John and I on a short vacation to the Smokey Mountains in July 2012. Love is one of the hardest subjects. How do you approach love without composing corny clichés? What can you write to make your story real? Sometimes pieces and parts of your relationship(s) sneak into your writing. When J.R.R. Tolkien wrote the… Continue reading Our Time: How We Celebrate Love
Category: Literature
By the Drink Published
By the Drink was published Sunday by Blue Ridge Literary Prose. I was excited to discover the new online literary magazine. It is my first contemporary story to be published, and my fifth creative publication. I wrote the original draft of By the Drink in June 2011. It was the first contemporary story I considered… Continue reading By the Drink Published
Six Sentence Sunday
Today, I share a contemporary piece. I have shared six sentence scenes from short stories related to my book, Sons of the Edisto. The Good Year is a fresh story in the sense I have not done anything with it yet. I have not shared it with anyone. I've only edited it a few times.… Continue reading Six Sentence Sunday
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
Book Review: Triple Threat Sunday
What do you look for in a book? A certain writing style, work of art or just a good story that drives you to another place. I discovered all of those things and more rolled into one giant bundle in Douglas Perry's The Girls of Murder City, Suzanne Collins' Mockingjay and Joshilyn Jackson's a grown-up kind of pretty.… Continue reading Book Review: Triple Threat Sunday
Book Review: Catching Fire
The first book in any series must spark a fire. The sequel should make it bigger. Author Suzanne Collins' second book in The Hunger Games series, Catching Fire, takes victors Katniss Everdeen and Peta Mellark on the road. They travel through all twelve districts in Panem plus the Capitol. But, President Snow warns Katniss to "convince him" her… Continue reading Book Review: Catching Fire
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
Time Enough to Write
Ti You might have missed me. Maybe you missed my words, or maybe you didn't. I borrowed today's title from one of my husband's favorite books, Robert A. Heinlein's Time Enough for Love. While the 1970's award-winning, Science Fiction book examines the life and loves of Lazarus Long—the oldest living man—the book caused me to consider an… Continue reading Time Enough to Write
The Man who Started it All
He was a man of faith. He was a man of science. He was the man who stood at the train station in Alabama one day after being fired. This man saw the manager who let him go. "Did you come to see me off?" he asked the manager. "No," he replied. "One hour after… Continue reading The Man who Started it All
What I Learned from Sports Journalists
The best journalists are sports writers. That is right. Writers. When I volunteered at The Daily Gamecock, I wanted to write with that passion. I hoped to shoot pictures that captured a fire of emotions; the kind in which you see every line, feeling, and expression in a player's face. In high school, I shot pictures… Continue reading What I Learned from Sports Journalists
Corrie's Season 