2018 was another great year for reading! I set my Goodreads Challenge goal to only 52 books to give myself more time to get my own writing done (I just finished the first draft of my novel, and am now entering the revising and editing stage — exciting, but overwhelming!), but wound up reading 65 books in total. It is always so hard to choose my favorites, but there were some definite stand outs. So [...]
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 [...]
Last fall, I had the absolute pleasure of visiting the new American Writers Museum in Chicago. The museum opened to the public in May 2017, and I visited in October 2017, only five months later. What a treat! I was accompanied by my writer friend and co-member of the Women’s Fiction Writers Association, Nancy Johnson, who lives in Chicago. It was wonderful to spend time with Nancy and in such an inspiring place for writers! [...]
2017 was a great year of reading! I set my Goodreads Challenge goal to 52 books, but managed to read 71 books in total. And I loved every minute of it! It is always so hard to choose my favorites because I almost always find something wonderful, or at least redeeming, in every book I finish. But there were some stand outs. So without further adieu, here are my Top 21 Books. Perhaps you loved [...]
Happiness is finding out that you have been given a shout out by one of your favorite authors who has become a writer friend that you had the pleasure of spending time with in person a few months ago. I am incredibly honored to be mentioned in the acknowledgments of Camille Di Maio's newest book to be released. I absolutely loved her first book, The Memory of Us, and am getting ready to read her [...]
Finding my Tribe On September 20th, I made my way from Northern California to Albuquerque, New Mexico to attend my first Women’s Fiction Writers Association (WFWA) Retreat. I was eager to learn more craft and apply it to my writing. I was so looking forward to the Story Genius master class with Lisa Cron, as well as the breakout discussions led by members. And those did not disappoint (more on those below)! But while I [...]
Many of us have heard that when you express gratitude, it helps you overcome negativity, fear, and puts you in a positive mindset. Indeed, there are many studies that prove that if you keep a gratitude journal and list the things that you're grateful for on a daily basis, that it will improve your life overall. I'm all for this! I have been keeping a journal since I'm eight years old. And while sometimes I [...]
The books we first pick up and read can have a profound effect on us -- as readers, writers, and people. For me that book is The Diary of Anne Frank. I always loved to read. Years before I picked up this particular book, I was a voracious reader with an appetite that was hearty. I loved books. The feel of them, their smell, and their promise to introduce you to new people and places. [...]
