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
Tag: Writing
Our Time: How We Celebrate Love
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
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
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
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
How Does Career Choice Affect Writers?
I am reading Carl Hiaasen's Nature Girl. I never doubt Hiaasen's authenticity when it comes to creating over-the-top characters. In journalism, over-the-top is sometimes the norm. What led Hiaasen to become an author? Since falling for his writing style—with which I share certain satirical values in my contemporary stories—I had decided to research the author. I… Continue reading How Does Career Choice Affect Writers?
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
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
When Deals Go Bad
Sometimes a deal goes bad. Maybe more deals than you want. You're an artist and writer. You dedicate time to your craft. I am a writer. I dedicate time to perfect my craft, but challenges arise when you choose to become a freelance writer. There are many great freelance writers. I've met them. Some have more luck… Continue reading When Deals Go Bad
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
Corrie's Season 