One late afternoon in my Florida childhood, another lightning storm rolled in. A wall of rain moved steadily over the lake towards our house. I love the change in the air and the smell. The lightning flashed and flashed and flashed. I knew to go inside, but the terrifying and amazing light fascinated me. I …
With a little luck, I might write a lot this week before the summer semester begins. Fingers-crossed and coffee mug filled! Also, I have news. My incredibly supportive and lovely publisher has needed to make a change, and Plum Tree Books is no more. I'm sad, but I hope this will allow her to focus …
Dear Internet, Today is an ordinary day. So far, anyway. I've spent time reading articles on dying from cancer and on things you should learn in design school. I've replied to posts on Facebook. I've done laundry and had several cups of coffee. I'm still drinking coffee. I've got to get the kiddo to do …
I do my best to avoid the Could-Have-Been Monster. Who isn't familiar with it? Who sitting alone late a night staring at a screen of one kind or another hasn't felt it lurking in the shadows reaching for a hunched over shoulder? It is a patient monster, never really giving up, always there waiting for …
The other evening I watched a documentary on Netflix--Andrews Jenks, Room 335. Have you seen it? A young 20-something man moves into a retirement community in what must be Florida. I grew up in Florida surrounded by retirement communities. I also spent a great deal of my childhood with my grandmother. Getting along with older …
I don't like being asked for advice. I don't want to be asked which job you should take or what you should do about a relationship. I have an opinion (I'm full of opinions!), but I don't need more responsibility. What happens if you follow my advice and everything goes wrong? Blame is what happens. …
As I mentioned in another post, I'm reading Austin Kleon's book Show Your Work. A while back, I read his book Steal Like an Artist. I was attracted to his work because he uses text in his art like I do. Anyway, to earn money, I teach. Also, I'm homeschooling my kiddo. If I'm not …
My life is good. I never have enough money, my house needs work, my job requires too much attention, my novel isn't a best seller, and my art needs more of my attention, but I have this incredible luxury of being to make things. I have a desk where I can sit and write or …
Fall gives me energy. Maybe it's all those years starting school in the fall, going to the store to buy new notebooks and folders that made me feel like everything was beginning all over again. My dad wasn't one to take me shopping much. He was a single dad and so shopping for my shoes, …
Continue reading The End Summer and the Beginning of New Things
Sometimes I read articles about other writers and artists (like today, this one here), and I want to dive into a story of my own and make something as exciting. Well, I can't do a comic book or anything like that, but in some interviews, I can feel the enthusiasm come off the page and …
Marta Bacon 