After Michael Brown’s death in Ferguson Missouri last year, I wondered how I was being called to respond. Though clear that God has equipped me to be a communicator—in print and in speech, sometimes with paint or film—I wasn’t sure what to say or how to say it. The naughty little voice in my head…
Avoid. Bypass. Duck. Evade. Dance around. Sidestep. We’ve all done it. Avoiding eye contact in the church lobby with a woman you enjoyed working with on a committee at church until you had THAT discussion. Crossing the street when you see a neighbor who just lost his wife in a car accident. Letting your phone…
My mediation partner Sig Cohen and I are in the final stretch of a book tentatively called How Do You Want to be Remembered? In some respects this is a “how-to” book complete with its share of lists like, “Ten rules for …“ But I wanted it to be more than practical advice; I wanted…
I am so sick of fame and fortune. Sigh… You may wonder what in the world I’m talking about since I’m not famous. Most likely you don’t know me. Not even everyone in my writing group, the Redbud Writers Guild, knows me. And as for fortune, I’m sure I would be considered fabulously wealthy if…
I’ll never forget my first college writing class. My professor paced back and forth in front of us with his hands clasped behind his back. He stopped, faced us and declared: “The best writers write about what they know.” That statement, along with hefty required doses of E.B. White, helped me understand the power of…
I am “new” to the writing world. Whatever that means. I have been writing, of course, since I was a kid and my notebooks from childhood and my wobbly teen years are piled up in a cupboard in my dining room of all places. Now, I have scribbled notes and ideas everywhere and I have…
Sometimes I think of faith as a void and then I will immediately backtrack over my thoughts with what I have been told the answer is. I suppose that if faith is the size of a mustard seed, then it’s possible that it is so small that it’s imperceptible until it springs a bud. In…
The moment is seared into my brain, not unlike a branding iron on a young calf. It was November 2010. Although, actually, it had started the year before at a conference for youth workers… “Don’t waste your words,” the speaker had uttered in that dramatic-almost-whisper that speakers do to make a point. “You have experiences from…
“I think God is calling me to write a book.” She’s sheepish with the news, wondering what I think of the idea. But I need backstory, so my friend recounts how on three separate occasions, she’s been told by three separate people (all strangers) to write a book. Who am I to argue with that,…
I was 33 years old when I breathed in for the first time. I remember it well. I had just received an email from the Redbud Writers Guild stating that my membership application had been accepted. Suddenly, a new world opened to me; a world of sisterhood. It is a world where dreams come true:…
It was a perfect June night to launch a novel. Full guest list – check. Plenty of books – check. Fancy pen – check Flowers, music, opera cakes and BUZZZZ. After months of planning, my baby was ready to be delivered into the hands of her new parents and they were waiting at the…
I noticed something interesting as we made our way through New Orlean’s restaurant scene last spring, and it’s transforming the way I think about my writing career: the highest rated restaurants were known for one good dish. New Orleans is an old city, and many of the highly rated dining establishments have been around for…
When I began blogging it was a very solitary experience. Yes, I was putting work out there for the internet to see, but for the most part it was largely written in isolation and then sent out to a void with very little feedback. Which was fine at first. Still is much of the time,…
Allow me to tell you a story. There is a woman, worried for her daughter. She has tried everything with no success, but today she has a new idea. A teacher and healer has slipped into town, his reputation preceding him. The odds that he’ll see her, or help her, aren’t great – but this…