A couple of decades ago, my dad was visiting a foreign country and observed over the course of a week that the driving conventions were...different...from what we mostly encounter in the U.S. He described a ballet of chaos: near misses, honking, brake-screeching, and a marked disinclination of the folks on the road to follow any discernible traffic rules. (At least … [Read more...]
Chocolate Sparks Joy Amid Clutter
I'd do anything to declutter my condo, just don't ask me to do that... Recently, I jumped on the Marie Kondo bandwagon and took a major whack at my tchotchkes. I had a mind-boggling number of cords to devices I no longer own. More travel tissues, hand sanitizers and nail files than this gal will ever go through in her lifetime. Pens galore... The process took a numbing … [Read more...]
Judgment Time
The first three months of each year are an exciting, nerve-wracking time in the life of a romance writer (at least for those of us who are members of RWA). This is the season when entries for the RITA and Golden Heart contests are sent to judges. These contests are the Oscars of the romance world where published (RITA) and unpublished (Golden Heart) authors submit their work … [Read more...]
Gratituding
Giving thanks and making lists. Two of my favorite activities. Combining the two? Well, that calls for the creation of a new word! Allow me to introduce to you gratituding: making a list of people/things/concepts/etc. for which one is grateful. Below are my top five blessings for 2016. Verbing - using nouns or other parts of speech as verbs. We do this all the time … [Read more...]
Trope! The Virgin Librarian
When I first started reading romance (around age 13), I pretty much read whatever I could get my hands on. Slowly, I began gravitating to certain story lines - a bluestocking Regency heroine facing her debut in the Ton? Coworkers struggling to keep things professional (bonus points if the set up was boss/secretary)? Catnip! Later, I'd learn these recognizable situations … [Read more...]
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