Brainstorming 2015

By now if you’ve followed this blog you’ve probably read about my brainstorming group. I’ve blogged each year after we complete a session, and the process is well described in previous posts. You’ll also see bios of my group if you click on that link. Aren’t they great? Serena, Shelley, Casey/Kylie/Connie arrived in Chautauqua, NY…

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Sunday Inspiration: Are you real?

One of my favorite children’s books is The Velveteen Rabbit by Marjorie Williams. Remember it? One reason I love it is because it speaks to children and adults alike. I find this conversation between the Skin Horse and the Velveteen Rabbit especially inspiring. “’Real isn’t how you are made,’ said the Skin Horse. ‘It’s a…

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Thanks to My Wonderful Readers

Last Tuesday I asked you if you would take a moment to let me know which of the three series I’ve done in the recent past you would most like to see continued. Quite honestly I expected just a few responses. You’re busy. I understand. You can’t always follow my blog or stop by my website. But…

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Book Series: Beginnings, Endings and a Question

During my thirty year writing career my novels have leaped from bookstore shelf to bookstore shelf. And yes! Wow. It’s been thirty years this month since my first novels arrived at your local bookstore. Both were romances. My first book was a “sweet” romance, and while I am epubbing some of my early romances now, you won’t find Brendan’s…

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Sunday Inspiration: The Small, Happy Life

One of life’s great challenges is how to find your own special gift and then share that gift with others. In a column last week David Brooks wrote about “The Small, Happy Life.”  He asked readers to send essays on what their purpose for living was and how they had discovered it. To Brooks’ surprise, he learned that many people did not have…

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When All Else Fails? Tacos!

If all goes as expected, just about the time you’re opening this blog I should be walking into my summer cottage in Chautauqua, NY, to get ready for the upcoming season. I’m sure I’ll be tired from a long trip, and I’m not sure my internet will be on. Today just happens to be Cinco…

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Newspapers: What Have You Read Lately?

I’ve confessed before, but I’ll confess again. I love newspapers. This apparently makes me desperately old-fashioned. But while I also check newspaper articles online, nothing compares to sitting down in the morning with the real thing and going through it page by page. I miss the little things on the internet. The local tidbits. The letters…

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Sunday Inspiration: 10 Tips To Happiness

I’m not Catholic, but I find Pope Francis to be an inspiring religious leader and a man I respect. I especially admire that he doesn’t just speak words of compassion and justice, but he lives out those words in his everyday life. He recently spoke about these 10 Tips To Happiness, which speak to people…

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