Sunday Poetry: God’s Own Angels
Welcome to Sunday Poetry. If this is your first visit you can read about the purpose and inspiration of my Sunday blogs here. Tomorrow is Labor Day, first celebrated in the United States on September 5, 1882. It became a federal holiday two years later at the urging of President Grover Cleveland, in an attempt to find…
Read MoreWhat’s In a Title? Hooking the Reader Through Collaboration.
Okay, I’ll admit it. There are parts of the writing process I do not love. One of them is collaboration. No, I don’t write with a partner, and couldn’t if my life depended on it. But I am part of a team, the team that publishes my novels, and they have a say in lots…
Read MorePeaches-And-Cream Ice Cream: Have CHU Entered This Month’s Giveaway?
I’m amazed at how many silly kitchen gadgets there are. I had no idea. This weekend I had the time of my life ordering enough to give away one each month for our CHU winners, along with an autographed paperback of the winner’s choice–if available. This month’s winner gets the Joie Mashy Egg Masher, a hit…
Read MoreSunday Poetry: Her Worried Summer Look
Welcome to Sunday Poetry. If this is your first visit you can read about the purpose and inspiration of my Sunday blogs here. Mother, Summer, I by Philip Larkin, linked here to The Writer’s Almanac online, is a “different” look at summer’s end. I’ve posted it this morning after a magnificent set of thunderstorms rolled in across…
Read MoreSummer Vacations, Summer Splendors
I’m taking a week long break from original blogs as I dive deeper into my book and still try to catch some of the most beautiful hours of late summer. While looking back at some of my older blogs to share with you again, I came across this one written in April 2009. It struck…
Read MoreCHUsday: Old Blogs, Old Faithful Recipes
Summertime and the living is, well, BUSY!! I just taught two classes and need to focus on my next book, so this week, just like on your TV set, you’ll be getting re-runs. Today and Friday I’m featuring blogs from spring of 2009, when many of you weren’t reading here. In the spirit of CHUsday, here’s an old…
Read MoreSunday Poetry: Slowing Down for Happiness
Welcome to Sunday Poetry. If this is your first visit you can read about the purpose and inspiration of my Sunday blogs here. I’ve been thinking a lot this summer about the meaning of home. We’ll be moving next year, and right now we’re not sure where. We have a summer cottage, which feels like home to…
Read MoreFinding The Muse Beside the Lake
For the past two weeks I’ve had the pleasure of teaching two different writing classes here at Chautauqua Institution in Western New York. Talking about one of my favorite subjects, in one of my favorite places, has been a joy. In the first class, Plotting a Murder, we did just that. Together we came up…
Read MoreCHUsday, Zucchini Recipes, and Cliches
I’m away for the moment, teaching a class in my favorite place in the world, Chautauqua Institution in Western New York. My good buddy Casey Daniels(aka Kylie Logan with a new series debuting next month) and I are teaching together in the upcoming week. Casey and I have been friends for a LONG time and…
Read MoreSunday Poetry: It Is the Discovery that Keeps the Fingers Moving
Welcome to Sunday Poetry. If this is your first visit you can read about the purpose and inspiration of my Sunday blogs here. Do you like crafts? Have you found a particular one that helps you to center, to move past the frustration and anxiety of your life to a different plane? When I found Whittling: The Last…
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