I've finished NaNoWriMo! I have not, of course, finished the novel. It's a massive rewrite of a previous NaNo novel. I scrapped half the plot and took the story in a new direction. Now there's a ghost! No, it's not a horror story. The ghost has a lively (lively?) personality, but the story is really …
The Civil War brought us death on a massive scale, and I've read how people turned to seances. First Lady Mary Todd Lincoln held seances too. The Spiritualist movement was already in place by the time of the war, but certainly so much violent death spurred more people to try so-called spirit circles. (Aaron Mahnke's …
Continue reading There’s a Gaping Hole in the Livingroom Wall
When does the New Year stop being new? A few years back I witnessed a heated debate about when it was too late to wish someone a Happy New Year. I don't know, but I'd accept happy new year wishes in July if need be. In any case, here we are. I haven't started my …
(where I grew up ~ starlight added) It's the most contemplative time of year. (Well, not for everyone. Plenty of people may find other points in time more suited for contemplation. Some people seem to have no ability to contemplate much of anything least of all their place in the world and the hardships of …
I was going to write something completely different, but I've forgotten what. As some know, my mother died of an aortic aneurysm when she was 45 and I was 21. In early November, someone I grew up calling Aunt (but who is not genetically related) almost died of an aortic aneurysm. Thankfully, she is recovering. …
Welcome to the beauty of the last months of the year, the change of the trees, the chill in the air, the land going fallow (at least in this northern half of the planet). The first frost can worry and terrify those without shelter or those who need the bright warm sun. The falls calls …
2020 feels like trying to build a house in a nonstop earthquake. Well, that sounds like the problem is Mother Nature. Perhaps it is more like trying to build a house while others run around with bulldozers, jackhammers, and wrecking balls. Or maybe it's like building a house in the dark with no idea what …
The world feels steeped in grief. Death is countable. Grief immeasurable. And while death is part of life, so much of it is unnecessary, senseless, and terrible. We grieve for more than people. We grieve moments. My mother wasn't there to see me graduate. We grieve relationships. My mother never knew her grandson. We grieve …
These are strange times. Everything I've thought to write seems beside the point. To say I dislike uncertainty seems silly. Few of us do. Some people say they do, but I tend think they mean uncertainty within reason. Some people shrug and say they've been working from home for years and nothing much has changed. …
This crossed my social media path this evening.
Marta Pelrine-Bacon 