When I turned 39, my husband gave me a coffee mug that said, “39 and Holding.” At the time, I couldn’t imagine the day our marriage would reach that magic number, but today is our 39th wedding anniversary. I feel lucky as hell to be married to a man who makes me laugh every day…
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It all started after I finished my MFA in Writing Popular Fiction from Seton Hill back in 2016. Despondent over the demise of my local SCBWI critique group, a former member told me about her other writer’s group. “These women are serious,” she said. “They’re all multi-published, and they take turns critiquing each other’s work…
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Is there anything more fun than discovering a writer you’re not familiar with and falling in love with her work? That’s what happened to me when I accidentally discovered Bounce by Natasha Friend, a book that came out in 2007 from Scholastic Press. Don’t ask me how, despite being an avid YA reader/writer, I didn’t…
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Since 2001, I’ve been a member of a terrific organization for writers, the Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators (SCBWI). While I’ve attended wonderful regional conferences, I’ve never attended the international conference. Not this year. Unable to hold their usual in-person summer conference in Los Angeles, SCBWI decided to hold an on-line conference. Instead…
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I suspect I’m not alone among book addicts in having piles of “To-Be-Read” (TBR) books all over my house. One of the advantages of having writing gigs and conferences cancelled and my public library being closed is that I’m doing lots more dipping into books I’ve always meant to read but never have. In the…
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Our nation grieves the loss of a genuine hero today. Last night, John Lewis, a titan of the civil rights movement, passed away from pancreatic liver cancer at the age of eighty. What I loved about him was his genuine dedication to living his values and his willingness to put his own life on the…
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When I look back at my years as a professional dancer, I remember so much joy, and a lot of struggle. I was never the most talented, the most flexible, or the quickest learner. And yet, I was known as a strong performer—musical and expressive. You’d think that years of being referred to as “that…
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It feels a bit strange to celebrate July 4th this year, and not just because our celebrations are muted by a global pandemic. We remain so far from the ideals and principles upon which our nation was founded. When Thomas Jefferson wrote that “We hold these truths to be self-evident. That all men are created…
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My amazing husband has created his own volunteer job in retirement. Every morning, he visits the large recycle dumpsters near our local fire station and retrieves aluminum cans to donate to the firefighters for their fund to aid needy children. Over time, he’s enlarged his job to include retrieving items that are not supposed to…
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Video of Milo bikeriding Spring 2020 When my husband Alan and I were dating, he spent at least as much time courting Ed, my five year old, as he did building a relationship with me. He devoted hours on end to doing artwork with my little boy, not to mention running beside him as he…
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