“I miss thee, my Mother! Thy image is still the deepest impressed on my heart.” ~ Eliza Cook Eleven years ago today, I lost my mother. It still hurts like hell, but it’s no longer the sharp pain of a fresh knife wound. Over the years, the pain has turned into more of a dull ache. I’ve come to live with the strange feeling of being motherless. It’s a feeling of being unmoored at sea, [...]
I'm excited to share my annual “best book of the year” list! 2020 was a strange year for all of us with the pandemic causing us to shelter in place. When not working virtually, I filled my time with gardening, cycling, hiking, baking, writing, and reading. I read 53 books in 2020—so it wasn't easy selecting the top ones. Here are some standouts, in no particular order. Hope you enjoyed some of these books too. If [...]
So excited to kick off the new year with a branding webinar for the Women’s Fiction Writers Association (WFWA). I have the pleasure of serving as the webinar host and this month I’ll be switching roles and presenting! Come join me for The Brand Called You: Personal & Professional Branding for Authors on Thursday, January 14 at 7 PM Eastern. We will do a deep dive into your author brand story. Not yet a WFWA [...]
Happy new year! I enjoyed a restorative, relaxing, and reflective holiday season. I hope you all did also. To my writer pals and community, check out this article. Loved being asked to contribute 3 goals every writer should make in the new year. Sweta Vikram is always so collaborative, and I was delighted to be interviewed by her. To give you a sneak peek, see the three tips that I contributed below. To read the [...]
I had the pleasure of joining my writer pal Jennifer Klepper a few weeks ago for her WIPMondays video series on Instagram, which stands for Work in Progress (because we are all a work in progress!). We chatted about productivity, and specifically creating a Not-To-Do List. Our To-Do Lists always focus on what we have, should, or need to do. Flip it! There's wisdom, not to mention freedom, in creating a Not-To-Do List, which can [...]
I’ve had the pleasure of serving as the Webinar Program Leader and Host for the Women’s Fiction Writer’s Association since spring 2019, and it's a role I relish. It provides me with a front-row seat to fabulous presenters and professional development, and helps me keep my finger on the pulse of the writing community and publishing industry. One particular area of that community and industry that I'm passionate about is diversity and inclusion. So it [...]
So many good books in 2019! I set my Goodreads Reading Challenge goal to 52 books -- one per week -- and managed to read 61. That was through a combination of traditional hard cover/paperback books, ebooks on my Kindle, and audiobooks that I listened to (while driving, walking my dogs and doing housework... sure makes the activities more pleasurable!). It's always difficult to choose favorites, but there were some definite stand outs. If you [...]
So I'm now at the age that most people would call Midlife. My husband jokingly calls it “the Back Nine,” referring to the last nine holes of an eighteen-hole golf course. I don’t play golf, but I certainly get the gist! When I was a kid, I remember hearing about how people would often have a "Midlife Crisis." They would do wacky, out-of-the-ordinary things. They would not act like their former selves. They would often [...]
