Songs to Write By: 70s Style

Okay, you might wonder why I’m writing the unofficial soundtrack to this book when I’ve already told you that I don’t tend to listen to music when I write. Well, the reason is that these songs, while not helping me write the book, are an inspiration. They’re songs I either mention in it or songs

Dear Diary

You know that most of the time I don’t like to wax lyrical. It makes me feel like I’m trying to live inside one of my mother’s poems. But I do love beautiful things. And feeling beautiful things. That actually might be the most important thing. After all, we can see things and not really

Ready, Set, Rough Draft

Today is more about the beginning of the process than anything else. I wrote a whole post about the big picture, but let’s get into the nitty-gritty of this particular book I’m writing. I still don’t have a title so maybe once you’ve read this, you can help me think of one. Where did I

How I Got the Idea for My Next Book

The year was 2010 and I was wearing my black velvet dress, standing awkwardly in the middle of rows of wooden pews, speaking around the ache in my throat, wondering why I was willing to say anything in front of so many people. But there was a deeper feeling inside of me than fear, one

The Many Aspects of My Writing Process

Ah, the writing process. Authors new and old look at this oft-used phrase with varying expressions of horror, delight, panic, ease, or confusion. Some might even shrug their shoulders. ‘Writing process? What’s that? Never heard of it.’ But even that means something about the way they write. We writers really aren’t all that complicated. Put

The Five Books/Series That Changed My Life

What are books and stories and why do they make such an impression on us? Do they simply carry us away from the burdens of our own lives or do they speak truths to our souls with the familiarity they spark? I find stories do all of the above, at once freeing and identifying, with

Fiction Forward

I love to read. Ever since I was a small girl, there was no better way to spend my time than in between the pages of a book. Stories sparked my imagination, provided context for life, and sent my senses soaring to new worlds. The first book I could read was a small picture book

Caregiving 101: Part Seven: What Comes After

My mom and I put the stamp on my dad’s 2018 tax return in March of 2019. That was it, I thought, the last thing I have to do for him. All the papers had been filed, the stuff sorted, the bills paid, the money disbursed, and the responsibility done. I was finally free. True,

Caregiving 101: Part Six: Grief and Loss

October 13, 2018 was a long day. My brother picked up my car to work on it, while my mom and I replaced my bed and took a trip to the dump. We then went to my brother’s to pick up my car. I got home late and had barely settled down for the night

Caregiving 101: Part Five: Living Situations

When I took over as primary caregiver for my dad, my immediate concern was moving him. He lived alone in an apartment, almost an hour away from me, and he wasn’t safe where he was. At the time, I knew nothing about what help or places were available to people in his situation. My first