It was all so thrilling and perfect, if you were a thirteen-year-old girl, which I was. After it became obvious to me that I couldn’t go to Narnia, I wanted to crawl into Trixie’s world and live there instead.
All in YA Outside the Lines
The Mother of all Christmas Parties
Then, like Thomas Edison with a guttering candle or Henry Ford in a carriage pulled by a really slow horse, I muttered, “There must be a better way.”
Three Good Things About 2020
This month, we’re blogging about good things that actually happened with our writing in 2020. Remarkably, I can think of not just one, or two, but three good things that happened in my writing life this year.
The Silver Lining
I have a reoccurring dream where I’m standing in the middle of a shopping mall surrounded by people and suddenly realize I’m not wearing a mask.
Writing During Covid-19
At first, it was like a forty-pound sack of potatoes fell from my shoulders and I was free, even though I was confined to my house.
Distance Learning
When schools all over America closed and they told us to educate our children from home, my mind automatically put large air quotes around the phrase, “distance learning.”
Endurance
This year I learned the meaning of word ‘endurance.’
Everything You Ever Wanted to Know About Writing a Book But Were Afraid to Ask
This month we’re discussing the secret life of authors or the secrets of writing. I don’t have any burning secrets to share, so instead we’ll call this post Everything You Ever Wanted to Know About Writing a Book But Were Afraid to Ask
Another World
This month we’re talking about setting. I was thinking a lot about this on a trip to California where I had the strange experience of walking around inside someone else’s imagination. It was spring break and we were in California to visit family. While there, we stopped at Universal Studios to see Harry Potter World.
My Favorite Character
My favorite character from one of my books is a wise-cracking best friend named Roxanne. The protagonist starts the book as a strait-laced rule follower. She changes on her journey through the story and by the end she’s strong, rebellious and unafraid. But she doesn’t start that way.
Giants in the Earth
This month we’re discussing books that changed our perspective.
For me, that book is Giants in the Earth by O.E. Rolvaag. Giants in the Earth is to the northern plains what To Kill a Mockingbird is to southern fiction. It’s a masterpiece.
Voices from the Past
I didn’t have a best friend when I was fourteen years old. I had many lovely friends, but not one soul-mate, Before Anyone Else kind of best friend.
The Write Idea
By the time I finished buying dog food and detergent, I knew who she buried, why she committed this terrible crime and how she planned to cover it up.
The Ever Changing Definition of Success
Our topic this month is success and how we define it. I think the definition changes over time, as our careers, circumstances and goals evolve.
Learning to Love my Limitations
I’ve never been big on inspirational sayings, Like Reach for the Stars or Believe in Your Dreams.
Life Story
I may be the last person in the Washington, D.C. area who still gets home delivery of the Washington Post. You know, the newspaper ON PAPER. I find great story ideas every morning before I’ve even finished my toast.
Retroactive Embarrassment (Or Remember the '80's?)
In my mind, I was pretty in pink. I was taking people’s breath away. I was so cool I wore my sunglasses at night.
This is My Tribe
My feet hurt. My head ached. My flight was delayed. And I can’t wait to do it again next year because this is my tribe.
Find Time to Feed Your Soul
When we talk about “perseverance” we tend to think about pushing onward against terrible, unexpected difficulties like erupting volcanoes, economic collapse or chronic illness.
Row Your Boat
People who’ve lost a loved one say grief is a process. Rejection is like that, too. When one of those bad news emails lands in my inbox, I work my way through the writer’s stages of grief.