Over the past few days, I’ve spoken with several people who are carrying heavy emotional loads. One is a parent, deeply worried about an adult child in serious trouble. Another is a friend, watching helplessly as someone close to them faces a terminal illness. In both cases, the operative word is worry. Worry, by definition,…
My Little Fan
Here is my little grandson, Ethan, 2 1/2 years old, seeing a photo of Memaw in the window of the Ojai Public Library. This flyer is the announcement of my reading for my book, Hope in a Time of Dying, on August 23rd. Liz said there are flyers all over the library and when Ethan…
In Praise of the Imagined World
Why I Write Fiction
Procrastinators, Unite (Eventually)
Am I the only person who turns away from a difficult task just before it’s finished—only to let it sit for weeks, sometimes months, before finally coming back to complete that last hour’s worth of work? In the meantime, I spend an absurd number of hours feeling guilty, annoyed, and frustrated with myself for not…
A Successful Orange Crop This Year!
This past week, pickers arrived at our grove to harvest our Valencia oranges. Before it was over, they had picked 37 bins, which amounted to 900 pounds of oranges per bin. That totals 33,300 pounds altogether at 17 cents a pound. The good news is this is triple what we have gotten in the past….
Happy Trails, Little Ones!
This evening, we said goodbye to three of our four grandkids. Our daughter Sarah drove up from South Pasadena to collect Luna, Nico, and Lyla. (Gregorio was busy at an all-day advanced training for soccer coaches.) Ethan will be disappointed not to have his cousins around—he loves their visits to the orange grove. In fact,…
Off to the Ventura County Fair
Luna, Nico, and Lyla Pacheco- Beaty are visiting for a few days along with Auntie Rachael and Uncle Andrew. Today’s excursion was to the Ventura County Fair. We took in many of the exhibits, the petting zoo, the pig races, the food stands, and, of course, the midway. I would write more but I’m just…
An Afternoon in Ojai: Join Me at the Library!
I’m very pleased to share that I’ll be speaking at the Ojai Public Library on Saturday, August 23, 2025, at 2 p.m. I was a little shy about reaching out, but I gathered my courage and sent an email to see if the library might be interested in hosting a book talk and signing. Just…
Flash Fiction: Fellow Grievers
Jacqueline heard the crows and felt called. Their caws brought her first to the window, where their black bodies balanced on the telephone wires, then outside to peer up at them. Caw caw caw, they sang, and she felt a strange calm. They brought her peace in a way she didn’t understand. A young woman…
20 Minutes a Day 