Part 4 of The Bannisters April 1877 Joey Langston tried to forget his wife. When his daughter, Adelaide, moved from Missouri to Bamberg; the memories returned. She looked just like her: fawn eyes and dark brown hair. Little ringlets brushed Adelaide's neck. Mrs. Langston liked ringlets. An occupying Union soldier stopped Mrs. Langston on the… Continue reading The Bannisters: A New Beginning
Category: Family
The Son I Raised
Son, I loved you from the moment you were born when they flew you on the helicopter to Charlotte. I drove and rushed to your side praying you'd be alright. Two-and-a-half years ago, I broke your trust. You and your brother will not speak to me. You will not acknowledge me on the street. Today… Continue reading The Son I Raised
What are 5 Reasons Adults are Thankful Christmas Comes Once a Year?
Courtesy of http://thumbs.dreamstime.com The holidays fill our hearts with ___. You fill in the blank. The holiday reality brings a variety of emotions to the forefront of our minds. For parents, they want to surprise their children and get extra sleep. For young adults, they're trying to figure out where the childhood magic of Christmas… Continue reading What are 5 Reasons Adults are Thankful Christmas Comes Once a Year?
Remembering Sandy Hook Elementary
The story is everywhere. You flip from one channel to the other, and you see the broadcast reporters in the same place: Newtown, Conn. The questions are the same. Why would someone shoot twenty children and six school staff? How could this happen? As artists, we seek to discover a character's motive for an action… Continue reading Remembering Sandy Hook Elementary
What to do When Nervous Strikes
Courtesy of http://cartoonstock.com Faces transform into other appearances and shapes. They change from circles to ovals with a rectangular jaw. One after the other—I feel like I watch a parade of constant change goes by. I did watch a parade go by Saturday. By that afternoon, my gut turned green from changes in my schedule… Continue reading What to do When Nervous Strikes
What Matters Most: 3 Reasons the Season of Thanks Continues
I am late for an important date: A date with gratitude and a date to blog. Thanksgiving break carried my family and me on a train ride of illness, dealing with death, baking challenges and realizing what matters most. The Christmas shopping season catches our attention with ringing Hersey kisses commercials and bright red and green colors.… Continue reading What Matters Most: 3 Reasons the Season of Thanks Continues
4 Ways Becoming a Parent Changes a Writer
Everything changes. Seasons, relationships and the way we, as writers, craft words. I had no idea the changes coming when I worked as a journalist in 2009. I know two consistencies: change always occurs and I have always been a writer. Have you examined the ways in which you've changed as a writer or author?… Continue reading 4 Ways Becoming a Parent Changes a Writer
I Will Remember
I will remember beyond the eleventh hour of the eleventh day in the eleventh month. I will remember. Great Uncle Durgin's plane was shot down by the Luftwaffe. His body, never found. His 19 years will not waste away in the Mediterranean Sea. One day—when the time is right—my second child will be named for… Continue reading I Will Remember
That was the Place
Go to a place almost forgotten. It could be anywhere. I take a walk in the world surrounding my book, Sons of the Edisto. At the end of a path sits a one-room, meeting house. Mizpah was a church created by Methodists in the nineteenth century. The town around it, Buford's Bridge, was burned by General Sherman's troops… Continue reading That was the Place
Six Sentence Sunday
I am happy to share. Sharing is good, I am told. The action leads to good character. Today, I will share the beginning of a story in my Red Loam collection. The manuscript, From Red Loam, features ten short stories connected to my novel, Sons of the Edisto. Two of the stories have been published. For today's Six… Continue reading Six Sentence Sunday
Corrie's Season 