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Friday Fodder: My Obsession with Letters & Journals
If you’ve been following my blog for a while, first, THANK YOU. Second, you may have read previous posts about writing letters and letter writing, because I’m obsessed with the notion of letter writing. And, you’ve probably also read many posts here about keeping a journal, most recently the one I wrote about keeping a journal during a pandemic. I’ve said this before and I’ll say it again: Are you going to print out a text feed or email chain and save it in your memory box? The likelihood of that is slim to none. The lost art of letter writing is truly a loss of records. When someone takes…
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5 Questions Writers Are Frequently Asked
Sometimes we have to lighten up our day with a little humor to help us along. Right, writers?
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Empty Nesters in Training
You know how it goes. You date, you marry, you have children, you raise them, they grow up and go to college or enter the workforce, and you find yourselves at home, twiddling your thumbs. So say some. We love our kids, don’t get me wrong. We dote on them and help them with anything they need. But they’re happy. They’re at college with their friends and significant others, and they’re having the time of their lives. So why shouldn’t we? Everyone loves to talk about empty-next syndrome (ENS) as if it’s a curse of sorts. I say, let freedom ring! Don’t you remember that feeling of being able to…
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A Pep Talk on How to Use NaNoWriMo to Your Advantage
Okay, listen up writers. I’m here to kick you into gear. I’m here to tell you it can be done. I’m here to tell you not to give up. November is here, and on this 5th day, let us remember that there are many more days in the month, and they shouldn’t go to waste if you are participating in NaNoWriMo, otherwise known as National Novel Writing Month. Established many years ago, NaNoWriMo was created to encourage writers to complete 50,000 words of a novel or work of nonfiction by November 30. The word count of 50,000 words constitutes a short novel, or approximately 1,660 words a day. I’m here…
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Coming in November
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ANNA IN TUSCANY: Something new I’ve published
The story I’m sharing with you was written back in May and was intended to be a part of a Valentine’s Day Anthology. As things sometimes happen, the Anthology was nixed, and I was left with a short story without a home. Taking the lead from many of my friends who are writers, I decided to publish it as a stand-alone story in the form of a novelette. It’s called ANNA IN TUSCANY, and is available via Kindle for .99 or Book Funnel for FREE. The links are below. The premise of the story is this: Travel writer Arianna (Anna) Ricci relocates from the United States to Italy for a…
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The Truth About Grandmothers
Yesterday, as I was scrolling through Facebook checking on my friends’ latest news, I noticed a post from a dear former student of mine. She wrote a very touching message about losing her 94-year-old grandmother. I read it, and her words resonated with me. So often as a writer, I’m asked what influences my stories and where the ideas come from. I suppose anyone who writes novels or nonfiction answers this the same way—the stories typically come from people we know or stories we have heard or read about in the news. There are people and personal acquaintances that influence our storytelling. And then there are grandmothers. If you’ve read…
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Writing Away
I haven’t been as diligent about writing for my blog as I have been in the past. It makes me feel a little guilty, because I’ve always put so much energy and time into my blog. However, there are good reasons for my absence, so allow me to explain: The semester ended in mid-May. I can honestly say that after working in education throughout a pandemic and teaching a full load + of courses online, it was more challenging than normal. Obviously, we have all been affected by this situation and our work lives were altered quite a bit, but the energy it took to produce, deliver, and grade remotely…
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Well, it’s been a while…
Hello, there! I’ve been absent here for quite some time, and you may notice some changes. After 10 years of blogging, I have changed the name of the blog to reflect my author name. I thought it was about time. Nevertheless, taking a step away from blogging these past few months has been very good for me. I’ve revamped and recalibrated and have been able to focus on writing my books, as I’ve just finished writing and am now editing my fifth novel, tentatively called The Letters in the Books. Probably my most challenging story to tell thus far, it focuses on four main characters who are down on their…
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A Writer’s Muse: Annapolis
Hello, Readers! Happy Holidays! I hope you are all doing well, despite our circumstances. I’m writing to you today, on Friday, at the end of the semester. Yesterday, all my grades were entered, and the semester has officially ended. While it wasn’t a perfect semester, I believe the students and I got through most of the important material we needed to cover, and I’m excited for the spring semester. Which leaves us with the space between now and when the semester begins in January for me to work on my novel. I love that space when I get to write—to really write. It’s exciting to dive in and begin to…
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My 5th Novel Has a Name (at least for now)
Today, it’s official. I have a book title. I have a copyrighted ISBN number. I have a “mood” for the cover. And while I am going to seek traditional publishing this time around and solicit an agent to represent me, I still need to go through this process to help move in the right direction and keep me motivated should I venture down the self-publishing road again. The characters in this novel are not only in my head, but in my soul. Each one is a part of me, and a part of you, and a part of everyone we have met along the way. With five main characters, a…
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Reading, Writing, and an Empath for November
Dear Readers, I hope you are well! It’s hard to believe it’s November 1st, especially after all we’ve collectively been through this year, but alas, here it is, and that means the next couple of months will be filled with family, friends, and love as the holidays approach. While taking care of one another is paramount, it’s also important to care for yourself, as well. That can mean exercising, eating right, meditating, reading, relaxing, and giving way to things that make your heart happy. For me, besides the wonderful gift of a boat that my husband gave me for my birthday in August—one of the greatest surprises of my lifetime—I’ve…
