Month: December 2023
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Anniversaries on the edge
Read More: Anniversaries on the edgeMy husband and I have an unusual tradition for celebrating our anniversary. We didn’t intend for this to be a metaphor, but it’s a little too on the nose. We drive, surf, boat, cycle, hike in snow, rappel, or do some activity in which we’re moving forward, together. Sometimes we live a little on the…
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How NOT to do an Artist’s Date
Read More: How NOT to do an Artist’s DateThe Artist Date need not be overtly “artistic”– think mischief more than mastery. Artist Dates fire up the imagination. They spark whimsy. They encourage play. Since art is about the play of ideas, they feed our creative work by replenishing our inner well of images and inspiration. Julia Cameron – The Artist’s Way blog –…
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The Cracked Rib Christmas
Read More: The Cracked Rib Christmas2023 is the year I leveled up for ten months.Then I leveled way down. I wrote three books and a novella. With my siblings, I cleaned out and sold my dad’s house, in a very long sale process involving a squatter. After my dad’s passing, I paid his bills and taxes and closed out his…
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The Laughing Loaf Bacon Bread recipe
Read More: The Laughing Loaf Bacon Bread recipeBacon bread is by far the most popular bread item from the original Laughing Loaf Bakery I operated. It’s made from a biga, a pre-ferment. Because biga is my go-to bread method, I named the pesky little dog in my cozy mystery series after it. The pre-ferment is much better behaved than the dog. 😄…
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Crazy love
Read More: Crazy loveMy dad, who passed away last fall, was often a difficult person to deal with. But I never doubted that he loved me. Fiercely. One thing I learned pretty early on: when another person expresses love for you, you’re receiving that love through a filter they’ve pieced together from their life experiences.
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A house named hope
Read More: A house named hopeFour years ago today, on April 22, 2019, I sat in a Korean restaurant having a good, very spicy lunch with my friend Ann. I received a call on my cell phone that felt surreal, though I knew it had been coming for a long time.
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New year—new news!
Read More: New year—new news!New years is not my favorite holiday. To me it seems arbitrary to have a big raging party for the beginning of a new year. Seriously, what really changes on January 1? And as we’re still stuck in pandemic times—which I hereby designate PT—even less has changed. We faced more of a retreat into our…
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Packing up my horcruxes
Read More: Packing up my horcruxesHome Short Fiction Blog X My siblings and I have been cleaning out the house we grew up in (see previous post), as my dad prepares to sell it. A lot of the stuff we’ve gone through is already in the dumpster or the local Goodwill truck. Whew. At times throughout the process, I’ve found…
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Just your average superhero family
Read More: Just your average superhero familyHome Short Fiction Blog X I loved The Incredibles. When the trailer for The Incredibles 2 came out, I was skeptical that a followup after 14 years would be as good as the original. How could it? But the new movie is action packed and (in my opinion) even funnier than the first. Since I’m…
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Why you need to be in a writers group
Read More: Why you need to be in a writers groupHome Short Fiction Blog X The life of a writer is solitary work. And that’s good. When you’re by yourself, planted in front of your computer, or bent over a legal pad with your pen, the creativity flows without distraction. You have time and space to imagine your world. I have a memory of being…
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The joy of the road
Read More: The joy of the roadHome Short Fiction Blog X Road trips are in my blood. Nothing shakes me from my stupor and pries my fingers off my tired routines like a good, long road trip. Last week my youngest and I drove to Austin, Texas, taking a southerly route through California’s Mojave Desert, across Arizona, New Mexico and a…
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Growing a confident writer
Read More: Growing a confident writerHome Short Fiction Blog X Today I had my lesson plan preempted by an eleven year old with a story to tell. I let her tell it. I teach Creative Writing to middle schoolers through a charter school. Last year, I had a group of high-achieving kids, studious and driven. I wouldn’t be surprised if…
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Endings and beginnings
Read More: Endings and beginningsHome Short Fiction Blog X I don’t like when things end. And I especially don’t like when they end before they should. Last week, on my birthday, one of my favorite authors passed away unexpectedly. From the very first book, A is for Alibi, I was hooked by Sue Grafton’s style and her private detective…
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My 30-year literary crush
Read More: My 30-year literary crushHome Short Fiction Blog X Today I taught my senior English class a lesson on my literary crush. I’ve been carrying a literary torch for this guy for about 30 years. Years ago, in my sophomore year in college I signed up for a required English literature class. I wasn’t at all excited about 18th century…
Latest Posts
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Anniversaries on the edge
My husband and I have an unusual tradition for celebrating…
-
How NOT to do an Artist’s Date
The Artist Date need not be overtly “artistic”– think mischief…
-
The Cracked Rib Christmas
2023 is the year I leveled up for ten months.Then…
-
The Laughing Loaf Bacon Bread recipe
Bacon bread is by far the most popular bread item…
-
Crazy love
My dad, who passed away last fall, was often a…
-
A house named hope
Four years ago today, on April 22, 2019, I sat…
-
New year—new news!
New years is not my favorite holiday. To me it…
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Substitute
I bake. I’ve loved doing it as long as I…