JD Bannister wants attention. Not just anyone's attention. He needs his father to care. In the opinion of my character, Andrew Bannister, his son has everything. He provides JD with a big house, playroom, and expensive toys and clothes. A main character in the manuscript, Sons of the Edisto, JD experiences another kind of desertion.… Continue reading Why We Need to Pay Attention to Men and Boys
Author: Corrie's Mom
They say teacher turn over is high right now, and many teachers will leave the profession in five years or less. I will enter my seventh year as a full-time teacher, and my 12th year in education after I'd started as a sub and teacher assistant. I was the student in the 1990s you did not want in your classroom because I was diagnosed with ADHD and did not know how to socialize with other kids. I was due to be tested for autism, but this was considered an ostracizing experience for a child then, especially a girl. I am a third generation teacher and author of seventeen creative works.
Write it Honest
Take up the pages. They belong to you. It does not matter what the subject is. The matter belongs to you, too. Since the last week in July, my schedule has been abnormal. I chose to take one month off from writing to take time with the boys, John and Charles, and to train for a… Continue reading Write it Honest
Boys at War
Boys went to war. My great-uncle was one of them. His plane was shot down over the Mediterranean Sea in World War II. Saint Paul's Cathedral lists his name in the American Memorial book in London. Now women serve, and I thank men and women for their dedication, training, and sacrifice that is beyond our imaginations.… Continue reading Boys at War
Through the Mountains, Part I: When Hope Rises
Two campers light a fire using a propane backpack cook stove. Light rain trickles from the sky. Drops touch toes, hiking books, stone, and extinguish fire. Prior to the Great Smokey Mountains National Park, the same men hiked 15 miles up a mountain to an inn. They also carried dinner they wanted the inn cooking staff to… Continue reading Through the Mountains, Part I: When Hope Rises
Coming Back – What Does it Mean to Return Home?
I am back. Back from road tripping and one week of training for a new job. I return to the keyboard, as I have many times before, to write. Ideas came to mind as I drove past peach trees and a restored house constructed either in the late eighteenth or early nineteenth century. New peach… Continue reading Coming Back – What Does it Mean to Return Home?
Under Exposed: The South Carolina Upcountry
The twenty-first century fades on the Cherokee Foothills Scenic Highway. Known for the Gaffney Peachiod, early American history, and the Blue Ridge Mountains and foothills, automobiles drive past landscape seemingly unchanged with exception of the road. Before you pack up for Orlando or California, consider what you might find on roads less explored. There are… Continue reading Under Exposed: The South Carolina Upcountry
Where Magic Lives
Legends say magic rises through winter mist; a mist so thick you must hold your hand two inches from your face to see it. The summer feels more like a South Carolina autumn. Humidity stays at the ground level, and river water is cool. The Blue Ridge Parkway is one of the first roads in the… Continue reading Where Magic Lives
Why We Need Mustard Covered Faces
Three hotdogs were not enough for the two-year-old. Yellow mustard covered the boy's face. He laughed when I took the plate away, and looked around for a fourth hotdog. Every morsel he devours astonishes adults and older children. But, the little tongue licking ketchup and mustard off the plate to the point of painting his… Continue reading Why We Need Mustard Covered Faces
What Writers Learn
What Writers Learn "Sticks and stones may break my bones, but words will never hurt me." Not true. Words hurt. They sting. Writers hurt more when they receive a message via text, email or phone that their work is not wanted.What writers learn depends on what they are willing to take away from their experience… Continue reading What Writers Learn
From Some Other Beginning’s End — The Last Chapter
Pitch black dominates the room. Five thirty in the morning. You have one more chapter to write. "I thought you were getting back into your schedule," someone says. In a teenager's groan of just ten more minutes, you roll over. The early mornings and the last chapter of your manuscript present a challenge whether you're… Continue reading From Some Other Beginning’s End — The Last Chapter
Corrie's Season 