Fact or fiction...what's the big deal?

It's getting a lot of press, always a good thing for a writer. I resisted reading James Frey's A Million Little Pieces despite numerous recommendations, mainly because I'm more of a Jane Austen fan than, say, a devotee of Jack Kerouac. I may have been wrong about the writing style—who can fault terse eloquence?—but now, halfway through the book, I'm starting to feel as if I'm caught in a Ken Kesey landscape - will James ever get out of the rehab centre?!

As for allegations that the memoir features fabrications, I'm not convinced we should care. Is the message worthwhile? Has the author engaged us and succeeded in taking us to a place we've never been? Do we enjoy the journey and learn something important along the way? Truly, what do we care if it's called fact or fiction, memoir or novel.

Out of the slush pile?

Representatives of the publisher who requested my manuscript a few months ago assured me today that they'll get to it soon. Does that mean I'm out of the slush pile? Close enough!

Back to England

The removals folks have confirmed the dates. I have coffee mornings set up, as well as dinner engagements. Plus I've planned a visit to my favourite art gallery for an exhibit of Pre-Raphaelite Drawings. Writing pals are emailing me with dates they're available. And I have my shopping list ready.

Obviously I'm hoping the packing up of the house will take up only a small portion of our time: eight days including one day and one night in London. We leave February 13th.

Final update to Travels website

It's taken us a good long while but we've finally finished documenting our summer travels. Be sure to visit to learn about our trip to that other university town, Oxford, as well as the two Oxfordshire homes showcasing Pre-Raphaelite works of art, particularly the summer home of William Morris which also served as a country retreat for his wife to indulge her amitié amoureuse with the painter and poet Dante Gabriel Rossetti. Don't miss the castle ruin with a dark underground tunnel, or the Derbyshire estate home left virtually intact since the late Victorian period.

http://www.jeannehaskett.com/travels/cart.htm

Web portfolio

I started off the new year with the creation of a web portfolio to showcase some of the websites and Flash designs I've developed. Although currently I'm spending the majority of my time writing online help, I hope to return to web design and development in the near future. You can check out my portfolio by following this link:

http://www.jeannehaskett.com/webport.html