Sharing Our Work

This morning in the mail, I received a lovely “Phoenix Rising” Notebook from the Florida West Coast Writers to celebrate my placing first in the Suspense/Thriller/Mystery category of their contest for unpublished work. I’d submitted the first 4500 words of my novel for adults, Missed Cue, and was thrilled the judges liked it. Sharing our…

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Feeling Grateful

On the long drive to see my New York City grandkids for the first time in more than a year, I felt both excited and nervous. I’d been summoned two days early to cover for the much loved nanny who needed to attend a family funeral. I knew my six-year-old grandson was old enough to…

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Complacency Is Not the Problem

It’s three days before the election, and those of us hoping for a change in the presidency are constantly being admonished not to be complacent. Above all, we’re told, we absolutely must vote and not take anything for granted. Of course, I agree and have already double-checked that my absentee ballot was received and recorded.…

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A Little Cabin Fever Can’t Really Compare

Lately, I’ve been thinking about how fortunate I am to be an older working writer. Sure, I’ve suffered from a little cabin fever. Presentations and writing conferences have been put on hold, as has my singing group, volunteer work as a comprehensive sexuality educator, and trips to my favorite hangouts—the library and my neighborhood bookstore.…

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There's Never a Good Time to Write

  The young woman standing next to me in the coffee line at church was a gifted writer. She’d done a reading of her poetry several months before, and I’d been blown away by the lyricism and elegance of her work. At the reading, she’d talked about how much she was enjoying getting back to…

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Dealing with my Own “Stuff”

This past week, I took a professional development workshop on first aid for mental health, a program that originated in Australia and is now gaining widespread adoption in the states. It’s designed to teach skills in recognizing and responding to folks who may be in the early-stages of a mental health crisis

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