Jo Maeder's Blog

    It was 1977. I didn’t think Barbara Capitman and Lenny Horowitz could throw a tea party much less transform the decrepit lower end of Miami Beach into the “Riviera of the South.” Through my flippant 21-year-old eyes it was where hippies went to score pot, the downtrodden bet on greyhounds, and old people […]

Japan was on my husband’s bucket list, not mine. How long a pane ride? What about the language barrier? Now I’m so in love with Japan (and sumo wrestling!) I’m pushing to go back. What has stayed with me the most is the thoughtfulness of the Japanese; a unique culture centered on beauty (even the […]

  If you live in a non-urban area that sees snow in the winter, you’ll know what I’m talking about. You wake up to a winter wonderland. You see various footprints crisscrossing in the snow that do not belong to humans. You think: Are animals having a convention while I’m sleeping? Yes. Now you can […]

I’m not much of a sports fan. I mainly watch the Super Bowl for the ads. But when my husband and I were planning our first trip to Japan, to his surprise I suggested we get sumo wrestling tickets. I saw it as quintessential Japanese entertainment, like a tea ceremony with a geisha, albeit between […]

It took me a nanosecond to embrace wearing a mask when the pandemic hit. Aside from deterring Covid, a cold, flu, and all airborne infections including deadly meningitis (and reducing the risk to others), it checked these boxes: • No one sees my “phony smile” • No one sees me talking to myself • No […]

The post MASKS FOR LIFE: Wearing a mask is liberating. I’m not saying good-bye for good to mine yet. appeared first on Jo Maeder.

Holly Adams, narrator of Opposites Attack, isn’t just a voice actress. She works in contemporary film, easily tackles Shakespeare, teaches how to be a clown, walks on stilts, and more. Earphone and Independent Audiobook Award winner, and Audie Finalist, I was thrilled to have her inhabit the multi-cultural cast of my novel set in Provence […]

The post QUICKIE Q&A WITH ACTRESS HOLLY ADAMS: The art of audiobook narrations (and a peek at OPPOSITES ATTACK’s version) appeared first on Jo Maeder.

Bonjour! Summer is here and the thrill of new travel odysseys beckon. I’m thrilled to share that my culture clash novel set in the South of France, Opposites Attack, is finally an audiobook. For various reasons, the project kept dying on the vine like Viognier grapes in a drought. And then, life burst forth. It took […]

The post OPPOSITES ATTACK: THE AUDIOBOOK. A long journey and rebirth appeared first on Jo Maeder.

A Year Like No Other How many times in 2020 did you say: “What a year!” I hope you didn’t lose a loved one to Covid-19 or meet with financial ruin. Surely, someone reading this has and you have my deepest sympathies. Please keep reading. I have something to invite you to at the end that might be […]

The post 2020: The Ups and Downs, a New Year’s Eve Invitation, and Wedding Photos! appeared first on Jo Maeder.

    “I have always loved dolls. And yes, there are still within the love, those that have creeped me out!” – Jill McCorkle Jill McCorkle is a bestselling, award-winning author of unforgettable novels and short stories. She was a Briggs-Copeland Lecturer in Fiction at Harvard, where she also chaired the department of creative writing. […]

The post Q&A: Jill McCorkle on dolls, dollhouses, tiny objects and what they have to do with writing and life appeared first on Jo Maeder.

Hotel de Cours de Thomazeau in Castillonnes, France. A few years ago I stumbled on the blog Enjoy Living Abroad and began a vicarious journey through Karen McCann and her husband Rich. In 2004, these intrepid Americans decided to live one year in Seville. They’re still there. If you’ve ever dreamed of living abroad or […]

The post How My French Work Exchange Journey Led to a New Life and Love appeared first on Jo Maeder.