I Hugged Until I Couldn’t Anymore

I Hugged Until I Couldn’t Anymore. I’m a hugger. I like to hug. I typically, but not always, give a warning like, “I’m coming in for a hug.” There’s usually time for the huggee to get their arms up. But, again, not always. Sometimes it’s me hugging people the way a panda snuggles a bamboo…

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Worry Is What You Do

Photo by Christian Widell on Unsplash

Worry is what you do… (If you want to hear me read this 4-minute piece you can listen here: https://inside-stories.simplecast.com/episodes/inside-stories-covid-19-stories-2 I’m at about 2:38.) My daughter called yesterday. “Mom, They’re running out of gloves and masks. She’s 23 and still in orientation as a brand new ICU nurse. We have that guy in a coma,…

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Lift Don’t Suppress Others

Lift Don’t Suppress Others. Thirty-five Years After How to Suppress Women’s Writing In 1983, the University of Texas Press published Joanna Russ’s landmark “How to Suppress Women’s Writing”, which enumerated and elaborated on the many ways women writers had been kept out of the canon. Almost forty years later, it remains distressingly true that, as…

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Can I Pick Your Brain

pick your brain

Can I Pick Your Brain? The Fine Line Between Giving Back and Getting Paid The right connections in publishing can jumpstart your career and make the journey more enjoyable. But there is a fine line when asking for a favor (or a freebie) and networking. This panel looks at how emerging writers can gracefully navigate…

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There Are No Others: a more excellent state of being

No Others, Excellent State

There Are No Others: A More Excellent State of Being…hard but true. Something happened that turned me from someone who cares about others to someone who cares for others [Tweet “Something happened that turned me from someone who cares about others to someone who cares for others”]; from someone who lends a hand when asked to…

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Demco And My Little Free Library Journey

I just took a lovely walk with Demco and I want to tell you about my little free library journey. I’m a girl who has had library-love her whole life. Before I could read I sat in the library moving my lips pretending. I wanted people to think I was a prolific reading genius. Once…

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A Little Bit About Writing: Blog Roll!

I’ve been asked by a wonderful network of authors to write a little bit about writing in, what we authors call a Blog Roll. This is a chance to talk a little bit about our writing process. Sometimes people are interested. Sometimes not. So for those of you fascinated by how people write (I’m one…

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THE DOG YEAR & other True Confessions

  ME:  (to my students) “Caveat Emptor!”   STUDENTS: *blank Look* (Apparently they did not see the Brady Bunch episode where I learned about that phrase, so they do not understand my excitement).   ME: “Let the buyer Beware!” (said with serious wisdom imparting face)   STUDENTS: *blank look* A few scratch.   ME: “If…

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Feel Better In Less Than A Minute (No Kidding)

Yup. Feel Better in less than a minute. We know that when you give to others it makes us feel better. This is not some nice, bumper-sticker kind of thought that you read, sigh, and go on with your life with nothing changed. There’s research on it and I posted a great video about that…

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Feel Better Little-By-Little Week One

I’m not a consistent person. I never do something the same way twice. It’s just not my way. In organization,  decide on a white board, move to a loose leaf binder, then to post-it’s on the wall, then to a pile on the floor. I put all my shirts in one closet and sure as…

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