That’s What You Get for Eavesdropping

September 1, 2023 by Ruby Peru

On my latest trip to Boston, I had a somewhat unusual experience. First, I was in a cafe where a woman was sitting with a bunch of her girlfriends chatting. I’d say she was in her sixties, which I mention because it makes the story more interesting. And she was talking about a vacation she … Read more

“Strong women” wanted. Whatever those are.

December 31, 2020December 28, 2020 by Ruby Peru

Hello readers and welcome to me being driven slowly crazy by well-meaning people who can’t really be criticized for saying what they believe to be a compliment. Clearly this isn’t obvious, so I’m here to tell you: calling someone a “strong woman” is exactly the same as calling someone a “clean African American.” Or a … Read more

Chamomile Lawn

August 26, 2019 by Ruby Peru

The fact that nobody else in Maine has a chamomile lawn ought probably to be a deterrent from me attempting this landscaping idea, but when has such logic ever stopped me before? Mainers aren’t known for being innovative thinkers. Let’s be honest. They’re known for being folksy, which isn’t the same thing. I may end … Read more

At The Circle K

August 26, 2019 by Ruby Peru

I eat my breakfast at the Circle K. It’s a two-block walk at 6:30 am, when I tend to want coffee. The gourmet pastry shop across the street closed down months ago. The sandwich shop by the U-haul dealership is shuttered and up for rent. Walgreens is there. I could buy a bag of coffee … Read more

How to Get Ripped Off Ten Ways Before Breakfast

June 28, 2019October 8, 2018 by Ruby Peru

First thing I do, I walk off the plane, and it’s two a.m. in New Delhi. I occurs to me I might have picked a flight with a more convenient arrival time. India’s confusing enough in the daytime, but what the hell. I’m wide awake and feeling brave, so I change $1000 at a booth that … Read more

Alert: Chautauqua Park is Boulder’s Big Little Scandal

September 18, 2019August 3, 2018 by Ruby Peru

I went to Boulder, Colorado for a friend’s wedding, which I was afraid was going to make me depressed–not because she’s all happily married and I’m not. (No thanks! Blech!) but because I’d be forced to make small talk with people I don’t know, which typically makes me feel like a badly programmed robot destined … Read more

A Santa Fe Writer’s Guide to Local Cafés

August 17, 2019August 4, 2015 by Ruby Peru

Some people write in cafés. I don’t know how anyone could write more than a blog in a public place, but that’s me. Whether I’m working on my own work, or ghostwriting, I have to write without music or distractions. Boring, I know! But I blog, as you may have noticed, and for this purpose … Read more

The Santa Fe Speakeasy Presents

June 18, 2019July 29, 2015 by Ruby Peru

It’s that time again, for the Santa Fe Speakeasy, Santa Fe’s only live, true, storytelling show. (I usually say our only “monthly live true storytelling show” figuring the more adjectives I insert the less likely someone is to prove me false. I actually have no idea if there are any other shows like this out there.)

Inhuman Behavior

I’m really excited for this month’s theme: Inhuman Behavior. Really the theme is animals, but I expanded it to include anything not human, including aliens or people who act in an inhuman way. I’ll be telling a story called “Miss Priss,” about how I went from being a prissy debutante child to a wild untamed rebel, with the help of horses, moths, tarantulas, and a couple of horny toads (those are actual animals, not what you’re thinking).

Fine Art and Despair

August 17, 2019July 27, 2015 by Ruby Peru

THIS PHOTO IS AN ATTEMPT TO HONOR MY TEACHER, ARTIST GEOFFREY LAWRENCE, NOT TO STEAL FROM HIM. PLEASE VIEW HIS WEBSITE GEOFFREYLAWRENCE.COM!

I’ve Been talking to people in the know about the art market in Santa Fe. Most notably, my art teacher Geoffrey Lawrence. Turns out this place is kaput. Not so much Santa Fe, and our little world, as the entire concept of investing in art.

Used to be gallery curators educated people about emerging artists–which ones are good investments, which ones show promise, who has a great sense of line and form, who is an amazing colorist, and whatnot. But nowadays, according to what these particular people say, the culture of art investments just doesn’t really exist anymore.

Well, the world changes. What interests me, as a ghostwriter and author, about this phenomenon, is the “lost cause” aspect of it. Hearing this news actually makes me more attracted to fine art, not less, because I’m a sucker for lost causes.

Travel Memoirs: How, Why, and Where

August 17, 2019July 24, 2015 by Ruby Peru

I always consider it a great privilege when I’m called upon to ghostwrite a travel memoir. These books are just like any other memoir in that I simply interview the clients, get all their stories on tape, and ask a lot of questions so that I can figure out not only what the trip was about, on a superficial level, but what it was about on a deeper level.

In your Eat, Pray, Love style travel memoir, there are always a lot of adventurous tales to be told, but the real story, of course, is how did the person change because of taking this trip? How did the protagonist solve her existential dilemma or “find herself?” Just like with any other memoir, we’re dealing with the action-based superficial story at that same time as the inner-based story of growth. But this isn’t the only kind of travel memoir.