“You Can Fix It Later”

This is one of the phrases that rings in my head all the time these days. Just get writing. All first drafts are crap, so just get it down in words. You can fix it later. Now that it feels like I finally can manage my time to make writing the top priority, I’m working … Continue reading “You Can Fix It Later”

Lost on the Green Train

Confusion on the Circumvesuviana After Rome we headed south by train to beautiful and charming Sorrento, where we had some great food and wine, stayed in a wonderful small hotel down a tiny cobblestoned alley, took day trips to Pompei and Herculeum, and where I had another interesting train experience. From Sorrento, I took an … Continue reading Lost on the Green Train

Cypress Street Secrets

My novel is coming along at what feels like a snail's pace, but it's exciting to see it develop. Ya know how your best friend in the whole world can sometimes aggravate the hell out of you? How you may want to grab her and just shake some sense into her head? Sometimes I get … Continue reading Cypress Street Secrets

River Stories

It's been a while! Nine months ago, I thought I was ready to start submitting 'River Stories' to agents. Then life happened. And death. Meanwhile I've finally been able to put some final touches on the manuscript. I feel like it's a very solid story and this week I have actually been submitting queries - … Continue reading River Stories

River Stories

There were snakes in that river. That’s why we were never to go there alone. I never saw a snake, but I knew they were there. My mom said so. We had just moved here in June. We would have moved earlier but Mom said we had to wait for the end of the school … Continue reading River Stories

The Val Wood Prize

I've received notice that I am on the short-list for this year's prestigious Val Wood Prize for my short story, 'Mr. Miller.' I am over the hill with excitement. The submission call was for 'feel good' stories. Jess Federle, of my 'Lima' group, had told me about the contest, for which she thought Mr Miller … Continue reading The Val Wood Prize

Autumn Birthday

This is my entry for the Official Kidlit #FallWritingFrenzy! Writers choose a picture from 15 different images and write a 200-word story using the picture as inspiration. Autumn Birthday Autumn is for homecoming, she’d said on the phone. Driving up the highway, I thought the foliage that year was the most beautiful ever. But my heart … Continue reading Autumn Birthday

My Island Life

A Hundred Years Ago - or so it seems, although by the date on the front page, I see that it was actually 27 years past - I wrote this article about what was then my life. Sometimes I think I really miss that life. Well, maybe not that life, but certain parts of it. … Continue reading My Island Life

My Town

This photo article was published a while back. It was a fun research project walking around my neighborhood taking photos of amazing old houses. ABOVE - THE CUPOLA. The iconic image of the district of Magdalena del Mar will soon disappear. Well perhaps not totally disappear, but certainly from my vantage point a few blocks away and … Continue reading My Town

Southern Accents

"And try not to sound so damned yankee!" Not the typical advice from a law professor perhaps, but she hadn’t asked for advice on interpreting some obscure community property ruling. Her need on this sweltering Mississippi afternoon was for advice on how to talk to the judge who would rule on her punishment for the … Continue reading Southern Accents