Bloody Days

I've almost forgotten I blog. Heading toward the Christmas season things took an unexpected turn. A routine mammogram ended in a biopsy and two surgeries, and I can't say it's all done yet. The main distraction is the incision that has continued to bleed for over a week. There are plenty more serious health issues …

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Perfect Sentences and Other Lies

Some people promise to diet or to exercise every day or to be more patient. Do you do that? Swear you're going to be different and somewhere between three minutes and three days that is all shot to hell? Mine is that I'm going to be less neurotic. I've been trying to come up with …

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Is that the best you can do?

In high school I spent one year on the yearbook staff. I started the class really excited, and I ended the class hoping never to speak of it again. When my mother saw the section I'd worked on--the advertising section, which I hated but did work hard on--she said, "That doesn't look very good. That's …

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Why is it dark in here?

Recently I joked, "I could've written a light comedy." And my husband replied, "I don't think you have light comedy in you." A friend said, "It's odd because you're a funny person." Hey, I didn't set out to write a dark, emotional novel. I started with an image and went from there. But I don't …

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A Plum Heart

Today a new friend in my life puts her heart out into the world. Her heart should be lifted up and celebrated. Well, perhaps every heart should be. Forgive the potential sappiness. But sometimes sappiness is okay. We don't have to be all edges and armor every day of the week. (Anyway, I don't know …

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Editing Rehab

Hello. My name is Marta, and I'm an editaholic. I've spent hours editing, gotten lost editing, and been unable to remember what I just wrote after editing. After a long night of editing, I've woken up with strange characters in my head. During my breaks at work, I'd be eating my lunch and sneaking in …

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Plum Friday: Self-Sabotage and Support Systems

My publisher has a passion. You see that passion in what Plum Tree supports. Soon, Plum Tree will put out a book and hold an art auction to raise money to help people in Sahel. Where is the Sahel? Here. A piece of my art is part of the auction, too. I know that many …

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