Booklover Carols: What Else Can I Do?
Happy holidays, whichever and however you celebrate. If you’ve been a faithful blog reader, you know that most years I favor (?) you with a Booklover’s Carol at Christmas. The carols are based on the more traditional variety, and I’ve had fun coming up with terrible renditions to delight or horrify you. Either reaction is…
Read MoreSunday Inspiration: The Guest House
“The Guest House” by Jalaluddin Rumi This being human is a guest house. Every morning a new arrival. A joy, a depression, a meanness, some momentary awareness comes As an unexpected visitor. Welcome and entertain them all! Even if they’re a crowd of sorrows, who violently sweep your house empty of its furniture, still treat…
Read MoreSunday Inspiration: True Generosity
“That’s what I consider true generosity: You give your all and yet you always feel as if it costs you nothing.” — Simone de Beauvoir, author Did you see this inspiring story about Dolly Parton’s generous gift of one million dollars for Covid research? Dolly is one of my favorite people anyway, because of her…
Read MoreSunday Holiday Inspiration: Happy Thanksgiving!
‘Thank you’ is the best prayer that anyone could say. I say that one a lot. Thank you expresses extreme gratitude, humility, understanding. When you rise in the morning, give thanks for the light, for your life, for your strength. -Alice Walker, author This will be a difficult Thanksgiving for many of us. We may be…
Read MoreOnce in a Blue Moon
At the end of the day faith is a funny thing. It turns up when you don’t really expect it. It’s like one day you realize that the fairy tale may be slightly different than you dreamed. The castle, well, it may not be a castle. And it’s not so important happy ever after, just…
Read MoreSunday Inspiration: Imagination encircles the world
“I am enough of an artist to draw freely upon my imagination. Imagination is more important than knowledge. Knowledge is limited. Imagination encircles the world.” ― Albert Einstein As an author, I know how important knowledge is. Without knowledge of everything I’m writing about, without an understanding of the individuals and the time and place,…
Read MoreSocial Media: What Should You Say and How Should You Say It?
Let’s take a little quiz, just for fun: How much time do you spend on social media each day? Add in all the platforms you use, Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, LinkedIn and more. How much of your news do you get from social media? If you use social media as a news source, do you trust…
Read MoreSunday Inspiration: Be Curious!
“Be curious, not judgmental.” -Walt Whitman I heard this quote on the charming television show Ted Lasso on Apple TV the other night, and it struck a chord, especially during this time of significant change in our nation. The character Ted Lasso was responding to a man who was obnoxious and a bully by sharing…
Read MoreSunday Inspiration: Their brilliance continues to light the world
“There are stars whose radiance is visible on Earth though they have long been extinct. There are people whose brilliance continues to light the world though they are no longer among the living. These lights are particularly bright when the night is dark. They light the way for humankind.” – Hannah Senesh, poet I’ve been rising early in…
Read MorePsst… What Do You Think About My New Cover?
The House Guests, at bookstores in June 2021. Authors wait, hope and pray while a new cover is in the works. We don’t always have a lot of choices, but Mira’s cover art department made some welcome changes on this one between the initial concept and this final version. The book (June 2021) is set…
Read More