author & artist
It's Tuesday again, so here we are. I'm going to be writing a query letter this weekend. If you don't know how, plenty of websites, articles, and podcasts will explain it. Somehow it still feels impossible. I have to summarize my novel's plot and make it sound irresistible. I've read that if you can write …
Bright spots do shine in the world. What is a bright spot for you these days? I read too much news and feel we're very much in darkness. But as Dumbledore reminds us, “Happiness can be found, even in the darkest of times, if one only remembers to turn on the light.” How does one …
If you had time, I'd ask you to read all my manuscripts and tell me which one is the best. It feels like an insanely important decision, except it isn't, is it? I have too many choices. It was easy when only one novel had been written. As a kid I had elaborate systems to …
Recently I watched Brene Brown's Netflix special. This article talks about it. Brene says that joy is the most vulnerable human emotion. We’re so afraid that if we let ourselves feel joy, something will come and take that away from us and we’ll be hit with pain, trauma, and loss. As a consequence, we try …
First off, for the record, I never watched the Fear Factor reality show. Well, once when visiting my dad, but in dad's house we watch whatever his wife wants to watch--even though there are four TVs in the house. End of discussion. In any event, I'm not a big fan of fear. I'll watch a …
Nothing scary is happening. Not yet, anyway. Oh, scary things lurk nearby, certainly. Ebola has come to my state. War wages in far too many places to list. Terrorists plot somewhere. Something you don't expect waits right around the corner. But I'm sitting on my patio, glimpsing fireflies and listening to the whir of the …
The other day, I finished reading Smoke Gets in Your Eyes. I discovered the author, Caitlin Doughty, around the same time I received my cancer diagnosis. I watched her video about talking to children about death. Now, I had an optimistic outlook on my cancer treatment, but I had to tell my kid, and my …
