The Lit Bitch

Some cities you visit. Vienna you read first. I mean that. Every time I pick up a novel set there, the city gets a little bigger in my head. The palaces have people in them. The coffeehouses have arguments. The streets have secrets. And in December? Vienna turns into the most romantic stage set in Europe. Lights strung over the old lanes, market stalls glowing in front of palaces, the smell of something warm and sugary on every corner. So if Vienna at Christmas is on your list, do yourself a favor. Read a few of these before you go. You’ll walk those streets like you already know them. Why…

Strong rivalries can drive a story without constant confrontation, because readers do not need repeated face-to-face scenes to feel competition. Once two people want the same prize, status, recognition, or place in history, each success by one changes how the other is viewed. The plot gains a second scoreboard even when the characters are on different pages. That is why rivalry works so well across historical fiction, family sagas, mysteries, and romance. A rival gives ambition a human shape. Instead of watching a character chase an abstract goal, readers may measure progress against someone else who wants something similar. The tension also survives long absences. A character can hear that…

Confession time. I did not plan to write about hairspray. I planned to write about witches. But then I spent an entire October evening with my hair standing straight up in jagged black spikes, and it did NOT move. Not during dinner. Not during a very enthusiastic round of charades. Not even when someone opened the patio door and a cold gust swept through the room. So here we are. Let’s talk hair. The Costume That Started It All Every fall I end up reading something witchy, and every fall it ends up shaping my Halloween costume. This year I wanted a witch who looked a little feral. Less pointy…

Dubai has a reputation for being loud. Supertall towers, packed malls, beach clubs and a skyline that seems to change every time you blink. So it can surprise people to learn that one of the city’s most interesting neighborhoods for book lovers is a calm stretch of land along Dubai Creek. Al Jaddaf sits on the Bur Dubai side of the creek, between the busy business districts and the older heart of the city. It is close to everything, yet it rarely feels rushed. For readers, that combination is rare. And it is turning Al Jaddaf into a neighborhood worth a closer look, whether you are visiting for a week…