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Ink, Dreams, and Ivanhoe: A Writer’s Love of Used Books
I am finally reading Ivanhoe by Sir Walter Scott. Given that we have not one but three copies of this work, you may be surprised to learn that it is not my favorite book. It’s not even a book I’ve been able to finish. I’ve gotten as far as the first chapter and set it aside. Sentences such as, “The human figures which completed this landscape were in number two…” make me twitch; I want to take out my red pen and scratch through it, writing, “Two men…” Scott’s style reminds me of my early writing and my college fiction writing professor who, with all good intentions, handed me a…
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The Quest for the Perfect Oatmeal Cookie Continues
The quest to recreate my grandmother's oatmeal cookies continues with Dorie Greenspan's recipe for Chockablock cookies and musings on memory and food.
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The Gift of Figs and Fig Trees
The first time I ate a fresh ripe fig, I was 28 years old and worked for a Manhattan financial service firm. One of my coworkers lived in Elmhurst, Queens, and he brought in fresh, ripe green figs, a variety called Italian Honey. Thus began my lifelong fascination with this ancient, keystone fruit.
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Guest Appearance on Ghost Chatter with Mary Ann Poll
I had a terrific time chatting with author Mary Ann Poll on her podcast! We talked about my true-life ghostly encounter, our pets, our books, and more books. You can enjoy the podcast here: Ghost Chatter with Mary Ann Poll.
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Guest Writer for BACCA Literary
I’m the guest author this month over at BACCA Literary, a writer’s group in Charlottesville. I share a story of poor judgment, bad taste, and creative sandwich making. Like Salami and Peanut Butter: AI and Editing Don’t Mix. Enjoy!
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The Best Present of All – Presence
Our breath spangled the frosty December evening as we waved goodbye. My dog, Zeke, dropped, exhausted, to his mat in the living room to dream of chasing tennis balls and his best friend, our neighbors’ boxer dog, Cinder. We’d spent a good two hours watching the dogs zoom like maniacs across the lawn chasing balls and each other. The men wandered to the back for target practice while my neighbor and I leaned on the deck rail, petting Zeke and sharing stories about horses we had known and loved. It was a perfect Sunday afternoon. Sundays were once like this, a day of presence, first with God in church, then…
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The Inspiration Behind I SEE YOU
Novelists draw from many sources for their inspiration. I draw from my childhood growing up on Long Island, New York. The Dalinger Estate, White Oak Hall, features prominently throughout I SEE YOU my new novel. I draw from three estates on Long Island to create the unique setting for much of the mystery in I SEE YOU. Old Westbury Gardens Old Westbury Gardens includes both Westbury House and the gardens designed by the same architect who designed the house. It is truly a gem of Long Island. It was donated by the Phipps family who built the home to the county in the late 1950s and was preserved intact, including…
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The Gifts that He Gives
My husband held the bird’s nest out to me. “Feel the inside.” I reached out and touched the tiny nest gingerly. “It’s soft.” “The inside is lined in some soft moss,” he said. “And the outside is woven of coarse pine needles.” I marveled at the perfect construction of the little bird’s nest. We’d watched the sparrows build their nest among the boughs of the nectarine tree in the orchard. Our seven cats miraculously ignored the plain little birds flitting back and forth to the low-hanging branch as the sparrows wove the sturdy little nest. The mother sparrow snuggled tightly against her two little eggs while papa kept an eye…
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Spiritual Growth Requires Springs of Living Water
Our spiritual growth requires abundant springs of living water. What should we do when the well runs dry? As a transplant myself, I appreciate how hard it is to take root and grow in new soil. I should have recognized the signs of transplant shock in the redbud tree – and offered some salve, some support as it struggled to take root. We moved the young sapling in the cool of an early June morning. We watered it for a while, lavishing care and attention on it in its new location. By July, the leaves turned brown and crispy. They fluttered to the ground. “It’s dead,” we thought. We…
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When Church Means Pain, What’s a Parent to Do?
Families with children diagnosed with autism, learning disabilities, and intellectual disabilities need their church families. But churches are ill-equipped to welcome them.
