I'm continuing my close listen of BBC Sounds' Witch podcast. In episode one, presenter India Rakusen asks the question, "Who are you? ... How do you know you're a witch?" She tackles the issue of the label. It's been used to kill people--people who were not witches. (I highly recommend reading the linked article. Some …
How goes July? Do you live in the heat dome like I do? What are your best tips for staying cool? I remember back in the 1980s in Florida. My mom's car didn't have a working air conditioner. She put a small bucket of ice on that hump between the seats and in front of …
Sometimes you organize things because the things desperately need organizing. Being unable to find what you need and being surrounded by chaos, rarely helps the creative process. Right? Then again and sterile environment, perfectly planned, organized, and gleaming, has its own issues. I don't know about you, but I want to feel free to make …
May was a writing disaster. I signed up for Story-a-Day May and almost immediately gave up. Giving up gnawed at me until I thought about trying again. There's no law that says stories must be written in May, after all. So, here is July and I have ideas. Finally. Granted, I'm also rewriting a manuscript …
Of all the times I have signed up for Story-a-Day, no time may be more foolish than right now. And of all the times I have said I don't have time to write, at no time has it ever been more true. Already, two days in and I haven't written a story. Over on Patreon, …
I've had my Mailchimp newsletter since December 2014. 2014! (Heck. I've had this blog since 2007.) I made a vague and half-hearted attempt to change it up last year (or was it the year before? Time gets weirder as I get older). But now I an actual idea. Yeah, yeah. I'm switching it to Substack. …
I've gotten feedback from some generous readers on stories I'm putting together. Asking for feedback triggers insecurity and guilt ("I'm sorry to bother you and you don't have to read it if you don't want to.") but oh, people's comments are incredibly helpful. The feedback isn't only helpful in the practical sense ("Thanks for catching …
The Year of the Rabbit isn't off to as good a start as I'd hoped. After the ice-storm-tree fiasco, I fatefully said, "Nothing else can go wrong." I even pointed at the dogs. "Here that, y'all? Nothing else can go wrong!" Sigh. I am a foolish human. To further bring that point home, I'm putting …
Recently, I have learned (and will never forget) the sound of tree branches falling to earth. The damage from a snow storm two years ago plus a drought has weakened a lot of trees. The weight of ice snapped branches and in some places pulled trees right out of the ground. That sound sent me …
I've been watching videos about cutting up books. I love cutting paper, my own writing included. I love making things like this paper city in a box and other layered paper concoctions. But then...what do I do with them? Well, that's a problem for another day. In the meantime, what is it about paper that …
Marta Pelrine-Bacon 