Have you ever shared a book with someone by reading it aloud to them? I’m sure you have to your children and your grandchildren. I know I did. I loved those storybook reading times at night when my children were little. I can still remember my oldest two sitting on the edge of the bed together listening as I read …
Turning the Calendar
Happy New Year! Turning the calendar from December to January is always a good time to think about the last year and consider what might be on the way in the coming year. Of course, we can’t know the future. Most years carry some good and some not so good. But when we’re at the beginning of the year, it’s …
So Many Questions
“How do I create something out of nothing? I think it is by questioning.” ~Amy Tan Last post I shared about how I go about naming my characters. That includes animal characters too. I posted a picture of my sister’s cat and you all suggested some neat names for him. Most of you thought he was so pretty that he must …
The Right to Vote
I believe in Liberty for all men: the space to stretch their arms and their souls, the right to breathe and the right to vote, the freedom to choose their friends, enjoy the sunshine, and ride on the railroads, uncursed by color; thinking, dreaming, working as they will in a kingdom of beauty and love. (W. E. B. Du Bois) Did …
Finally, Some Winners
The longer you hang in there, the greater the chance that something will happen in your favor. No matter how hard it seems, the longer you persist, the more likely your success. ~Jack Canfield Everybody loves a winner. Isn’t that some sort of saying? Not even sure it’s true. Not unless that winner is somehow sharing his winnings. And what …
A Man Named Louis
“I’m going to Springfield and put flowers on that man’s grave.” That’s what a friend told me today when I happened to see her at the grocery store. She had read my book, River to Redemption, and was moved by the actions of Louis Sansbury. (In my book, I changed his name to Sanderson since my story is fiction.) But my friend …
An Uncommon Idea
A library is the delivery room for the birth of ideas, a place where history comes to life. ~Norman Cousins I’ve told you before how much I owe to libraries in helping to form me into a writer of books. Without my regular trips to the library when I was a kid, I doubt I would have found as much …
Mystery Picture = Imagination Exercise
If it can’t be fried in bacon grease, it ain’t worth cooking, let alone eating. ~ Southern proverb Life expectancy would grow by leaps and bounds if green vegetables smelled as good as bacon. ~ Doug Larson I looked for some quotes about bacon and found two I couldn’t resist to go with my Wednesday mystery photo. Yes, quite a …
Ready? Set. Play. A New Mystery Photo Game
No object is mysterious. The mystery is your eye. ~Elizabeth Bowen Are you ready for a little fun? So how about a new mystery photo game? I’ve been looking at everything with narrowed eyes this week while wondering if I could make this or that look mysterious. Even took a picture of Frankie’s paw today. Enlarged the picture, cropped it, …
What Makes You Pick Up a New Book?
Always fun to actually hold the first copy of a new book in my hand. Of course, I’ve already read it umpteen times while I was writing and editing the story, so I don’t sit down and read it again when I get that first copy hot off the press. But I do imagine others seeing this new book and …