The E in Ebooks Does Not Stand for Effortless
So, do you ever wonder how all those eBooks miraculously appear on your Kindle/Nook/iPad etc.? How hard can independent publishing be, right? I mean other than writing the book, that is. You put down your thoughts, you press a button, and there’s an eBook fully formed on Amazon or at Barnes and Noble, iBooks, Kobo,…
Read MoreSunday Inspiration: Happy Mother’s Day!
Happy Mother’s Day to all the mothers out there. (And to anyone who has ever helped raise or nurture a child not their own, as well.) Today’s gift to all of us is this moving poem “To The Moms Out There Who Love Someone On the Autism Spectrum,” by Kerry Magro, an autistic man who…
Read MoreWho’s Perching on the Branches of Your Family Tree?
Last year I decided to ask for genetic testing at 23 and Me as a birthday gift. Have you done the 23 and Me test or a similar one, like the one at Ancestry.com? I already knew the basics, but I thought it might be fun to have more specifics. I hoped that something I didn’t…
Read MoreSunday Inspiration: Reverend Patrick J. Conroy, SJ
This week Reverend Patrick J. Conroy, S.J. resigned from his post as the chaplain for the House of Representatives at the request of Speaker Paul Ryan, and then took back his resignation with these words: “I have never been disciplined, nor reprimanded, nor have I ever heard a complaint about my ministry during my time…
Read MoreReading Challenges 2018: We Are Not Alone
Are you participating in the Read Along With Emilie Richards Reading Challenge? If not, and you want to, you’ll find out all about it here. I promised to post about the challenge on the last Wednesday of every month, but you can see I’m a few days late for April. I’m delighted to say I’m…
Read MoreSunday Inspiration: Caregiving
“Caregiving often calls us to lean into love we didn’t know possible.” -Tia Walker Did you see the 60 Minutes segment last Sunday about a couple struggling with the trauma of Alzheimer’s Disease? The program followed the couple over several years showing the woman slowly sinking into dementia. Her husband took care of her by…
Read MoreThe Best Laid Plans: Jambalaya, Bundt Cake and a Writing Career
On Sunday I attended a potluck with folks who also spend part of their summers at Chautauqua Institution in Western, New York. Twice a year, over the winter and spring, our local Chautauquans meet to enjoy each other’s company and cooking. As a minister’s wife I’m a veteran of church potlucks. The hands down winner…
Read MoreSunday Inspiration: Barbara Bush
At the end of your life, you will never regret not having passed one more test, not winning one more verdict or not closing one more deal. You will regret time not spent with a husband, a friend, a child, or a parent. Barbara Bush Thank you, Barbara Bush, for your grace and class under…
Read MoreNow and Then in Novels
Last week I told you about Now and Then in my actual life, but every novelist lives in at least two worlds. Novelists wake up to one world every morning, but another always lives in our imaginations. Sometimes that imaginary world even creeps into our dreams. Imaginary worlds have Now and Then, too. Every story…
Read MoreSunday Inspiration: Learn Best With a Beat
Teachers are some of the most hard working, inspirational, heroic, and invaluable people in the world today — and they deserve the raises they’re fighting for. I remember all too well the good friend who was thrilled that she’d gotten a job teaching public school kindergarten, then proceeded to tell me how she had rescued…
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