Brainstorming Week

Since Sunday my brainstorming partners have been in residence at our cottage on Chautauqua Lake working on a variety of books. I always love this annual retreat because so many knots are untied and ideas are embroidered. Tonight, though, I shake my head at how little I’ve accomplished so far, other than discarding what seemed…

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Resurrecting the Past

While my new book, When We Were Sisters, explores the lives of two foster sisters who are slowly resurrecting the past they shared, in my own life, I’ve been doing some of the same. Some of you know that we lost our beloved beagle several weeks ago. Nemo’s death was a surprise of the kind none…

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Sunday Inspiration: Overcoming Suffering

Helen Keller should know. Born blind and deaf, she overcame more suffering than most of us can imagine, becoming one of the most inspirational writers of the 20th century. I’ve used her quotes before, and probably will again. All of us suffer throughout our lives, but isn’t it amazing — bordering on miraculous — how…

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Six Things I Learned from When We Were Sisters

Yippee, it’s launch day for When We Were Sisters! Today When We Were Sisters arrives at stores. Those of you who pre-ordered from online bookstores like Amazon or Barnes and Noble will probably find your copy in the mail or on your e-reader today.  I hope you enjoy it. Would you like an autographed copy? I have…

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Sunday Inspiration: We honor the dead…

Before we moved to Florida we lived in Arlington, Virginia, and our home was only a few miles from Arlington Cemetery. I visited when a friend or family member from the military was laid to rest, and I was always shocked by how beautiful a place it is, the rolling hills of green lawns and majestic…

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When We Were Sisters: The Playlist

As I write this blog Alicia Keyes is singing Girl is On Fire on my computer, but no, wait, now it’s Hell on Heels by the Pistol Annies. And I happen to know that Katy Perry is about to sing Roar, a fabulous spoof on all those Tarzan movies I grew up with. Why, you might…

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Sunday Inspiration: The Blessing of Pets

Nemo, our beautiful Blue Tick Beagle, left us this past week, and we miss him very much. For nine years he was a joyful and healing presence in our lives — though also a trial from time to time. Nemo was rescued from the path of a bush hog as an abandoned puppy by our oldest…

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When We Were Sisters: Cecilia Speaks

In preparation for the launch of When We Were Sisters on May 31, join me for brief excerpts from the autobiographies of the three major characters, Robin, Kris and Cecilia. Cecilia: We’ve heard from Robin Lenhart and her husband Kris. Today Cecilia tells a little of her story. Cecilia clawed her way to the top of the music scene to…

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Sunday Inspiration: The Right Path

Do you sometimes find it’s so much easier to judge others than to see into their hearts? I think we all do.  But finding the right path for myself is difficult enough — and an ongoing challenge — and to presume that I can determine the right path for another is a big stretch. In…

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