--- title: Author Crystal King's Blog - Tasting Life Twice | Writing description: Writing | Author Crystal King muses on life, history, writing and food. --- # Tasting Life Twice Author Crystal King muses on life, history, writing and food. Browse by All Blog Books italy ancient rome Italian History Recipe Writing When in Rome food Feast of Sorrow fun historical fiction Bartolomeo Scappi Viva Italia! The Chef's Secret reading history Apicius Italian Language Renaissance 52 books Boston Cinquecento Publishing italian recipes grub street renaissance recipe roman video Ancient Roman Food Colosseum Culinary Delights books set in italy renaissance italy Ancient history YouTube authors cooking fiction music 52 books in a year Author Book Christmas Language Learning Maine Poetry Pope Roman Forum Scappi The Renaissance Venice Writer Writers Resources fantasy learning Italian travel writers Anne Rice Art Book Clubs Christmas carol Christopher Castellani Circus Maximus Florence Gillian Flynn Greek Harry Potter Honey Italiano Italo Calvino Latin Literary agent Marcus Aurelius Marcus Gavius Apicius Muse and the Marketplace Pantheon Papal conclave Pope Benedict XVI Research Roman Empire Sardinia Sistine Chapel Turkey Ursula K- Le Guin Vestal Virgin Wine ancient recipes architecture baking beauty blogging book recommendation book review christmas gift cibo cookies crystal king gelato giveaway holiday ice cream interview italian cooking literary literature middle ages new year's resolution rejection renaissance Italian food recipe roma rome sci-fi shopping social media special event summer television xmas 100 favorite books 1950s 1960s 1970s 2016 2017 320 AD 3D Achilles Aelia Agostino Chigi Alice Alina Reyes All This Talk of Love Amanda Palmer Amaryah Orenstein Anais Nin Ancient Greece Ancient Roman architecture Andrea Bocelli Anita Shreve Anjali Mitter Duva Anne Carson Anne Rampling Antonio Latini Arch of Constantine Arts Artusi Astrology Augustus Author Life BBC BDSM Baldassare Peruzzi Baroque Bell-ringer Bells Benvenuto Cellini Black tea BlogHer Bloggers Bologna Boodles Byki Cake Catholic Church Cellini Charles Dicken Chuck Palahniuk Clark Frasier Colleen McCullough Cologne Colum McCann Concord Cook Cookbook Corsica Cosimo de Medici Critical & Creative Thinking Dante Dante Alighieri David Bowie David Wishart De Re Coquinaria Doge's Palace Dormouse Durham Cathedral E-L- James Earth Egypt Eleonora Galasso Emily Browning England English language Ernest Hemingway Erotic literature Etsy Faint Promise of Rain Fifty Shades of Grey Fight Club Flamingo tongue snail Forum Forvo France Francesa Michielin GO Literary George Orwell Germany Gone Girl Gone Girl (novel) Google Translate Got Milk Grasso Grub Grub Street Muse Gunter Grass Hairstyle Harvard Harvard University Henry David Thoreau Henry VII of England Hunger Games Independence Day International Space Station Isabella Dalla Ragione Italian American Italian food J-R-R- Tolkien James Wood Jane Austen Janet Fitch Julius III July Justin Rowe Karl Lagerfeld Katie Caldesi Kennebunkport Maine Kessler Twins Keurig Kindle Deal Kit Harington Kurt Vonnegut L'Amore Esiste La Cucina Leicester Leonardo Da Vinci Linguistics Livia Lucca ## Posts about Writing: ![The Season of the Soul](https://blog.crystalking.com/hubfs/cocoa%20fall.gif) [Writing](https://blog.crystalking.com/tag/writing) [italy](https://blog.crystalking.com/tag/italy) [crystal king](https://blog.crystalking.com/tag/crystal-king) [fall](https://blog.crystalking.com/tag/fall) > **“Notice that autumn is more the season of the soul than of nature.” – Friedrich Nietzsche** Autumn is, to me, more than pumpkin spice, falling leaves and shelves of... ![How Testing (and Tasting!) Ancient Roman Recipes Helped Me Write My Novel](http://www.thedebutanteball.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/04/apicius.jpg) [Writing](https://blog.crystalking.com/tag/writing) [Ancient Roman Food](https://blog.crystalking.com/tag/ancient-roman-food) [Recipe](https://blog.crystalking.com/tag/recipe) My novel, FEAST OF SORROW, is full of food. Everything about the story pivots around meals, ingredients and what food represents. One of the main characters is a Roman gourmand named Apicius, whose name is on the world's oldest known cookbook. ![#IWriteBecause](https://blog.crystalking.com/hubfs/Screen%20Shot%202017-09-18%20at%202.11.23%20PM.png) [Writing](https://blog.crystalking.com/tag/writing) [charity](https://blog.crystalking.com/tag/charity) [Reedsy](https://blog.crystalking.com/tag/reedsy) [Room to Read](https://blog.crystalking.com/tag/room-to-read) [video](https://blog.crystalking.com/tag/video) Writing tech and freelance marketplace startup, [Reedsy](https://reedsy.com/), is running a really cool campaign called "[#IWriteBecause](https://blog.reedsy.com/announcing-iwritebecause)[: A Campaign By Writers for Writers](https://blog.crystalking.com/tag/writing#)" which showcases authors and the reasons why they write. They want to bring writers together through video.  For** every author who contributes a video, Reedsy is going to donate $10** to Room to Read, a non-profit foundation that focuses on literacy acquisition and girls’ education in Africa and Asia. Over 11.5 million children have benefited from Room to Read’s charity efforts in over ten countries.  ![52 in 52: February Books Read](https://blog.crystalking.com/hubfs/Imported_Blog_Media/JC.jpg) [Writing](https://blog.crystalking.com/tag/writing) [Books](https://blog.crystalking.com/tag/books) [sci-fi](https://blog.crystalking.com/tag/sci-fi) [52 books](https://blog.crystalking.com/tag/52-books) [historical fiction](https://blog.crystalking.com/tag/historical-fiction) [reading](https://blog.crystalking.com/tag/reading) ![Touchstone Books is Publishing FEAST OF SORROW](https://blog.crystalking.com/hubfs/Imported_Blog_Media/img-56.jpg) [Writing](https://blog.crystalking.com/tag/writing) [Books](https://blog.crystalking.com/tag/books) [Apicius](https://blog.crystalking.com/tag/apicius) [Blog](https://blog.crystalking.com/tag/blog) [Feast of Sorrow](https://blog.crystalking.com/tag/feast-of-sorrow) [historical fiction](https://blog.crystalking.com/tag/historical-fiction) [Marcus Gavius Apicius](https://blog.crystalking.com/tag/marcus-gavius-apicius) [Publishing](https://blog.crystalking.com/tag/publishing) [simon and schuster](https://blog.crystalking.com/tag/simon-and-schuster) [touchstone books](https://blog.crystalking.com/tag/touchstone-books) ![New Year's Goals and Resolutions of the Bookish, Writing Type](https://blog.crystalking.com/hubfs/Imported_Blog_Media/img-14.jpg) [Writing](https://blog.crystalking.com/tag/writing) [Books](https://blog.crystalking.com/tag/books) [Blog](https://blog.crystalking.com/tag/blog) [blogging](https://blog.crystalking.com/tag/blogging) [food](https://blog.crystalking.com/tag/food) [new year's resolution](https://blog.crystalking.com/tag/new-years-resolution) [reading](https://blog.crystalking.com/tag/reading) Last year I had a few goals that I wanted to meet related to reading and writing, some of which I accomplished and some that I didn't.  However, I did: ![It's Time for a Summer Writing Retreat!](https://blog.crystalking.com/hubfs/Imported_Blog_Media/IMG_0170.jpg) [Writing](https://blog.crystalking.com/tag/writing) [Arts](https://blog.crystalking.com/tag/arts) [Mameve Medwed](https://blog.crystalking.com/tag/mameve-medwed) [writers](https://blog.crystalking.com/tag/writers) [authors](https://blog.crystalking.com/tag/authors) [Blog](https://blog.crystalking.com/tag/blog) [fun](https://blog.crystalking.com/tag/fun) [grub street](https://blog.crystalking.com/tag/grub-street) [Maine](https://blog.crystalking.com/tag/maine) [Steven Bauer](https://blog.crystalking.com/tag/steven-bauer) [Writers Resources](https://blog.crystalking.com/tag/writers-resources) [writing retreat](https://blog.crystalking.com/tag/writing-retreat) It seems like [the last retreat](https://blog.crystalking.com/crystal-king/blog/2013/06/24/a-writers-retreat) has just come and gone and here we are again, leaving husbands and children behind, off to [Maine](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maine) and a kickass writing schedule with good good friends and inspiring fellow writers. Many people I talk to think my retreat is a boondoggle of sorts, as though I'm only saying that I'm going to Maine to write but I'll really just be sitting on the beach getting tan. So to prove that idea wrong, here's our schedule. ![Writing Rules? Who needs them!](https://blog.crystalking.com/hubfs/Imported_Blog_Media/6095210401_084c86893e_b.jpg) [Writing](https://blog.crystalking.com/tag/writing) [advice](https://blog.crystalking.com/tag/advice) [Anne Rice](https://blog.crystalking.com/tag/anne-rice) [Writer](https://blog.crystalking.com/tag/writer) [Art](https://blog.crystalking.com/tag/art) [Blog](https://blog.crystalking.com/tag/blog) [Writers Resources](https://blog.crystalking.com/tag/writers-resources) [writing rules](https://blog.crystalking.com/tag/writing-rules) Awhile back [I mused on the myriad of writing rules](https://blog.crystalking.com/crystal-king/blog/2013/03/04/how-many-writing-rules-do-we-need) that are out there to help any aspiring writer.  Part of what was most amusing for me was that there were so damn many. We writers are wordy, opinionated sorts and it seems that everyone who is successful at their writing has a word of advice for other writers.  I came across dozens upon dozens of long winded lists of what to do, or what not to do (all seen at the link above). And then I came across this bit of brilliance from Anne Rice, which I think mostly says it all: ![Close Your Eyes To Box More Clever](https://blog.crystalking.com/hubfs/Imported_Blog_Media/8412520948_1eb648b5a4_b.jpg) [Writing](https://blog.crystalking.com/tag/writing) [aging](https://blog.crystalking.com/tag/aging) [Lumosity](https://blog.crystalking.com/tag/lumosity) [thinking](https://blog.crystalking.com/tag/thinking) [Blog](https://blog.crystalking.com/tag/blog) [brain](https://blog.crystalking.com/tag/brain) [cognitive thinking](https://blog.crystalking.com/tag/cognitive-thinking) [creativity](https://blog.crystalking.com/tag/creativity) [Critical & Creative Thinking](https://blog.crystalking.com/tag/critical-amp-creative-thinking) In the last few years there have been a bevy of studies, articles and even video games thrown at the masses with the aim to help one's brain age well, to become more intelligent or to stave off dementia. The most common method of giving your brain a boost is to jolt one's self out of your routine. Drive a different way home from work. Sit in a different spot in class. Take the stairs if you commonly use the elevator. Basically, stop the routine and start doing something that makes you have to think a bit more. The trick I always seem to remember is to do something simple, like shower with your eyes closed. Try it--it's hard! And I recommend skipping using a razor if you opt to try.  Or try walking through your house with your eyes closed. You'll find that you second guess yourself, and that there is a bit of fear involved as well as some discovery.  [Over](http://www.guardian.co.uk/science/2006/mar/05/media.bbc) and [over](http://abcnews.go.com/GMA/OnCall/story?id=5023860&page=1#.T-0Uw7VfGmQ), this seems to help with cognitive processes, especially as you age. Companies have realized that they can monetize the idea of training your brain, leading to the rise of sites and apps like [Lumosity](http://www.lumosity.com/), [Braingle](http://www.braingle.com/) and [FitBrains](http://www.fitbrains.com/). Do these types of sites work? I think that the [jury is still out on this](http://www.theguardian.com/science/2013/apr/21/brain-training-online-neuroscience-elizabeth-day), but on a minimum level, they do help with creativity. ![A Writers' Retreat](https://blog.crystalking.com/hubfs/Imported_Blog_Media/IMG_0169.jpg) [Writing](https://blog.crystalking.com/tag/writing) [Anita Shreve](https://blog.crystalking.com/tag/anita-shreve) [Kennebunkport Maine](https://blog.crystalking.com/tag/kennebunkport-maine) [retreat](https://blog.crystalking.com/tag/retreat) [Thesaurus](https://blog.crystalking.com/tag/thesaurus) [Blog](https://blog.crystalking.com/tag/blog) [Boodles](https://blog.crystalking.com/tag/boodles) [Maine](https://blog.crystalking.com/tag/maine) [novels](https://blog.crystalking.com/tag/novels) [revision](https://blog.crystalking.com/tag/revision) [Roget's Thesaurus](https://blog.crystalking.com/tag/rogets-thesaurus) There is a formula for a perfect writer's retreat: a [Maine](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maine) beach house + two 1/2 days + a schedule + amazing [writing](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Writing) partners = success. Actually, success = three chapters + a more fully fleshed out timeline + incredible momentum to keep going. What it didn't yield for me and my three writing partners was a name. We've been meeting bi-weekly for five years and for those five years my husband says to me every other week, "are you meeting up with the Women?"  Which is a fairly terrible name, [like a bad film remake](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0430770/) or something. We tried. We consulted a worn 1884 copy of Clubs and Club Life of London ([this is 1908 version](http://books.google.com.au/books?id=5dFAAAAAYAAJ&printsec=frontcover&dq=london+clubs+taverns&hl=en&sa=X&ei=zN7IUdDcKOLD4AO36oDABA&ved=0CDkQ6AEwAg) if you are curious) which we found in a bookshelf full of ancient books and photo albums. We learned about the Beef-Steak Society, the Blue Stocking Club and the Boodles, but alas, it didn't give us ideas. We dug through [Roget's 1911 Thesaurus](http://machaut.uchicago.edu/rogets), which we all agreed is a writer's best friend (we also shared fond stories of our own dog-eared copies we used as kids before traditional thesaurus' really became popular). Nada. We are still Nameless. ![The Muse and the Marketplace - Two M's that Writers Rely on For Their Craft](https://blog.crystalking.com/hubfs/Imported_Blog_Media/muse2.jpg) [Writing](https://blog.crystalking.com/tag/writing) [Author](https://blog.crystalking.com/tag/author) [social media](https://blog.crystalking.com/tag/social-media) [The Muse](https://blog.crystalking.com/tag/the-muse) [Writer](https://blog.crystalking.com/tag/writer) [writers](https://blog.crystalking.com/tag/writers) [Blog](https://blog.crystalking.com/tag/blog) [Boston](https://blog.crystalking.com/tag/boston) [Grub](https://blog.crystalking.com/tag/grub) [grub street](https://blog.crystalking.com/tag/grub-street) [Grub Street Muse](https://blog.crystalking.com/tag/grub-street-muse) [Muse and the Marketplace](https://blog.crystalking.com/tag/muse-and-the-marketplace) [Steve Almond](https://blog.crystalking.com/tag/steve-almond) I've been a bit sparse in my posts lately because my time has not been my own! But it's all good and the world of writing, of ancient Rome, of Renaissance Italy and all that goodness has been swirling around in my head in grand incubation mode. It's the Muse at work, I think. ![Chuck Palahniuk at the Muse and the Marketplace 2011](https://blog.crystalking.com/hubfs/Imported_Blog_Media/chuck.jpg) [Writing](https://blog.crystalking.com/tag/writing) [Books](https://blog.crystalking.com/tag/books) [Amanda Palmer](https://blog.crystalking.com/tag/amanda-palmer) [James Wood](https://blog.crystalking.com/tag/james-wood) [keynote](https://blog.crystalking.com/tag/keynote) [Manuscript Marts](https://blog.crystalking.com/tag/manuscript-marts) [Muse](https://blog.crystalking.com/tag/muse) [social media](https://blog.crystalking.com/tag/social-media) [Blog](https://blog.crystalking.com/tag/blog) [Boston](https://blog.crystalking.com/tag/boston) [Chuck Palahniuk](https://blog.crystalking.com/tag/chuck-palahniuk) [Fight Club](https://blog.crystalking.com/tag/fight-club) [grub street](https://blog.crystalking.com/tag/grub-street) [reading](https://blog.crystalking.com/tag/reading) We're coming up on the next [Grub Street](http://www.grubstreet.org) [Muse and the Marketplace ](http://www.grubstreet.org/index.php?id=2910)and I couldn't be more excited! I have a session on social media at the conference, but I will also be there as a writer, participating in the Manuscript Marts (I'm meeting with two agents this year, more on that in a future blog post), and attending classes. This year's keynotes include [James Wood](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_Wood_%28critic%29) and [Amanda Palmer](http://amandapalmer.net).  It's the first year that the Muse has had two keynotes (one on the Muse, one on the Marketplace) so that should be interesting! James and Amanda will have their work cut out for them though, to top this amazing keynote by [Chuck Palahniuk](http://www.chuckpalahniuk.net/)  (author of [Fight Club](http://www.amazon.com/Fight-Club-Novel-Chuck-Palahniuk/dp/0393039765%3FSubscriptionId%3D0G81C5DAZ03ZR9WH9X82%26tag%3Dcreatofcircu-20%26linkCode%3Dxm2%26camp%3D2025%26creative%3D165953%26creativeASIN%3D0393039765)) two years ago. Absolutely brilliant. And while it's long, it's definitely worth watching in its entirety. I still have chills thinking about it. He's an absolutely masterful storyteller. ![The Fringe Benefits of Failure](https://blog.crystalking.com/hubfs/Imported_Blog_Media/potter1.jpg) [Writing](https://blog.crystalking.com/tag/writing) [writers](https://blog.crystalking.com/tag/writers) [benefits of failure](https://blog.crystalking.com/tag/benefits-of-failure) [Blog](https://blog.crystalking.com/tag/blog) [commencement](https://blog.crystalking.com/tag/commencement) [failure](https://blog.crystalking.com/tag/failure) [Harry Potter](https://blog.crystalking.com/tag/harry-potter) [Harvard](https://blog.crystalking.com/tag/harvard) [Harvard University](https://blog.crystalking.com/tag/harvard-university) [rejection](https://blog.crystalking.com/tag/rejection) To follow up on [yesterday's rejection post](https://blog.crystalking.com/crystal-king/blog/2013/03/08/on-writing-the-power-of-rejection), I thought I'd share some wonderful inspiration from one of the most successful writers ever -- [J.K. Rowling](http://www.jkrowling.com), giving a commencement speech at [Harvard](http://www.harvard.edu/) in 2010 on the benefits of failure. Some of the truest words she speaks: "One of the many things I learned at the end of that Classics corridor down which I ventured at the age of 18, in search of something I could not then define, was this, written by the Greek author [Plutarch](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Plutarch): ***What we achieve inwardly will change outer reality***." ![On Writing: The Power of Rejection](https://blog.crystalking.com/hubfs/Imported_Blog_Media/regret.jpg) [Writing](https://blog.crystalking.com/tag/writing) [Literary agent](https://blog.crystalking.com/tag/literary-agent) [agent](https://blog.crystalking.com/tag/agent) [Blog](https://blog.crystalking.com/tag/blog) [Colleen McCullough](https://blog.crystalking.com/tag/colleen-mccullough) [David Wishart](https://blog.crystalking.com/tag/david-wishart) [editor](https://blog.crystalking.com/tag/editor) [Marcus Gavius Apicius](https://blog.crystalking.com/tag/marcus-gavius-apicius) [Michael Curtis Ford](https://blog.crystalking.com/tag/michael-curtis-ford) [Petronius](https://blog.crystalking.com/tag/petronius) [Publishing](https://blog.crystalking.com/tag/publishing) [query](https://blog.crystalking.com/tag/query) [rejection](https://blog.crystalking.com/tag/rejection) [rewrite](https://blog.crystalking.com/tag/rewrite) [Satyricon](https://blog.crystalking.com/tag/satyricon) [Ursula K- Le Guin](https://blog.crystalking.com/tag/ursula-k-le-guin) [writer's rejection](https://blog.crystalking.com/tag/writers-rejection) As you may know from either reading my blog, following me on social or being one of my friends and acquaintances, I'm currently seeking representation for my novel, FEAST OF SORROW. The novel, set in ancient Rome, is about [Marcus Gavius Apicius](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marcus_Gavius_Apicius) (hear the [pronunciation here](http://www.forvo.com/word/apicius/)) , the man with his name on the oldest known cookbook. The story, told through the eyes of the cook that makes him famous, is a turbulent and tragic story of a family in peril as a result of Apicius' ever-growing ego. It's a story full of luxurious food, drama, violence and political intrigue. The novel is historical fiction, but because of the time period in which it is set, it's essentially [genre fiction](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Genre_fiction), that of ancient Rome. Many of the novels set in ancient Rome tend to be mysteries, which my book is not.  [Lindsey Davis](http://amzn.to/13JR6ud), [Steven Saylor](http://amzn.to/Zk152b), [David Wishart](http://amzn.to/12yhyHy) and [Robert Harris](http://amzn.to/Zk1qSu) (all fantastic authors!) come to mind.  Other books in the genre tend to be very heavy on the war and/or politics, including a few stand alone novels by some of the previously named authors, but also by others such as [Colleen McCullough](http://amzn.to/XZ6ETG), [Michael Curtis Ford](http://amzn.to/Z3E9Wi), or [Allan Massie](http://amzn.to/Zvdwtc). ![How Many Writing Rules Do We Need?](https://blog.crystalking.com/hubfs/Imported_Blog_Media/henriette.jpg) [Writing](https://blog.crystalking.com/tag/writing) [Kurt Vonnegut](https://blog.crystalking.com/tag/kurt-vonnegut) [neil gaiman](https://blog.crystalking.com/tag/neil-gaiman) [Writer's Rules](https://blog.crystalking.com/tag/writers-rules) [Zadie Smith](https://blog.crystalking.com/tag/zadie-smith) [authors](https://blog.crystalking.com/tag/authors) [Blog](https://blog.crystalking.com/tag/blog) [George Orwell](https://blog.crystalking.com/tag/george-orwell) [J-R-R- Tolkien](https://blog.crystalking.com/tag/j-r-r-tolkien) [Janet Fitch](https://blog.crystalking.com/tag/janet-fitch) [Margaret Atwood](https://blog.crystalking.com/tag/margaret-atwood) [Mark Twain](https://blog.crystalking.com/tag/mark-twain) [novelists](https://blog.crystalking.com/tag/novelists) [Ray Bradbury](https://blog.crystalking.com/tag/ray-bradbury) [rules](https://blog.crystalking.com/tag/rules) [Rules for Writing](https://blog.crystalking.com/tag/rules-for-writing) [Writers Resources](https://blog.crystalking.com/tag/writers-resources) Holy writing rules!  There are so many out there that it's hard to know where to start!  I compiled the quotes that I have run across over the last few months and pulled out the ones that really spoke to me.  The Zadie Smith quote in particular is key for me. I need to eliminate all distractions!  Click on the headline to go to the article for all the rules by that author. [George Orwell's 5 Writing Rules ](http://www.pickthebrain.com/blog/george-orwells-5-rules-for-effective-writing/) ![The Fun Side of Research](https://blog.crystalking.com/hubfs/Imported_Blog_Media/IMG_2814.jpg) [Writing](https://blog.crystalking.com/tag/writing) [Astrology](https://blog.crystalking.com/tag/astrology) [Trastevere](https://blog.crystalking.com/tag/trastevere) [Villa Farnesina](https://blog.crystalking.com/tag/villa-farnesina) [Agostino Chigi](https://blog.crystalking.com/tag/agostino-chigi) [Baldassare Peruzzi](https://blog.crystalking.com/tag/baldassare-peruzzi) [Bartolomeo Scappi](https://blog.crystalking.com/tag/bartolomeo-scappi) [Blog](https://blog.crystalking.com/tag/blog) [Cinquecento](https://blog.crystalking.com/tag/cinquecento) [horoscope](https://blog.crystalking.com/tag/horoscope) [Italian History](https://blog.crystalking.com/tag/italian-history) [Renaissance](https://blog.crystalking.com/tag/renaissance) [Research](https://blog.crystalking.com/tag/research) [When in Rome](https://blog.crystalking.com/tag/when-in-rome) I'm working on research for my next book, on Renaissance chef, [Bartolomeo Scappi](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bartolomeo_Scappi). I find the whole research side of historical fiction fascinating. It's like peeling back layers of paint on an elaborate painting to discover the essence of the people who inspired and created such masterpieces. One of my characters is related to [Agostino Chigi](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Agostino_Chigi), one of Rome's wealthiest bankers in the early 16th century. Some tourists may be more familiar with him as the man who built the Villa Farnesina on the banks of the [Trastevere](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trastevere). It sports paintings by Raphael, [Baldassare Peruzzi](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Baldassare_Peruzzi), and [Sebastiano del Piombo](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sebastiano_del_Piombo). But for the most part, it is often left off of itineraries of busy travelers who head straight for the Forum or the [Trevi Fountain](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trevi_Fountain). This is a good thing, in my opinion, because it makes the visit so much more pleasant for those who want to bask in the sumptuous frescoes without being jostled by too many others. ![Creativity Begets Creativity: The Writing Group](https://blog.crystalking.com/hubfs/Imported_Blog_Media/nautchphoto1.jpg) [Writing](https://blog.crystalking.com/tag/writing) [Writer](https://blog.crystalking.com/tag/writer) [Writer Resources](https://blog.crystalking.com/tag/writer-resources) [Writing circle](https://blog.crystalking.com/tag/writing-circle) [Blog](https://blog.crystalking.com/tag/blog) [Boston](https://blog.crystalking.com/tag/boston) [grub street](https://blog.crystalking.com/tag/grub-street) [Publishing](https://blog.crystalking.com/tag/publishing) [Ursula K- Le Guin](https://blog.crystalking.com/tag/ursula-k-le-guin) [writing group](https://blog.crystalking.com/tag/writing-group) For the last four (nearly five?) years or so I've been meeting with my writing group, not quite like clockwork, but about every two weeks. The three of us have hacked and slashed and encouraged each other's novels from start to finish, and gone through query letters, agent pitches and publishing challenges during that time. And of course, best of all, we have become close and dear friends as part of the process, bolstering spirits as we deal with family, illness, relationships, weddings, work woes and the ilk. I will know [Anjali](http://www.anjalimitterduva.com) and Jen until I'm quite old and wizened, I am convinced. Awhile back I thought I read that [Ursula K. LeGuin](http://www.ursulakleguin.com) has been in a writing group for many many years (if I'm remembering right she talks about this in [Steering the Craft](http://amzn.to/OXlND9)). At the time I remembering thinking, wow, someone as accomplished as she is still meets with others to go over her work?! I was impressed, but at the time, I didn't really understand the power of having ongoing encouragement that comes from being part of a small group that truly cares about your work. It's invaluable. Because of my writing group I don't get lazy. I moved immediately from finished to researching my next book. I feel compelled to move on the next chapter. I get excited to turn in work for feedback. I get lost in the worlds of their books. In short, because of this group I am on the continuous hamster wheel of writing creativity and as those of you know, if you fall off, it's a massive PITA to jump back on. ![Off to BlogHer 2012! Plus my guilty secret - Martha Stewart](https://blog.crystalking.com/hubfs/Imported_Blog_Media/blogher.jpg) [Writing](https://blog.crystalking.com/tag/writing) [Keurig](https://blog.crystalking.com/tag/keurig) [Martha Stewart](https://blog.crystalking.com/tag/martha-stewart) [New York City](https://blog.crystalking.com/tag/new-york-city) [Blog](https://blog.crystalking.com/tag/blog) [Bloggers](https://blog.crystalking.com/tag/bloggers) [blogging](https://blog.crystalking.com/tag/blogging) [BlogHer](https://blog.crystalking.com/tag/blogher) [conference](https://blog.crystalking.com/tag/conference) [Got Milk](https://blog.crystalking.com/tag/got-milk) [Wikipedia](https://blog.crystalking.com/tag/wikipedia) Tomorrow I leave my husband and my kitty to hold down the fort while I head to [BlogHer](http://www.blogher.com) 2012 to check out the action. It's a business trip primarily; some of you may already know my full-time-awesome-paying-the-bills job is managing social media for [Keurig](http://keurig.com/), the leading single-brew coffee maker in the world. There will be some Keurig action at the [Got Milk](http://www.gotmilk.com) booth, so I'm heading down with [one of my colleagues](http://www.twitter.com/msmollykelley) to say hi to the crew there. ![Fifty Shades of Green](https://blog.crystalking.com/hubfs/Imported_Blog_Media/2117447039_6e48f8c70f_z.jpg) [Writing](https://blog.crystalking.com/tag/writing) [Books](https://blog.crystalking.com/tag/books) [Alina Reyes](https://blog.crystalking.com/tag/alina-reyes) [Anne Rice](https://blog.crystalking.com/tag/anne-rice) [sex](https://blog.crystalking.com/tag/sex) [Anais Nin](https://blog.crystalking.com/tag/anais-nin) [Anne Rampling](https://blog.crystalking.com/tag/anne-rampling) [BDSM](https://blog.crystalking.com/tag/bdsm) [Blog](https://blog.crystalking.com/tag/blog) [bondage](https://blog.crystalking.com/tag/bondage) [Book](https://blog.crystalking.com/tag/book) [e-books](https://blog.crystalking.com/tag/e-books) [E-L- James](https://blog.crystalking.com/tag/e-l-james) [Erotic literature](https://blog.crystalking.com/tag/erotic-literature) [erotica](https://blog.crystalking.com/tag/erotica) [Fifty Shades of Grey](https://blog.crystalking.com/tag/fifty-shades-of-grey) [Pauline Reage](https://blog.crystalking.com/tag/pauline-reage) [Publishing](https://blog.crystalking.com/tag/publishing) [Twilight](https://blog.crystalking.com/tag/twilight) One of my fave blogs, [Jezebel](http://www.jezebel.org), recently reported on a [CelebrityNetWorth article](http://www.celebritynetworth.com/articles/celebrity/fifty-shades-grey-author-making-1-million-week/) about the [*Fifty Shades of Grey*](http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/034580404X/ref=as_li_tf_tl?ie=UTF8&tag=clk140c-20&linkCode=as2&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=034580404X) author, E.L. James,  making one million dollars a week.  Yes, that's right -- **A WEEK**. For poorly written [Twilight](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Twilight_%28novel%29) fan-fiction turned [BDSM](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/BDSM) erotica. ![](https://www.facebook.com/tr?id=1481231558851356&ev=PageView&noscript=1)