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Dog stories
Tolstoi, my Samoyed, in his winter whites, circa 1977. Who can say no to such a face? People say having a dog is like having a permanent toddler. (I say: better than having a permanent teenager.) But...
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The literary 1%
Regardless of your persuasions as they relate to the larger realm of politics and the social order, you have to admit that there is still something of a literary elite in this country. I’m referring to...
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Dread and the married girl
You may want to head to another blog today if you’re in the mood for feel-good inspiration. What I offer here is a contemplation of existential angst, also referred to as existential anxiety or dread....
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Short and scary
I don’t often share my poetry. But I recently came across two short poems from a while back that seem particularly appropriate to the dark mood I described in my last post, to All Hallows’ Eve, and to...
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Midwifing stories
mid·wife – verb (used with object) 3. to assist in the birth of (a baby). 4. to produce or aid in producing (something new) I’ve gotten some nice compliments over the last year for my fiction editing....
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All folded up
The results of the Sixfold writer-judged contest came in a few weeks ago. My name was not among the winners. In fact, I had to jump to page two and scroll down to find my story, solidly in the middle...
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2013: A year of selfieshness
My kind of selfie In November, the Oxford English Dictionary named selfie its Word of the Year for 2013. While trying to forget the word’s ickiness (it brings to mind the worst self references—self...
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Watch it and weep
Do you wear a watch? I do. Not a fancy one, and not a digital one. Just a good old-fashioned Ecclessi analog watch my husband gave me quite a few years ago for my birthday. (Come to think of it, the...
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Leaping Liebsters
In my last blog post, I mentioned my nomination for the Liebster “Award.” There are several Liebster images out there. I liked this one… understated. In fact, this is not an award but a chain letter....
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Three beauties and a redefinition
Thanks to August McLaughlin for hosting her Third Annual “Beauty of a Woman” Blogfest, which prompted this post. Visit her blog starting February 27 to read all the entries. The Beauty of the Known It...
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Word up*
WARNING: This post contains intellectually provocative ideas, graphic descriptions of the power of words, and potentially repulsive ideas. (And swear words and suggestive sexual content in some of the...
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Uh oh, I’m working on a new novel
I have been happily crafting short stories for the last couple of years, in between finishing my last novel and weighing publishing options. Some stories have even been published. This has been...
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Spacetime, Buddhism, and my mother
Lately, I’ve been missing my mom, who died in 2007. If you ask most people what they miss about their moms, they might say “feeling close to her” or “her cooking” or “the way she braided my hair.”...
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Reluctant bride of Twitter falls in love
I joined Twitter in June, 2009. Naturally, husband was the first person I followed. “The Reluctant Bride” – Auguste Toulmouche [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons When I began blogging in 2011, I...
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Where do your stories live?
As a Mother’s Day gift this year, I asked my family not for a thing but for an experience. “Let’s get together once a week and read a book aloud.” With much grumbling—and some one-upsmanship involving...
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Bunny on the run reveals work in progress
One thing you learn about life after a while is that there is never a perfect time for anything. A few weeks ago, my former doula client, Fault Zone assistant editor, fellow writer, and friend Dorcas...
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Ask me anything (really)
Goodreads authors can now enable the “Ask the Author” feature, allowing readers to submit questions to their favorite (or maybe no-so-favorite) writers. When I heard about this, the acronym “AMA” came...
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À la recherche du temps perdu*
Last month, I answered some questions about my writing, one of which was “Why do I write what I do?” My answer focused on the “what.” In the weeks since, I’ve realized there’s a deeper reason for the...
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Book review: “Enchanted Objects”
I don’t usually post book reviews, but I just finished reading Enchanted Objects, by David Rose, which I undertook as research for my speculative fiction work-in-progress. The book jacket copy...
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Fruits of our labor
Fruits of the workers’ labor I am honoring Labor Day in typical U.S. fashion. By working. Because I am self-employed, I can choose to work on any given day and take off some other day. This often...
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