When I was a child, I dreamed of traveling the world. I grew up about seven miles outside of a small town in the Midwest. Cornfields everywhere! It was common to get stuck behind farmers driving tractors, hay balers and combines on the way home from the grocery store. I am one of eight, third in line, but I always felt like a middle child, even though mathematically that makes zero sense. In retrospect, regardless of the challenges we faced, it was a bucolic childhood, full o

Anyone who actually reads this blog, any of my stories or has a sense of the weird, crisp and chewy... realizes that I am a freaking magnet for it. Picture me writing my fingers to the bone yesterday and saying. ‘Hmm. I need to take a break and my hair looks like a dang tornado went through it.’ I live in the Deep South and the dollar store is ground central for everything, especially neon green nail polish, hair stuff and off-brand tortilla chips. Lol. So I went and got some

“She keeps her Moet et Chandon In her pretty cabinet ‘Let them eat cake,’ she says Just like Marie Antoinette…” -lyrics by Freddy Mercury This past week I’ve been knee deep in creative projects for myself and helping out with projects for other writers in my community. My #BOOKEM partner, Veronica’s book, Twins is coming out on April Fool’s Day and Amy has a new book called Mayday coming out soon too. Congrats to all! I have a few things up my sleeve, but I don’t have a timel

I’ve recently concluded that I come to a lot of conclusions. Overthink much. Duh! Let’s just say miles and miles of walking, as the sun is coming up has a way of working things out like the prickers and thorns I lodged in my bare feet the wild summer I refused to wear shoes, except to attend church. By the end of that season, from swimming every day, stomping around in the vegetable garden and riding my bike, I had Bilbo Baggins feet without the fur. Sorry, that might have be

It always comes down to three things. I will let you fill in the blanks ______? if you have not watched #BOOKEM I highly suggest it, as we cover a myriad of topics and interests. Of course reading, writing and navigating life are right up there with sliced bread and the argument for year round Christmas lights. This week is filmed partly in #Hawaii come for the scenery, stay for the great #marketing tips! Speaking of people and things to navigate. Oi! The bend to my will, bet

The new calendar year officially begins January 1st, 2021 where I live, but on the Chinese zodiac it begins February 12th. The symbol this year is the metal ox and this sign is known as hardworking, active, always busy and socially popular. Sounds good to me! As you read this post, I am taking a dip in the Atlantic Ocean with my badass family and probably screeching like a banshee. It gets even colder after you dive under. Trust me on this one… when the breeze hits your body

Recently a wise friend told me to look inward for focus. What is important to you? Go there. I listened, perhaps so closely that I am yearning for more space and more time. If you’re a man, please stop reading now. Okay, all right…but don’t say I didn’t warn you. If you are a woman, this post is for you. I wonder… The Great American Novelist is by default a caucasian, relatively well-off and sorry to say is also historically a man. Gradually this is changing, but I also wonde

As human beings we were beautifully designed to handle many types of information and stimulus, to be ready at a moments notice...

It’s been another odd week in a smattering of the odd that is this year in a crispy, crunchy nutshell. Is that like making fondue without the super-secret nutmeg? Hmm… I listen to a really cool podcast that comes out every few weeks called OK BOOMER PODCAST. I am not a Boomer though. You don’t have to be to enjoy it. I am the mostly forgotten about Generation-X. Where did we gooooo? Lol. Laura one of the fabulous hosts, along with her wonderful sister Jena, like all of us ha

Last night was sheer madness, oh what to say? Hurricane Sally was tracking in hardcore on the radar. My husband was working out of town in Pensacola and saw a mattress, yes that’s right… a mattress float across the water-logged road as the storm came in yesterday afternoon. I was busy at home working on a new book trailer for U.K., suspense author, Brenda Guiton and making ‘Ed from Miami’s Cuban Stew’ and not super worried, as the storm was headed due north from the Gulf, not

Things, much like this year are rarely how you imagine they will be, but I have learned from this important lesson to expect less and be more open. This is not about having a negative perspective, but the idea that when we have a pre-formed illusion of something, a person, situation or even a place… it can hold us down and keep us from enjoying something for its intrinsic value. For the first time in ages I went on a dinner date with my best friend, my rock, and my super-cool

'If it seems too good to be true...' This is a writer beware post. I’ve had a lot more issues recently with strangers reaching out. Emails are being sent to my site claiming that I requested info from them about publishing, web site creation or whatever. I didn’t and I know full well that I didn’t. DO NOT CLICK or OPEN a link in an email like this! It could potentially be harmful to your computer and expose your personal data. Parasites need fresh blood or they die. If you ar

Dreams are incredible. They can make you smile, fill your heart with love, yearning or romantic beauty and they can also scare the heck out of you. They are certainly symbolic and meaningful, but they don’t always mean what you think they do. Consider skipping the psychedelic, tutti-frutti ice cream before bed and putting electronic devices down for a half hour before La-La. I suggest a warm cup of herbal tea, soothing music or wave sounds and an old-fashioned book for achiev

I cut my literary teeth on Mitchell, Tolstoy and Bronte. I remember that summer clearly. It was steaming hot and I was scared to death of what the future looked like as I transitioned from elementary school to the ‘big time’ of a sixth grade school, an atmospheric brick monstrosity with a working bell tower and a "haunted" auditorium where my English teacher read Poe to my class by candlelight. Meanwhile the district officials tried to figure out how to accommodate the baby b

“Do one thing every day that scares you."–Anonymous Let’s be honest, it has been a frightening, tumultuous and tragic past few months. Unprecedented change has put each one of us front and center with what is, what isn’t and what may be. Considering the paragraph above… on the Richter scale, the new @YouTube endeavor (three authors, one channel) between myself, Veronica Cline Barton and Amy Reade isn’t really all that scary. It’s certainly new, bold and different, and way out