This weekend in the United States, we take an extra day off work to honor those who died in military service. "Memorial" - the name calls out our intention to use our memories in this way. Memory looks backward, brings the past into the present, brings those lost into our immediate awareness, and makes them … Continue reading Our memories of this time
life
The interdependence of life
Last night we watched a Nature special on the wildlife of Cuba. Beautiful, funny, terrifying. (I'd forgotten how these depictions of animal life always include the element of menace: a baby sea turtle, hours old, madly paddling her way across the sand to the ocean, the deep water that is, for her, relative safety; we … Continue reading The interdependence of life
Always back up
The Writers' Vineyard was out of operation for a bit, due to some technical issues. It's back, and it's a good lesson in all the ways we should back up our work (and of course, back each other up, too). More on the importance of backing up here.
“Miss Jean Louise, stand up. Your father’s passing.”
Harper Lee passed today, at the age of 89. A woman of many accomplishments I'm sure we'll never know about, she is most honored for writing To Kill a Mockingbird. I'm one of those who considers it among the most beautiful books I've ever read. Among the books I can read often, gleaning something new … Continue reading “Miss Jean Louise, stand up. Your father’s passing.”
Welcome Newness
May 2016 renew the best of all of us: our joy, creativity, community, generosity, and love.
Independence from…
My tradition for July 4 is to declare independence from something important. Not that the British Empire isn't important... oh, wait, right. It's not an Empire any longer, is it. (No offense, Brit friends - it's more that our world doesn't really need that whole Imperial jazz, you know, we seem to get along better without it.) … Continue reading Independence from…
Blues Boy King, 1925-2015
As a writer, and a human being, music forms a huge part of my soul. This week our world lost one of the most beautiful musical voices ever, one Riley B. "Blues Boy" King. And with his passing, the voice of his guitar Lucille goes silent. When I wrote the very first draft of An … Continue reading Blues Boy King, 1925-2015
One Year of Lucky 13 Stories
Last September, the 13th fell on a Friday. That evening as the sun set, my brother married his true love, exchanging vows in the shallow waters of a mineral lake left by ancient glaciers. It was a day of the best kind of luck for our family, and inspired this series of Lucky 13 stories. … Continue reading One Year of Lucky 13 Stories
The Courage to Be Myself: Real-Life Lessons from Fiction by Olga Godim
This month's Fictional Lesson for an All-Too-Real Life is from Olga Godim, a freelance journalist from Vancouver, Canada. Her passion is fantasy fiction. Olga's short fantasy stories have appeared in multiple internet and print magazines, and her high fantasy novels Almost Adept and Eagle en Garde were published recently by Champagne/Burst Books. As an indie writer, … Continue reading The Courage to Be Myself: Real-Life Lessons from Fiction by Olga Godim
Cherish the Moment: July’s Lucky 13 Story
On the thirteenth of each month, I host a guest blogger (or write a piece myself) about the role luck plays in writing, and in life. This month's planned guest blogger needed to reschedule. She's dealing with a young son who has a serious illness. Two nights ago, I ran into a friend who had … Continue reading Cherish the Moment: July’s Lucky 13 Story
