Whenever one of my older siblings ever said, “Maybe I’ll just stay here—in our rural Texas town—and go to college close by,” my Mom’s reaction was a frown and a quick, “No, you won’t.” This was not said teasingly or with a laugh but rather in a hard-edged tone that left no opening for discussion….
Tag: fiction
Flash Fiction: The Fire’s Aftermath
Daisy picked up a handful of black soot from the ground and smeared it on the only remaining wall of her home, which had been beautiful and whole just a week before and had been the place where she had felt safe and secure. Wrong, she wrote in big, bold letters, and then she walked…
Meet the Main Characters of Hope in a Time of Dying
Set in 1994, during the height of the AIDS epidemic, Hope in a Time of Dying begins with Hope and Ben making the life-changing decision to leave their small Texas town for Los Angeles. The rerouting of the highway has financially damaged their antique business, leaving them with little choice but to seek a new…
Why I Wrote Hope in a Time of Dying
The journey to write Hope in a Time of Dying began a few years after my brothers, John and Jim, died of AIDS in the 1990s. I started it as a memoir to chronicle my experience when Jim offered me a job in Los Angeles, and my husband and three daughters moved from North Central Texas…
Flash Fiction: Apricots, Lilacs, and Lilies
This is a flash story I wrote in 2012. I decided to edit it tonight. I have always been partial to this particular piece. It reminds me of working on a psychiatric unit right out of graduate school in Counseling. I am not an apricot kind of girl, all small and soft, squishy and sweet….
Prompt: Open the Drawer
Today, I’m going to write from a prompt I found in the Observation Deck: A Tool Kit for Writers by Naomi Epel. This tool kit is comprised of a 160-page book with short chapters filled with writing advice, which also corresponds to a 50-card deck. Chapter titles include Change Your Point of View, Follow the…
Taking the Plunge: Finally Publishing My Novel
By the end of March, I plan to publish my novel, Hope in a Time of Dying. This book is very long in coming and below is the process I have gone through for more years than I want to admit. I will keep you tuned in as we determine the publication date, and where…
Some Sage Advice from Some Very Successful Writers
I’ve posted this before, but it is hard to beat the advice presented here. Just had to reshare from an article a few years back from The Guardian. Even if you don’t write, you might find yourself having a good laugh or two. Happy first day of Daylight Saving Time! Sage Advice from Those Who…
Some Excellent Writing Advise
Below is a short article that contains wonderful writing advice the author received from Knopf’s Charles Elliott. A variation on this advice came from a teacher I’ve worked with but I cannot recall which teacher. His/her advice was, “Pretend you have a camera on your shoulder and let the reader see exactly what the camera…
#46 – Something That Makes Me Happy – Finding a Few “Perfect” Books for My Grandkids
A week or so back, I found a list of 2023 children’s books recommended by the Smithsonian Magazine. I went through the list, perused all the books, and chose a few for my 10, 7, 4, and 1-year- old grandkids. The books arrived a few days ago and I have been thrilled by the quality…
20 Minutes a Day 