Vintage Romantic Author
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 …
Do you remember the 1989 miniseries, Lonesome Dove? It was immensely popular at the time, drawing over 26 million viewers. Nominated for 18 Emmys, it won 7. My son became interested in the Lonesome Dove series of books after watching a recent western series called The English, an extremely dark tale where virtually everyone turned …
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 entered a nationwide writing competition last year. The winner would be featured in a national publication. Runners up would have their work published on-line and in eBook format. The word limit was 3,000—a story much shorter than I normally write. After previewing my epic in my writing group, I sent it along to a …
On to the nuts and bolts of my personal editing process. The first layer of editing happens after I’ve stepped away from my stories for a while so I can read them with a fresh eye. It’s always obvious my sentences are too wordy. I cut a lot of words out or substitute others. This …
It’s hard to find a good editor. My first experience proved disappointing and I haven’t had much luck since. If any business person is unresponsive and untimely, I’m not interested in an ongoing venture. If an editor is more interested in telling me what they don’t do, I start to wonder what they will do. …
Only rarely does a glib comment fall off my tongue. Recently, when a friend was having trouble finding the word she wanted to use, I explained that happens to me too. It’s why I’d rather write than talk! I understand a lot of people study for years before they attempt a novel. I know there …
For some, writing is a lifelong obsession. It might be poetry or short stories, or simply committing their daily activities to a diary. For me, writing is a recently acquired passion. There were indications I might be headed down this road. I always enjoyed writing letters and e-mails. Through the years, a few friends commented …