Vintage Romantic Author
Bullocks is an iconic name in department store luxury shopping. The more mainstream original Bullocks location opened downtown Los Angeles in 1907. The elegant, art deco masterpiece, Bullocks Wilshire, opened in 1929 and was the jewel in the crown of the Bullocks chain. I don’t have any memory of visiting Bullocks Wilshire. Bullocks Westwood was …
When my daughter was in 4th grade California history class, her teacher arranged a field trip to Olvera Street. A stay-at-home mom, I volunteered to help out. It was a beautiful spring day. Our docent was an energetic young lady, extremely knowledgeable. She guided us through the Avila Adobe, L.A.’s oldest home, and the historic …
What Does It Take to Write a Book? By Barbara Bush Forletta What does it take? In my case, it took over 10 years from the idea to the completion of Unlocking the Writing Process; Inspiring Lessons and Stories to Get You Started. During my teaching career I developed lessons to help students become interested …
Recently ruminating about the commonality of all my books and blogs, I realized they’re about homemaking. In books, it’s making a new home or fitting into someone else’s. In blogs, it’s about the little ways I make my own home. I was reading an article about homemakers of today and the abuse they get from …
Long before Dr. Spock’s attempt to document the “correct” way to raise psychologically healthy children, many authors published medical science of the day for use by housewives. Knowing I was interested in times past, my mom brought me Wife and Mother or Information for Every Woman from my aunt’s yard sale. Published in 1886, the …
Have you kept a New Year’s resolution? I don’t believe I ever have. That’s probably a good reason to avoid them. Yet, there’s something undeniably hopeful about New Year’s. In the dead of winter, it’s a moment of renewal. A time to pause and reflect. A time to contemplate the future. History often shocks me. …
I’ve been working on a short story, hopefully, the first of a series. My initial goal was 10,000 words but these people just didn’t cooperate. They got too interesting! As I approached 20,000 words, I felt the need to research parameters for a short story. Technically, they can be anything from 1,500 to 30,000 words. …
It was off to the San Fernando Valley to spend a bit of time in the past—the valley’s past and our past. My husband and I visited the recently refurbished North Hollywood train depot so I could take some pictures. This station is of particular interest because it provides a setting for my upcoming book, …
It’s something new in my life—people saying, “I’m reading your book.” What does that mean? Do they think I’m some sort of lunatic for letting people read what I write? Are they impressed I even wrote a book? I’m never quite sure how to respond. “Keep up the good work!” or, “Tell your friends!” I …
That’s the motto for my books. Do you like it? I never felt comfortable categorizing them as romances. Although they all have a central romance, they are more about family and home. Unfortunately, there’s no category like that. This is how I picture Hannah’s table for Hollis’ first chicken dinner in her tidied-up kitchen. The …