blog
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Late night Insight: the tale of the French door, or what kind of writer are you?
I may have mentioned that friends of ours offered to sell us their cabin. If I were to use an euphemism, I’d call it a fixer-upper. And that is what we have spent a lot of time doing this summer–fixing up our cabin. It’s a sweet little cabin in a fabulously beautiful area. I love…
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How do you feel about Halloween?
Ghosts? Ghouls? Witches? Demons? Scary movies? Candy and more candy? Does that sound fun to you? How about orange, black, purple and neon green? That’s enough to give anyone nightmares, although I suppose that’s the point. In case you haven’t guessed yet, I’ve never been a fan of this particular holiday. Along with the above…
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Why A Romance Novel?
I have finished my first Regency romance novel!!! This is a huge accomplishment for me. I haven’t sold it yet; I’m working on the query letter and research about agents and such. But the novel is complete. Alpha and Beta readers have had their say. The editor is at work. I just want to go…
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You see a Cabin. He sees a project. I see a writer’s retreat!
Dreaming and creating a writer’s retreat.
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Creativity and Mental Health
What are you doing to stay sane during Covid? I see masses of walkers/joggers, bikers and skateboarders out on the trail behind my home. The roads to and from the canyons in the mountains around us are busier than the freeway during rush hour. It’s always wonderful when the weather improves in the spring and…
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When It’s Deeply Personal
It is difficult to share, not knowing if readers will receive in the same spirit in which it is given, but I wrote this shortly after my mother passed away. I hope reading it will help someone, as writing it helped me.
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Growth and Insights Found In the Foreword
I have read quite a bit of Alice Walker’s writings. Though not easy reading, I find her novels and short stories worth the work–thought provoking and mind broadening. However, some of my favorite things that Alice Walker has written I’ve found in forewords, prefaces, essays, interviews, and here in an address to students from her…
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Oh, Let Us Be Thankful
Okay, I fulfilled last week’s challenge, (and a personal letter too), but today I want to talk about thank you notes. Do they count as letters? I’m making an argument for the affirmative. Though short, they are, if written sincerely, an expression of deep feeling from the heart. It’s a good enough definition of a…
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Inspiration Or Intimidation
It’s a common belief that if you want to write, you will read–a lot. It follows that if you spend time reading the finest writing, you should be inspired to write even better. I guess that I believe that. Only, sometimes I’m not sure it works that way.
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Can We Enjoy Poems Again?
Do you remember studying poetry in school? Do you cringe? I think two activities have added to our negative feelings about poetry: the deconstruction exercises we do/have done in school where we are asked to take a perfectly crafted and evocative poem, pull it apart, and point out every poetic device so that we can “interpret”…