dwelling
The phone rang at 9:52 this morning. Unknown number. I didn’t pick up. At 9:53, a voice message appeared. I listened. It was “Fabiola from the District Court victim advocacy office,” informing me that the case against the woman who stole my wallet and fraudulently used my debit card last summer…
bathwater
“You always have a choice.” I’ve spoken or written this central message of The Best Advice So Far literally thousands of times by now. And yet, I still feel and see the power in it as much as I ever have—the power to transform the way we view and live life. In the first chapter of the book, I…
choice: the wall
In my last post, I invited you to celebrate with me the successful completion of a yearlong writing goal I’d set for myself in 2017. Since that post, I’ve allowed myself a break from all things blog. It was strategic. I knew that if I were to just continue on writing at the previously set “goal…
huzzah
I use the interjection “Yay!” a fair amount, though mostly in text messages. Then there’s “Hooray!” which I say as well as write. But far and away, my favorite exclamation is this one: HUZZAH! It just … sounds right (pronounced huh-ZAH, with the accent on the second syllable). It looks right.…
candy canes
I finally got my tree this week. The front lot at Hanson’s Farm up the road glistened with new-fallen snow. They had fewer than a dozen trees left, having started with nearly two hundred just three weeks ago. This actually worked in my favor, given my longstanding tradition of choosing the…
losing track of why
Saturday afternoon, I cheated. Well, OK. What I mean is that I cheated on my self-imposed low-carb diet and got a ham, egg and cheese breakfast sandwich at a local joint. With bread. English muffin, to be exact. It was snowing like gangbusters, and my feet were wet and cold. So sue me if I wanted…
i think i can
In July, I completed the recording, editing and mastering of the audiobook version of The Best Advice So Far, right on schedule. By mid-August, the audiobook had been submitted to Audible, approved and officially released. From the very start — before I’d ever even penned a word of it — I knew…
big deal
This Thanksgiving held changes for my family. My mom has been putting in long hours for a while now, caring for her own mother, so that my 93-year-old Nana can continue to enjoy the familiarity and comfort of living in her home of more than 60 years. In addition to being plumb tuckered out most…
what to say (reprise)
Back in the spring, I introduced you to my writer-friend Diana by way of a unique book review with a personal twist. (By the way, this four-book series, The Rose Shield, would make a perfect, no-fail gift for any choosy Fantasy readers you may know; and Diana's also just released a beautifully…
traffic
You’re a contestant on an episode of Family Feud. You’re starting the round, facing off against your opponent, your palm hovering tensely above the buzzer. The host presents the next challenge: “One hundred people surveyed, top five answers on the board … Name something that causes people to feel…