I have been working on my novel in progress. This book is a big stretch for me. It’s about a 17-year-old rural Texas girl, Hannah Price, who is gifted at playing the violin and has been preparing for months to go with her music teacher for an audition at Juilliard. However, just a week before…
Author: lenleatherwood
I am a native Texan who has lived for the past 30 years in Southern California. I am a published author of both short memoir and fiction, a two-time Pushcart nominee, a nationally award-winning writing coach, an editor, as well as a Licensed Professional Counselor in the state of Texas. In addition, I am the mother of three grown daughters of whom I am extremely proud, a grandmother of four darling children and the wife of a man I still love after 44 years.
The Best Chicken Noodle Soup Recipe EVER
I have made one of the most delicious chicken noodle soups that I’ve ever tasted and I want to share the recipe with you. The key is making the stock from a whole chicken, of course, and then using that meat for the soup. But the other nice addition is the use of Chinese noodles…
Flash Fiction, The Gift
I wrote this a few years back, but found it today and wanted to share it. This is somewhat reminiscent of my own beloved music teacher though an intervention of this type never occurred. I expect she might have appreciated it if it had. Len There were 17 cats in Dr. Fredericks’s basement and it…
Flash Fiction: All That Really Mattered
I was dressed in a completely inappropriate shade of pink: hot, hot pink with white piping around my lapels and pockets and the hem of my mini-shirt; absolutely not the right color for a funeral, particularly my mother’s. My Aunt June’s eyes widened when I walked into the church and my Uncle Seymour leered, which…
In Memory of My Sister, Leslie
Leslie’s birthday is in just a few days, so she has been on my mind. This is a repost of the remarks I made at her funeral back in March, 2012. Good afternoon. My name is Len Leatherwood and I am Leslie’s younger sister. On behalf of my entire family, I’d like to thank you…
Stumbling onto a New Blog Template
I have been fooling around with the look of my blog. I actually prefer the option I had before, but, of course, I can’t find that now. Oh well, a little change never hurt anybody, especially me, who is someone who can get a bit mired in the status quo. I don’t know if shifting…
Honey-Sweetened Pumpkin Muffin Recipe – Perfect for Fall
My daughter Liz shared this recipe with me a few days back. I have not tried it, but can already tell it’s going to be good. Pumpkin adds such a great flavor and I’m sure this is a perfect “fall” muffin. I am including the recipe below. I feel certain I’ll be baking this up…
Doing What Needs To Be Done
I have been organizing all my bills and billing today. A satisfying process. I decided I needed to make a list of all of our bills and include all the passwords to the websites so that if Ray ever needed to handle this stuff, he wouldn’t be completely lost. I do all the paying of…
The Nightmare of Car Shopping
Yesterday and today, we have been out car shopping with Liz since her car was totaled in an accident last week. Ugh. No, we do not have a new car sitting in the garage at Liz’s apartment tonight. We wish we had a new car there, we want to have a new car there, but,…
Flash Fiction: The Perfect Place To Be
The car was old, with big round chrome lights and a chrome grill. It was like a gangster car, black and sleek, and looked as if bad things could take place on the plush mohair seats and behind that big round steering wheel. She was glad he owned it. He with his blond hair slicked…
20 Minutes a Day 