For those of you who missed my book launch at Porter Square Books on October 2, 2018, I present below the text of my presentation. In general, I am not a good ad-libber, so what you have here is close to what my audience heard. *** "Gina in the Floating World" is about one young woman’s journey and evolving self. Tonight, I’m going to take you on a trip back in time—back through my various careers and tell you a little about my novel’s journey and evolution. Set in the boomin

Cheryl Suchors, author of the inspiring memoir of adventure and persistence--48 Peaks: Hiking and Healing in the White Mountains (She Writes Press, September 2018), interviewed me about my writing process. Cheryl: When did you begin writing fiction? Belle: As a child I used to draw stories with a narrative sense to them. I’d describe the action out loud, as I drew. They were kind of like graphic novels. I did that for several years. In high school I remember that my favorite