It’s been a long time since I started a new novel. Well, maybe not as long as it seems. I had an aborted attempt around a year ago. But I’m really zeroing in on novel writing now, and I’m discovering something I probably knew, on some level, but didn’t really, y’know… KNOW. Namely, that when…
Read MoreAll articles filed in Uncategorized
Enough
My word for 2019 is “enough”: I am enough, I am doing enough, I am good enough, this moment is enough. It’s a combination of learning to recognize the goodness in saying “no” and of living in the moment, being present in my own life instead of always feeling dissatisfied. I’m working on it. But…
Read MoreBigger Than Me
Sometimes, I just need to get away. No matter how much work is hanging over my head, I know I need to make the time to hike, or bike, or kayak—and always, to find a quiet, beautiful spot to sit and be still. It’s necessary for my mental health. Sometimes I get a twinge of…
Read MoreBizarre Dreams
Photo by Engin Akyurt on Pexels.com I had a bizarre series of dreams last night: 1: I couldn’t get apps to close on a smart device. (Anyone who knows me knows this is particularly bizarre because I don’t use a smart phone.) 2: I couldn’t find the right pair of contacts. 3: We drove up…
Read MoreIEP Day
This is what #IEP prep looks like: notes from parent advocate, part A and B. The first draft of the IEP, from which the comments came, split in two: the half we got through last week, and the part we have to do today—the goals, i.e the basic shape of her middle school experience. Finally,…
Read MoreCover Reveal and Award Nomination!
It’s been a crazy few months for me, both in real life and in my writing life. I’ve been working on a major revision of my newest novel in response to agent feedback. This is the first time I’ve tried to do such a thing on a tight turnaround and now I understand the stress…
Read MoreA New Project!
This Lent, I began a new project called Intentional Catholic, a website devoted to the living the faith at the messy intersection of faith and the real world. I’m exploring the writings of the Church that touch on a lot of these topics, and sharing quotes from them as well as some of my own…
Read MoreOn Any Given Day…
On any given day, you might find on or around my kitchen table… Random action figures (also substitute “LEGO figures”) …someone’s art projects, which are never, ever complete (and usually involve lots of tape and cut up paper)… …a track bag… …someone else’s homework that they were too lazy to actually put in their backpack…
Read MoreThe Way of All Things
It’s been an intense fall. An intense year, really, but particularly an intense fall in my world. We had no rain to speak for a couple months this summer, and so I didn’t expect much in the way of fall color, but it got crazy cold all at once. The one and only benefit of…
Read MoreOne Thing
If every one of us did this one thing, how much impact could we have?
Read More