wine

Greetings from Nashville

A wedding! A brand-new book. A contest! Psst. I’ll let you in on a little secret… I’m not completely bereft that two of my three kids live halfway across the country in Nashville. Why? Because Nashville—Tennessee as a whole—is a pretty freakin’ awesome place to hang out. If our youngest ends up there (he graduatesContinueContinue reading “Greetings from Nashville”

Writing What You Know

And the joy of discovering what you don’t “You are not your characters, but your characters are you.” — Raymond Carver Last week, I had a couple of a-ha moments around the revisions I’m making to my upcoming novel (technically my previous novel that I put aside to publish Little Pink Houses). Ever since attending Courtney Maum’s fabulous workshopContinueContinue reading “Writing What You Know”

Wife vs. Mother-in-Law

You can rewrite the story (Trigger warning. This one gets a bit emotional towards the end.) The envelope, as I recall, was lavender. The card inside a flowery, glitter-encrusted thing, Happy Mother’s Day written in flamboyant script. She’d presented all three of us daughters-in-law with similar cards. The awkward thing was, two of us were childless. “DoContinueContinue reading “Wife vs. Mother-in-Law”

Truth and Consequences

Or: An optimist, a pessimist, and a realist walk into a bar “We should open a bakery,” my sister said. We were enjoying some decadent creation, say a vanilla bean cupcake beneath a cloud of her amazing fresh strawberry buttercream, at some family event. Her daughter’s birthday, maybe. Though it could have been any randomContinueContinue reading “Truth and Consequences”

Plotting a Week on Ambergris Caye

Sunrises, sunsets, and Little Pink Houses As I write, I’m watching the sunrise IN BELIZE! Revisiting places that inspired my novel, recreating character moments, handing out bookmarks and postcards as if I’m part of a salvation mission, posing for pictures like a twenty-year-old wannabe influencer, and generally driving two of my oldest, dearest friends crazyContinueContinue reading “Plotting a Week on Ambergris Caye”