I met a friend at the Ponte Vedra an anonymous library last month, and afterwards approached a librarian to talk about donating a copy of my book. No big deal – I just thought maybe there was a local author section. The woman behind the counter took my book and sighed very heavily. “I’ll have to see if it’s been catalogued,” she said. “This could take a really long time.” She picked up the book and started fanning through the pages, likeRead more
Posts filed in: Writing
Clipping my own wings while Husband urges me to fly
Twenty-three years ago today, Hot Firefighter Husband married me under a gazebo on my parents’ country estate in Folsom, Louisiana. Dad had installed a ceiling fan because, in his words, “There’s nothing more unattractive than a sweating bride,” which is a fact I had not previously known. To celebrate, Husband is working a double-shift to help pay for our new car, and I am trying to convince our oldest daughter that it is earth-shatteringly important for her to know that tooRead more
The unfortunate chaos of busy-ness
The Russian spy ship Victor Leonov is not far off the coast of Florida right now, which means if I hop on a cruise this evening we could meet up by lunchtime tomorrow. I mean, not that I’d want to. I’m not a spy or anything OR AM I but apparently the Russians are our friends now, and with all their eavesdropping equipment I feel like somebody on board could help me get to the bottom of why Common Core math evenRead more
A Holiday Round-up for your entertainment
Dear generous readers, The worst thing about being a writer is not writing. When I’m not writing, my waking hours consist of strange and beautiful sentences forming in my head, begging to be eternalized through the stroke of a few keys. They had wanted to name her Astrid, but between the language barrier and her mother’s fledgling literacy, she got stuck with Aspic. She didn’t know it was a bad name until her fourth grade teacher helpfully explained to the class that aspic was alsoRead more
Depression update, book update, and LOVE YOU PEEPS
When I last wrote, I was wallowing in a pit of despair. I’m happy to report that my proverbial glass is now at least 1/4 full, and I no longer anticipate locusts falling from the sky any minute. Thank you, Dr. K, for that little tweak. And big fat kudos to me, for refocusing my energy on clean eating, reading great books, and getting the kids back to school with pencils. But I must thank you, dear generous readers, for the outpouringRead more
I WROTE A BOOK! I WROTE A BOOK! I WROTE A BOOK! Also….I WROTE A BOOK!
I have amazing news for the gazillions of people who’ve told me I should write a book. I HAVE WRITTEN A BOOK. And it’s going to be published. Coming in Spring 2017 to a bookstore near you: The Place of Peace and Crickets: how adoption, heartache, and love built a family Is that the best title ever or what? I could tell you what it means, but then I’d have to kill you. KIDDING. But really. I’m not going to tellRead more
THE NEWS, and What I’m Reading.
PART II Here’s the news, which may or may not seem monumental: I HAVE FINISHED THE SHITTY FIRST DRAFT OF MY MANUSCRIPT. Do you remember I was working on a manuscript? I was. I am. The terrible working title is Journey to Now, and it’s the story of how we became a family and how we’ve coped with the Pterodactyl’s attachment disorder. It also contains tales of drunken debauchery, sex, and dogs, although not altogether of course. I mean, sometimesRead more
A lot of interesting information, sometimes called an UPDATE.
“You need to update your peeps about how the manuscript is coming,” said Hot Firefighter Husband. Or he might have said, “You need to update your peeps about how the grass is growing.” The answer is pretty much the same either way, metaphorically speaking: there are some really bright patches of color mixed in with a bunch of dollar weed, and depending on the weather, it might all blend together into a nice little lawn. What? I just made thatRead more
Excuses, excuses, plus BREAKING NEWS.
The Latest Plan – to simplify, remember? – is so damn complicated, and it bums me out. In my ideal world, my daily schedule includes a good 2-hour writing block, folding some laundry, straightening the house, picking vegetables from my garden to make a home-cooked dinner, delving into a great book, a workout, a short nap, yard work with the kids or maybe some cooking time with the kids. Remember, this is an ideal version of life. There are some roadblocks to implementing thisRead more
As the New Year approaches.
Eleven days with no writing? Imagine the tips of my fingers all soft from not pecking keys, and my creative brain jumbled with unexpressed thoughts. It’s totes true. But most palpable is the rising sense of panic, the fear that my ability to string words together is as sunk as a concrete-laden body. And add to that the fear that I’ve disappointed you, Generous Readers. In reality, I know you’ve been busy baking cookies, right? And storing away your Elf onRead more