My friend and amazing author, Ami McKay, interviewed me and did a nice write-up of my novel, The Blue Jar. She included a favorite photo of mine--us with Santa Claus and I'm wearing my "Who Killed Laura Palmer?" tee-shirt. If you can, go over there, read, and comment. Maybe share. I've known Ami since we …
Category: mom
Moms, Dreams, and Stupid Questions
My mother drew the unicorn. I can't draw like her. I've always wanted to, but have yet to manage it. Do you compare yourself to your parents? Is there something either on of them did that you wish you could do? My mother started to write a novel. She had only a few chapters written …
Transition Madness
Today I finished chemo. One surgery remains. The toxins will leave my body, my hair will grow back, and I'll get to call myself a survivor. But aren't we all survivors if we make it to another day? I don't know, but I find survivor a strange thing to call myself. Many people are kind …
Counting Down…
October promises many things. Let's hope October keeps such promises. The first Friday of October will be my last day of chemo. Thank the stars. I've had fewer side-effects than many. I'm lucky. This has been week ten of Taxel. The nurse told me that the 10th week is the most common week for neuropathy …
“There’s only one kind of woman…or man, for that matter. You either believe in yourself or you don’t.”
What story changed your life? Maybe that's too dramatic? Well, what story shaped or moved your opinions one way another? My parents didn't tell me often how or what to think. "It's up to you," they said. How did my mother vote? I don't know. She wouldn't tell me. "You have to decide for yourself," …
More Bloody Days and Other Craziness
Here is what I know today. First, I need wound care. This surgical incision--still bleeding after two weeks--isn't healing properly. I'm looking forward to getting that out of the way. After this wound clears up, my future holds a few more medical adventures. I'll be tested for Marfan Syndrome. I've been suspected before of having …
Where does writing begin?
We all have a story why we write or make art or create whatever it is we create. How far back does the story go? Does my story go back to the first book I fell in love with? (Watership Down) Does it go back to my mother's love of books? My grandmother's love of …
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 …
The Past–there’s always more of it.
A couple years ago I took to writing small bits of memoir in this space. I didn't set out to. Those life stories just fell into place--though I'd never had a desire to write a memoir. It was a writing memoir, every story connecting to the writing. I stopped. Maybe I was repeating myself. Maybe …
The Feminine in the Sky
A smart and talented woman I know wrote this book: The Coming of the Feminine Christ. (Which due to some technical difficulties, I've had to unlink to.) This is not a review; I haven't read the book yet. And this is not about your religion; I don't need to know (and let's not ruin a …