Writing Service
So, a while back, my friend Donna Hatch wrote a great blog post about the importance of using our writing talents to serve others. There’s happiness in serving others every day. I firmly believe that. Donna suggested that we writers can use our writing skills to serve others in some small way, such as a thank […]
Peanut Addiction and Writing through the Inferno
It’s almost scary the amount of honey roasted peanuts I’ve eaten in the past week. I once heard that peanut addiction was a sign of peanut allergy. (I think some people just don’t know what they’re talking about.) Either way, I’m going to be allergic to myself soon if the insanity doesn’t stop. Oh, look, […]
I Stink at Design…but this is a cool aurora pic!
So, I’m no designer. In college I majored in English with an emphasis in Technical Writing, and I was a studious girl. My worst grades, however, came from my design classes. Ugh! How anyone does graphic design or even artistic layouts is beyond me. I even hate decorating my living room. We’d lived in our […]
Denmark and Peach Rings
My friend Tina used to live just down the road. I’d go by and she’d let my kids jump on her trampoline with the sprinklers on, or she’d let my buy fresh chicken eggs from her, or we’d just visit. So lovely. Now she has up and moved about 3 hours away. I only get to […]
Memorial Day (and the pop can)
I was reading Auto Week magazine this morning and thinking how much I LOVE reading car magazines. It’s a problem though because I never want to throw them away. I want to go back and read them again and again. And now I’ve got a pile of magazines (including mags the neighbor gives me to […]
Updates on BIG IN JAPAN
My publisher keeps sending me what I can only describe as teasers about my upcoming novel, which is set to release July 28th. I still haven’t seen the cover for Big in Japan, but they tweeted that it’s done and it’s fantastic and innovative and … it’s killing me! I’ve got to see this thing! The […]
The Sign of a Wasted Life
My friend has a plaque in her kitchen: “A clean house is a sign of a wasted life.” Is there a corollary that says a dirty house is a sign of an unwasted life? I’m not sure. All I know is that I’ve now proven to myself indisputably that a clean house and concentrated writing […]
Books as the Enemy
Lately I’ve had a couple of conversations with friends and acquaintances about books, but not in a good way. These women echoed themes I’ve heard over the years–that some people have an adversarial relationship with books. Last night, for instance, I was talking to a woman when I dropped off my girls at their activity. […]
Final (?) Edits
My publisher sent me the latest round of edits for Big in Japan–and there’s hope this will be the last. I’m poring over the lines, looking for typos and flubs, and I can start to feel the energy of this-book-is-really-going-to-be-in-print! The MS is 322 pages in Word, and I’m on page 133 of this read-through, […]
Tweaking the Villain
This morning I was outside and watched nature’s comedy hour as two small birds plagued a huge, black bird. Wherever the bigger bird flew, they dogged it, swooping after the black bird, and when it finally landed on a telephone pole, they divebombed it and pecked its head before it finally snapped at them and drove […]
Stuff You Guys are Saying and Stuff I’m Saying Back