Last night I finished reading Brother to a Dragonfly, a decades old memoir by Will Campbell who grew up in rural Mississippi at the dawn of the Civil Rights movement. I then had a hard time sleeping as I was thinking about my reactions. Clearly, there are many voices from that period, but few are as… Continue Reading… Continue Reading
Inspiration from Living in Many Different Places
While editing old manuscripts, I find memories. This doesn’t surprise me as I have always used the places I have lived to inspire stories. Different houses, different towns, different cities have captured my imagination. I was lucky to have traveled and to have lived in so many places. I can’t say the same would be… Continue Reading… Continue Reading
Traditional or Self-Publish: What’s Best for You?
Robert Pruett, Founder and Publisher of Brandylane Publishers, Inc. in Richmond VA spoke at the Civic Center in Cape Charles about the many different publishing options currently available. It was a gray and raining day, but the wisdom Pruett conveyed along with some hard facts was like a ray of sunshine for the writers who… Continue Reading… Continue Reading
Older Politicians Serve by Retiring
Many of us refuse to stop. We have things we want to accomplish and we don’t want our age to interfere. But it does. Our brains change just as our hair grays and our bones thin. It takes a little longer to absorb new information and a little longer to determine consequences. But for most… Continue Reading… Continue Reading
Finally, I See My Daughter
I have a daughter who is forty years younger than me. She lives in Peru, travels in jungles and deserts, speaks Spanish, and loves being in love. She also writes. Words drip from her fingers like rain from a leaf, each one clear, fresh and capable of supporting life. Regardless, I think given our age… Continue Reading… Continue Reading
A Solution to Facebook Stealing Privacy
Facebook now makes me paranoid. No kidding. Yesterday my partner opened his computer to ads that were for products I’d been looking at on my computer– the exact same ads! Do I care that he sees what I’m looking at? Well, yes, I do. I value my sense of privacy just as I value my… Continue Reading… Continue Reading
A Place to Call Home
Recently a man in a book club said ‘we are all looking for a place to call home.” He said it twice, and I was caught off-guard. Was he speaking about himself or the story? I looked at him. He didn’t look sad or unhappy. He sat next to his wife. They’d both read the… Continue Reading… Continue Reading
A Tribute to My Mother, Her Sister, My Aunt
My thoughts won’t settle. I recently spent the day with my mother as she fed a final sweetness to her sister. They’ve reached their mid-nineties, an ancient age. Two sisters side by side through a Southern childhood, the Second Great War, multiple marriages, moves, children, grandchildren, great grandchildren.… Continue Reading
Thoughts on Women’s History Month
I like that March is Women’s History Month. I like that February is Black History Month. These are segments of our society that are like pillars holding our strength and we are empowered by seeing them celebrated. Ultimately, however, I hope that history will be rewritten to be inclusive and the need for this segmentation… Continue Reading… Continue Reading
History Revised
There is a shift in the way we view history and a shift in the way we perceive our leaders. My generation was taught that there were great figureheads we should emulate. We were taught that our political leaders and institutions were to be admired for the ability they had to make change. We were… Continue Reading… Continue Reading