June, 2008 | Ann Leary, author of The Good House

A Baby

June 17, 2008 by Ann Leary 6 Comments

So, I blogged a while back about a bird that had built a nest and laid her eggs in one of the hanging plants on our porch. There was a very sad story involved, unfortunately, but I am happy to report that the first of the surviving eggs hatched today. That bright red thing in the center of the nest is baby’s open beak. The other eggs have yet to hatch.

Okay, just everybody relax. My camera has a very good zoom lens. I wasn’t close to the nest at all. I’ve been trying to photograph the mother bird for days, but was unable to. Today my daughter went out and got this beautifully framed shot in one try.

LA Times

June 17, 2008 by Ann Leary Leave a Comment

Here’s the link to the Los Angeles Times piece that ran today:
http://www.latimes.com/features/books/

Also, check out Choire Sicha’s blog about my blog. Choire was the writer who interviewed me for the LA Times. I really like Choire, whose name is pronounced like this. He interviewed me at my house and insisted he didn’t mind my dog placing her muddy muzzle on his lap all afternoon.

Filed Under: Shameless Self-Promotion Tagged With: books

Signing Books

June 17, 2008 by Ann Leary 2 Comments

I have done a couple of book signings this past week. Here I am at the Barnes & Noble in Tribeca.
b%26n.JPG

And here I am at my favorite bookstore, The Hickory Stick Bookshop in Washington Connecticut. That’s Fran Keilty, the shop’s owner standing next to me.
HS%20authors%20june08%20010.jpg

I never know what to write in a book I’m inscribing. My instinct/desire is to write something along the lines of: “Thank you so much for buying my book. I hope you like it, I’m really sorry if you don’t. Really, don’t feel like you HAVE to buy it. But if you do, I can’t thank you enough! You’re so nice. I like what you’re wearing. Thanks again. I love you, Ann”

Filed Under: Literary stuff, Shameless Self-Promotion, Stuff I Did, Very Important Stuff Tagged With: books, shame, writers, writing

Paper Magazine Interview

June 15, 2008 by Ann Leary 1 Comment

Check out this interview I did with Rebecca Carroll from Paper Magazine last week.

I’ve met quite a few interesting people in the days since my book’s publication date but Rebecca is definitely one of my favorites. We bonded over coffee. We talked about our kids, our moms, our husbands, how fragile we are sometimes, our writing, our New England childhoods. Oh, and we talked about my book a little too. Rebecca is FASCINATING and I hope to get to interview her when she starts promoting the book she has up her sleeve.

Filed Under: Literary stuff, Shameless Self-Promotion Tagged With: books, writers, writing

Father’s Day

June 15, 2008 by Ann Leary 1 Comment

On Mother’s Day, I paid tribute to my mother, Judy Howe, by showing beautiful pictures of her that had been taken over the years.

Today is Father’s Day and I wanted to do the same for my dad, William Lembeck, as he’s almost as photogenic, but due to computer problems I still cannot post pictures, so I will have to present him to you with words.
(Blogger’s note: photo problems solved. Here’s a photo of My Dad, Mom, brother Paul and me at the Jersey Shore.)

Filed Under: Stuff I Did Tagged With: family

Death of a Hard Drive

June 14, 2008 by Ann Leary 5 Comments

I have not kept up with my blog the way I would like to because my computer was destroyed by lightning last week. Actually the folks at the Apple Store would argue that the lightning surge didn’t destroy my computer. It just destroyed my hard drive. The Apple people explained that this could be fixed but that it would cost me $800.

“It’s a deal,” I said, because my laptop contained many pages of my manuscript for my new book, my very busy calendar (kids’ doctors, horse dentist appts, etc), all my email contacts, all the photographs I’ve taken in the past two years, all my music, my address book, two ideas I had for screenplays, a multitude of letters, and a journal.

Filed Under: Literary stuff, Stuff I Did Tagged With: technology, writing

Publishers Weekly, Huffington Post

June 12, 2008 by Ann Leary 7 Comments

Dermot McEvoy from Publishers Weekly was kind enough to do a Q & A with me last week. Here it is.

Then, Monday, the Huffington Post ran this:

The Huffington Post headline was alarming and I’m sure captured the attention of many readers who might otherwise have passed it over. Denis Leary’s wife skewered him?

Filed Under: Literary stuff Tagged With: books

Too Much Ann

June 10, 2008 by Ann Leary 10 Comments

Okay, I’ve been in a funk all day. Filled with sorrow. I couldn’t figure out why and then finally I was able to put my finger on it. I am having a “Too Much Birthday” experience.

“Too Much Birthday” is a Berenstain Bears story that I used to read to my kids. It’s a complex narrative but I’ll summarize: One of the little Berenstain Bears is having a birthday. He has a party. All his friends come to the party. They give him presents. They pay lots of attention to him. He is given a cake and is sung to. Then, he has a complete meltdown and cries hysterically, puzzling his friends and family. This is because the Berenstain Bear is very, very young and has not yet learned to regulate his emotions. His heightened excitement reaches a fever-pitch and then he can’t cope.

Filed Under: Husband, Shrinks, Stuff I Did Tagged With: books, family, friends, shame

Struck

June 9, 2008 by Ann Leary 3 Comments

We had a wicked thunderstorm here in Northwestern Connecticut last night and my computer and modem were fried. So no photos on my blog for today. Instead, I will post a very nice review I received from the Boston Globe over the weekend:

“Ann Leary’s “Outtakes From a Marriage” is a sly domestic comedy with a razor edge. The author has a keen eye for the excesses of the rich and famous, a subject with which she must be familiar as the wife of actorcomedian Denis Leary. Her experience as a bystander at the celebrity circus serves her well in this engaging variation on the old theme of marital infidelity. … Readers hoping for titillating insights into the Leary marriage will draw their own conclusions, but “Outtakes From a Marriage” is fiction, and nicely done.”

Filed Under: Literary stuff, Shameless Self-Promotion, Stuff I Did, Very Important Stuff Tagged With: books, technology

A Young Family

June 7, 2008 by Ann Leary 6 Comments

Every year I hang flowering baskets on our front porch.

And every year, a sparrow builds a tiny nest amidst the blooms in one of the hanging baskets, and there she lays her eggs.

It’s always the basket that hangs from the same spot on our porch – right near the corner. We’re not sure if it’s the same spot because it’s the same sparrow family each year, or if it just happens to be an ideal location because of the way the porch shades it or something.

Filed Under: Dogs, Cats, Horses, Husband, Stuff I Did Tagged With: country life, Husband

A Baby

LA Times

Signing Books

Paper Magazine Interview

Father’s Day

Death of a Hard Drive

Publishers Weekly, Huffington Post

Too Much Ann

Struck

A Young Family

Search

Archives