“Wild Game: My Mother, Her Lover, and Me,” by Adrienne Brodeur is a fascinating memoir about a daughter and her mother and the unhealthy dynamic between them. We get our first glimpse of their relationship the night that Malabar, Adrienne’s mother, wakes 14-year-old Adrienne to tell her, “Ben Souther just kissed me!” Ben Souther was the best friend of Malabar’s Read more…
From the very first line, I was drawn into this book. “I am going to use the cheese wire on you.” Wow! “I Will Make You Pay,” by Teresa Driscoll was everything I hoped it would be. I’ve read “I Am Watching You” and “The Promise,” and loved both. Like those novels, “I will Make You Pay,” takes place in Read more…
It’s the 1st Wednesday of the month again. That’s when I take part in Alex J. Cavanaugh’s Insecure Writer’s Support Group. Thank you to October 2nd’s IWSG co-hosts: Ronel Janse van Vuuren, Mary Aalgaard, Madeline Mora-Summonte, and Ellen @ The Cynical Sailor! Today we will look at whether it’s better for writers to read or not to read, as I answer the optional IWSG question for Read more…
In our last Nitty Gritty Grammar Lesson, we learned about similes. Today we are going to look at another type of figurative language, closely related to the simile: the metaphor.Metaphor vs. SimileA metaphor is similar to a simile in that it compares one thing to another. The two things being compared, of course, must have something in common. The big Read more…
Today I thought I would do something a little different and answer 25 Not-Too-Scary Life Questions from Karen Hume’s blog, Profound Journey. Profound Journey is based in Canada, so those aren’t spelling errors in the questions, but rather the Queen’s English (which I am rather partial to, myself).Even though these questions are “not-too-scary,” I’m not always comfortable plumbing the depth Read more…
There are thousands of phobias and fears in the world. Most of us only have one or two, and they are as individual as we are. I once knew a woman who was petrified of cotton balls. I’m not joking. I witnessed one of her employees trap her in her office by simply putting a cotton ball on the office Read more…
It’s the 1st Wednesday of the month again. That’s when I take part in Alex J. Cavanaugh’s Insecure Writer’s Support Group. Thank you to this month’s IWSG co-hosts: Gwen Gardner, Doreen McGettigan, Tyrean Martinson, Chemist Ken, and Cathrina Constantiner! Today I’ll be taking you to the House on the Rock as I answer the optional question of the month:If you could pick one place in the world Read more…
Today, guest blogger Amanda Lasater shares how to become a morning person.No matter who you are or where you live, you undoubtedly have a friend, coworker, or neighbor who seems to absolutely beam in the morning time, as if they were just made for it. Well, the truth is that they actually were made for the morning, as are most Read more…
“Once More unto the Breach” by Meghan Holloway is yet another book in the popular WWII historical fiction genre. But this novel definitely stands on its own. It is as much mystery and suspense as war and romance.The plot of “Once More unto the Breach” was intricate and completely original, as was the cast of characters: Rhys, a Welsh farmer Read more…
Today in our Nitty Gritty Grammar Lesson we will be looking at one of the fun forms of figurative language-Similes! Before we go there, I’d like to share what a Nitty Gritty Grammar Lesson is. Google’s online dictionary defines “Nitty Gritty” this way:the most important aspects or practical details of a subject or situation.“Let’s get down to the nitty-gritty of similes!”A Read more…
It’s the 1st Wednesday of the month again. That’s when I take part in Alex J. Cavanaugh’s Insecure Writer’s Support Group. Thank you to this month’s IWSG co-hosts for the August 7 posting of the IWSG: Renee Scattergood, Sadira Stone, Jacqui Murray, Tamara Narayan, and LG Keltner! This month, rather than answering the optional question of the month, I will be talking about starting over as Read more…
Do you prioritize your passion? Or do you let other things get in the way of the creative endeavor that fuels your excitement? Today we will be looking at how to prioritize your passion and make time for your dreams. I’ll be sharing the artist/curator who inspired this post with his timely advice as well as how toRecently, I took Read more…
“I’ve Seen the End of You: A Neurosurgeon’s Look at Faith, Doubt, and the Things We Think We Know,” by W. Lee Warren M.D. is a heart-rending book. Part, memoir, part odyssey, “I’ve Seen the End of You,” follows the lives and deaths of Dr. Warren’s patients. Dr. Warren shares the deep struggle he has faced countless times as a Read more…
“The Yellow Lantern” by Angie Dicken is the 3rd book in the True Colors Series. True Colors features “historical stories of American crime.” I’ve been a huge fan of this series starting with “The White City,” and followed up by “The Pink Bonnet.”“The Yellow Lantern” takes place in 1824. It features a ring of body snatchers who steal the bodies Read more…
It’s the 1st Wednesday of the month again. That’s when I take part in Alex J. Cavanaugh’s Insecure Writer’s Support Group. Thank you to this month’s IWSG co-hosts for the July 3 posting of the IWSG: Erika Beebe, Natalie Aguirre, Jennifer Lane, MJ Fifield, Lisa Buie-Collard, and Ellen @ The Cynical Sailor! Today I’ll be talking about the inspiration for personal traits in the characters I write Read more…
Today in our Nitty Gritty Grammar Lesson we will be looking at diseases and grammar. Before we go there, I’d like to share what a Nitty Gritty Grammar Lesson is.Google’s online dictionary defines “Nitty Gritty” this way:the most important aspects or practical details of a subject or situation.“let’s get down to the nitty-gritty of finding a job”The Minneapolis Star and Tribune[1] Published Read more…
A year ago, I was asked to speak to our local Rotary Club. My speech topic was, What Not to Say to Someone who has Cancer. I tweaked the speech until I finally felt like it was as good as it would get. Then I practiced this speech several times a day, every day, for a couple of weeks.I am Read more…
“What Does It Feel Like to Die?: Inspiring New Insights into the Experience of Dying” by Jennie Dear may seem like the last book I would want to read only a few weeks after my husband died of Stage 4 lung cancer in our home on hospice. But I am so glad that I did read it. So many questions Read more…
It’s the 1st Wednesday of the month again. That’s when I take part in Alex J. Cavanaugh’s Insecure Writer’s Support Group. Thank you to this month’s IWSG co-hosts: Diane Burton, Kim Lajevardi, Sylvia Ney, Sarah Foster, Jennifer Hawes, and Madeline Mora-Summonte! Today I’ll be talking about genre as I answer June 5th’s optional IWSG Day Question:Of all the genres you read and write, which Read more…
Henri Nouwen has a gift for expressing the deep truths of an intimate walk with God, in a very accessible way. So I was very excited when I heard that “Following Jesus: Finding Our Way Home in an Age of Anxiety,” was ready to hit the bookshelves. This is some of Nouwen’s never before published work. It focuses on how Read more…
