I had this vague idea that zines started in the 70s, but no. They started in the 1930s. Was there a zine scene in my hometown in the 1980s? I've no idea. I wasn't cool and I didn't hang out in cool places where such things existed. When did I first learn about zines? I …
We know have Christmas lights strung in four rooms in our house. Yes, I'm one of those people. When I plug in the strand of lights in my office, the space changes. Now it feels like The. Creative. Space. It doesn't feel like news to say light affects us. Many of us struggle in seasons …
The other in my writing class, we were talking about awkward sentences, redundancies, and wordiness. Students tend to write things like, "the daughter of my sister" when perhaps they could've written "my sister's daughter" or even "my niece." Not to mention the number of times they'll write "always" or "very" on one page. A few …
Do you like memoirs? Have a fav? I don't, as a rule, search them out, but sometimes I pick one up. Either the author is writing about their life through a topic that interests me (Black Milk by Elif Shafak, for instance, is about the balancing of becoming a mother and her writing life) or …
I had time to write, but I did some reading instead. I came across this article in Texas Monthly about Colleen Hoover. (Please note, you get only one or two free reads from Texas Monthly, so click accordingly. I think it is worth the read, especially if you're an author.) I have never read a …
Most evenings, Dad and I watch Rawhide or Matlock or Perry Mason. Sometimes we watch Have Gun-Will Travel, Bat Masterson, or The Life and Legend of Wyatt Earp. The production and writing qualities and the historical accuracy vary greatly, but I get sucked in regardless of how much I don't really like westerns (I do, …
I'm thinking of making more art prints! Want to pick three favorites? Leave a comment. If you click on the images, you can see their titles. The winners will eventually be sent to Patrons and sold on Etsy. Thanks for your help!
I lay down on the grass at the park. I was far from alone. There was my husband. There were my students. There were strangers. We were all together in the park, looking up at a cloudy sky, waiting and hoping. Down the street other people did the same. On campus my son was on …
my photo, effects added for my own amusement Today we went to the park, and for a few minutes I slipped away from my family and went up the treehouse. I got to lay down on a net and look up at the sky. I didn't stay long. I chatted with the two other women. …
This is my third effort to write a blog post. Is it time for the blog to end? I dunno. Nothing lasts forever. And who reads blogs anymore? I've got the blog, Patreon, art, newsletter, and my novels-in-progress. But I've also got a job and an aging parent to care for. Why on earth would …
Marta Pelrine-Bacon 