Upcoming Journeys I and a group of writing friends will soon invade one of the San Juan Islands for a week of writing, researching, catching up on one another’s lives, and talking shop. Our yearly Live Write Breathe retreat is something none of us would willingly miss. I’ll also venture out on side trips, camera … Continue reading Author Journal: Living, Writing, Breathing…and Waiting
I breathed a sigh and cradled my forehead in my hand. Attached to the email I’d just whisked into cyberspace were many late nights, bouts of insomnia, and months of stress. It was near dawn, and I’d yet to seek my pillow. I’d met my publisher’s deadline for The Promise Tree, the first installment in … Continue reading In Search of the Wild Wind
Emigrants who traveled the Oregon Trail understood they were living in an important part of history. That’s one reason many of them kept diaries. We study what they wrote to understand life as they knew it. Likewise, one day people will want to know what it was like going through the coronavirus pandemic. They will … Continue reading Escape into Armchair Travel
As spring ushers in its share of cloudbursts, I find staying warm more challenging. This happens anytime the temperature fluctuates. I notice it also in autumn. Getting used to different temperatures challenging. This is true in seasons of life as well. I don’t want to be set in my ways, so rigid I can’t bend when … Continue reading Bending in the Winds of Change
We’re thinking about the future a lot in our household these days. It’s interesting how dreaming leads to planning, but not always. It’s as if we try on ideas for size then swap out those that don’t fit for ones that do. It could be argued that daydreaming serves a practical purpose. I’m going with … Continue reading Where Will Your Daydreams Take You?
The small envelope gave no hint of the impact the notecard inside. Noticing I was going through a rough time while on deadline, one of my author friends reached out to encourage me. It’s such a small thing to lift someone else, and yet it requires a great deal. It requires the ability to look … Continue reading There’s no Substitute for You
A small herd of deer traipsed across my yard recently, patchy from shedding their winter coats. Last week, spring onions arrived in our weekly subscription box from a local farm. It’s been a rough winter, but these subtle signs of the changing season lift my heart. The breath of life whispers through the air, promising … Continue reading Signs of Spring
Snow blanketed the ground Monday morning, whether or not that was convenient. It wasn’t. Between an appointment and a release celebration for my newest novel, Stagecoach to Liberty (Montana Gold, book 3), the day promised to be hectic. With so many places to go, the last thing I wanted was to navigate snowy streets. It … Continue reading Nowhere to Go
“Place your unpaid bills before you, then apply the seat of your pants to the seat of the chair-and write.” This sage advice from Mary Heaton Vorse to Wilbur Daniel Steele , her husband’s distant cousin, and to Sinclair Louis, Steele’s roommate may have had something to do with their later success. Steele became an … Continue reading Working Like a Busy Bee
