Monique Polak

Hello hello from Collioures, France, birthplace of the Fauve art movement. It's a beautiful little town and I'm writing to you from a table that looks out on the Mediterranean Sea. Not a bad

I haven't told you, but I've been a little cranky the last few days -- that's because I was supposed to be working on an outline for my next book. Only, I kept getting stuck. But you know

Just in case you think writing's easy... today's entry is meant to set you straight. This week, I spent most of my days working on DRAFT NUMBER FOUR of Miracleville, my novel due out

It's back to school today for Montreal CEGEP (college) students and teachers. Normally, that would mean me -- only I'm on sabbatical again this semester so that I can continue work on another

There are plenty of things I don't like about being in a high-tech world: the way a certain man I love never goes anywhere without his Blackberry; the way a certain girl I love sometimes text messages

In case you're wondering "Ms." stands for "manuscript." And the 79-year-old judge is my dad! My dad (I generally call him "Pa") reads a ton -- but mostly just newspapers

"Writing is problem solving." That's what my friend, author and journalist Joel Yanofsky , told my students

After a week in France, I'm thinking in French! So I'm back from a wonderful whirlwind holiday -- and back at my computer, sipping green tea and gearing up for a day of writing.

I was

Goeje dag means hello in Dutch. I am writing to you today from Amsterdam. And tonight I leave for Nice -- and cooking school.

I just met with Samantha Haywood, a literary agent based here. I

I'm off this afternoon -- to Holland, then on to France. In all, I'll be away two weeks, which means I may not be blogging with my usual regularity (it all depends on how difficult it is for