Fiction Friday: Madame Celestin’s Divorce
Welcome to Fiction Friday. Mardi Gras may be over, but we aren’t yet finished with Louisiana. I thought you might enjoy this short story, written by author Kate Chopin in 1894 in a work entitled Bayou Folk. I’ll post it in two parts with the conclusion next Friday. Kate Chopin, born Kate O’Flaherty, grew up in St.…
Read MoreHappy Mardi Gras Day
Happy, happy Mardi Gras whether you’re among those who celebrate, wish you celebrated, or despise parades, beads and king cake any time of year. If you’re watching a parade right now, just know I wish I were right there beside you shouting “Throw me something, Mister!” The Unmasking, which is my one real carnival book, goes…
Read MoreSunday Inspiration: How To Be Miserable
I’ve written many blogs about happiness because each one of us deserves to be happy, and there are so many things we can do to make that happen. Recently, though, I found an article in my local paper about a renowned family therapist who gives a different perspective: she asks how can we be miserable?…
Read MoreFiction Friday: Mardi Gras Here We Come
I’ve spent the last two weeks revising one of my very first novels,The Unmasking. The novel came out from Harlequin Superromance in, gulp, 19. . . A long time ago. As I read The Unmasking again, I loved the story, but my writing has improved, well, enormously. What took me twelve words to say now…
Read MoreNext Week, Same Time, Same Place
I’m so busy doing the edits and revisions of one of my first novels, The Unmasking, that I wasn’t able to blog yesterday, but please stay tuned for another preview of the book this week on Fiction Friday, in honor of Mardi Gras. I hope to have The Unmasking online at all your favorite bookstores…
Read MoreSunday Inspiration: Courage!
Two inspirational men this Sunday morning. The first is Michael Sam, the star college football player about to be drafted into professional football. Michael is not only perhaps the best defensive players in college football and one of the toughest men you’ll ever see, but he’s had the courage to tell the world he is…
Read MoreFiction Friday: Dead Ball
I’m going to tell you a secret. One of the very best parts of being a writer is being with other writers. More often than not we’re together online, not in person, but there are always conferences, booksignings and brainstorming sessions where we meet and share stories into the wee hours of morning. In the…
Read MoreWho Are You Exactly? Just Take a Quiz and Find Out.
There’s a new wave sweeping social media. Take a few moments, take one of a gazillion possible quizzes and you’ll answer that all-important existential question. Who am I? Sort of. For instance, this month I discovered that I am Snuffleupagus from Sesame Street, Amy Farrah Fowler from The Big Bang Theory, Bones from Star Trek,…
Read MoreSunday Inspiration: Engage
I was inspired by this 2 minute video on Youtube, and I think you will be too: Engage It’s meant for Valentine’s Day, but shouldn’t every day be Valentine’s Day? How do you plan to engage?
Read MoreFiction(less) Friday: The Two Day a Week Diet Cookbook
What a special treat today for Valentine’s day. While I know this spot is billed as Fiction Friday, today’s excerpt is actually a recipe from a new cookbook, The Two Day a Week Diet Cookbook, designed for Amazon’s Kindle. Don’t have a Kindle? You can read the recipes on your computer, smartphone or tablet by downloading…
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