I've ever put on paper.

<a href="http://www.bloglovin.com/blog/10171183/?claim=7sadcqzejpe">Follow my blog with Bloglovin</a> Please excuse the above weird posting.  I had to put it here so that I could also put up the button (to your right) that lets you follow me via bloglovin .  I'm finding bloglovin to be a really fun and easy way to keep track of my favorite blogs.  So I wanted their button, even if it does make for one awkward post! Nico says: please consider clicking on the bloglovin' button...or on the Google +1 button (also to the right).   And who could say no to Nico?

Nico is emitting powerful "stop grading and hug me" vibes. Meanwhile  the struggle for the future of Saint Joseph's University wages on: Saint Mary's Hall Saint Ignatius, founder of the Jesuits To pacify myself/procrastinate, I look at pictures of travels past and dream of travels future. With my sister: outside the duomo in Florence and inside the duomo And I look forward to Monday.  If I can only grade fast enough, I can let myself return to my Greek novel on Monday. At Knossos, looking up

With coat Nico's first real haircut was badly timed to fall on the first day of Pennsylvania's most recent brutal cold snap.  So not only does he have to wear a fleecy coat--he has to be photographed in it.  And that photograph has to be shared on my blog, for--I hope--your viewing amusement. Neeks may look a bit undignified, but take my word for it: he smells like a flowerbed.  And under that coat, his newly shorn fur feels and looks like velveteen, only increasing his resemblance to a stuffed toy. While I miss his luxurious curls and his pompadour, I'm loving this new and spiffy little dog, even if he does seem a bit miffed about his makeover. Without

This winter has been a bit much, even for a snowstorm fan like me.  Only two things have made the high banks of snow worthwhile: 1) Days off from school (and even that is wearing thin) and 2) Letting the dogs out into the snow, and watching them bounce joyfully, roll, romp, and chase each other. Reuben, our elder statesdog, has been particularly puppylike lately.  Though he was skeptical when we adopted Nico the stray cockapoo, he has clearly begun to come around, and to enjoy a little backyard company. As for Nico, he's getting more civilized every day. He has learned to lie down beside us while we eat instead of doing his trick-circus-dog begging dance.  He splits his time and affection among his four humans, making sure we all adore him equally. And if he occasionally still finds ways to scale the garbage can and dig out a discarded sandwich...well, we're working on that.

I start this post with the wise and kindly face of Reuben, our resident senior dog, and the avatar of sanity and reason, especially compared with You Know Who: A few nights before Christmas, little Nico saw his opening and took it.  My Mom had just arrived from Florida. Picking up my Mom at Philly International Airport We were getting her settled in when we noticed that we hadn't seen Nico around for a minute or two.  Given his penchant for sneaking out the front door whenever it opens, we started running from room to room, calling his name with increasing hysteria until someone heard a vague rustling sound coming from under the bed.   It was the paper wrappers from a box of twelve Godiva truffles: my Christmas present, which had been hidden deep in the bedroom closet.  By the time we detected Nico, he had snarfed down eleven of those yummy, decadent, dark chocolate nuggets of kryptonite.  And he was none too happy when we took the twelfth awa...