I like the number 13. I’ve never experienced any bad luck as a result of it. I’ve spent my life contemplating its maligned character and contriving ways to support it.
You see, way back in the year 1959, on a chilly January evening, my mother gave birth to me. On the 13th.
And of course members of my cohort began teasing me as soon as they were able to comprehend that I had been born on a day that was considered unlucky.
Happy New Year, everyone!
Are you into resolutions? Starting something new with the new year?
For me, although it’s not new, it’s fiction writing. So it’s more of a return to something. After my last novel came out in September, 2022 (“Ten Days in May”), I took a long break from writing. Well over a year, in fact. Through the books (and the years), I’ve taken longer breaks between manuscripts. I marvel at how I used to write a book a year while working a full-time job. Now I’m mostly retired and I’m writing a book every couple of years. Go figure!
So if you’re diving back into writing after a long break (because hey, life gets in the way more often than we would like), I’ve got some tips that have helped ease the transition for me.
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As today is Christmas, I’m going to share the story of Joey and the Joey-ful miracle he shared.
Joey was a mighty, seven-pound, white miniature poodle, gifted with a glorious spirit and unfortunate health. To name only a few of his ailments, Joey had pancreatitis, diabetes, Cushing’s disease, chronic dry eye, cataracts causing blindness, and epilepsy.
As you can likely guess, as Joey’s veterinarian, we knew each other well. Read more
It’s that time of year again. I recently told someone that as I get older, the more I wish we could cancel Christmas. On my more optimistic days, I wish we could go back to a time when Christmas was about getting together with family to eat a decadent meal finished off with some concoction of traditional cake with dry fruit preserved in alcohol. But let’s take away all the presents, the tree, the tinsel, the endless Christmas music, fake snow decorations, the wood-stick deer with bows around their necks, the blow-up plastic oversized lawn ornaments and most importantly the fat man in the red suit. I’m ready to fire him not because he doesn’t do a great job but because he represents everything that has commercialized Christmas into some too long-standing season of what used to be a great holiday. Maybe its time to hire the aliens for an invasion to finally kill off the show. Yes, somehow I have moved from Team Cindy-Lou to Team Grinch.
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This is my last blog for 2023. It is hard to believe the year is almost over.
In less than three weeks, we will jump feet first into a new year. It’s impossible to not be sad that you didn’t accomplish everything you were hoping for on your to-do list or goal-oriented calendar. At the same time, excitement is rumbling in your tummy for a new year to start. January always presents a clean slate that allows you to create a new list of endless possibilities.
To make the new goal list, it is always fun to use the week off from work—between Christmas and New Year’s Eve—to realize just how much you have accomplished over the last twelve months. Sometimes, reflecting on our experiences, whether they were fabulous success stories, terrible embarrassing moments, or memorable explosive train wrecks you never want to mention again… they all led to baby steps in your progress to conquer the “big thing” you have been daydreaming about for years.
What is that “big thing” I’m talking about?
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This week my blog takes me to looking at the shape our world is in.
Perception is everything.
Wars, poverty, pollution, stress, disinformation, mental illness, greed, corruption, isolation, bigotry, patriarchy, toxic masculinity, the 6th wave of mass extinctions.
It’s a mess. Read more
Last I left you, dear reader, I had submitted my first fifty pages, query and synopsis for critique, to a NYTimes bestselling author and I was awaiting her notes. In the meantime, my husband had knee replacement surgery and I lost what was to be my bountiful writing time. But hey, life happens…
And it happened to the author / editor I was waiting for. She was busy promoting her latest book and then fell ill, but remained in touch so I always knew what was happening. While I waited, I played around with ideas for my new novel, re-read writing books, bought more writing books. And a surprise book showed up. At first, I thought maybe I lost track of my purchases, but then remembered the author saying she wanted to send me this book.
I make a lot of things. I make most of them from scratch. There’s a long list of those things and I’m proud enough to bore you with that list.
But I’m kind enough to abridge it. I like you.
Yes, I make physical things from lumber, and from plastic filament. I make breads and cakes, cookies, pies and squares. I make the odd thing from textiles on my sewing machine, I’m good enough to get away with calling it sewing, but not good enough to make clothes. Mostly I make repairs.
I also make stories. I tell them in poetry, lyrics, and prose. That makes me a writer. Read more