by AnnSheybani | Feb 1, 2026 | Writing
Sometime back in May, Walt got it in his head that we should renovate our kitchen. Now, I should mention we’d bought this house sight unseen during the pandemic—intended as a home base for our trips back from Ireland, with Airbnb covering the mortgage the rest...
by AnnSheybani | Jan 26, 2026 | Reading, Writing
People sometimes ask me what it’s like to run a hybrid publishing house. The short answer? It’s like being a professional eavesdropper who gets paid to learn everyone’s secrets—except the secrets are actually really fascinating expertise, and instead...
by AnnSheybani | Jan 11, 2026 | Writing
Maybe you’ve heard it said that most readers never get beyond the first twelve pages of a book, particularly if it’s non-fiction. This supposed tendency is what drives the billion-dollar write-a-book-in-a-weekend industry. Become a published author. Have a book to...
by AnnSheybani | Jan 5, 2026 | Life, Writing
I’m sitting here this morning listening to Walt in the other room. He’s on a Zoom call with one of his clients, and apparently the guy is reluctant to try something new. He wants to cling to his old business habits because, as my mother used to say,... by AnnSheybani | Dec 22, 2025 | Reading, recommendations, Writing
Let’s just say I had an awful lot of time on my hands while on vacation several years ago. That’s what happens when you deliberately leave your computer at home; AND you’ve got nowhere to go, save the local airstrip or the hotel compound; AND your helicopter can’t...
by AnnSheybani | Dec 13, 2025 | Life, Reading, Writing
At my 60th birthday party a couple of years back, something interesting happened. A number of my friends started talking about retirement—counting down the days, making plans to “slow down,” fantasizing about endless yoga retreats in Mexico and Netflix...
