A Magazine for Craftmakers
Building a Monster Bug, and Other Writerly Research
I sometimes find myself doing research for my stories in the strangest of places. Like this week when I found myself on a local Seattle pest control website. I love to use animals and bug creatures of all kinds in my stories for kids, and have found it zooms the interest level up when I […]
Bald spots in our writing–and life
My, oh, my–this picture tells it all. My beloved 4 year-old grandson Josh took a pair of kid scissors to his hair this week, and now has an outstanding bald spot. Even the best efforts of Mommy’s favorite hairdresser couldn’t do much about this! Sometimes it’s like that with our writing too. That well-intentioned chapter […]
Vacation Research
Tomorrow I head home from my wonderful San Francisco vacation. The evening sky still glows an azure blue, as I watch the oak trees silhouetted along the top of the ridge outside my bedroom window. I’m thinking of Bree, main character in the novel I’m currently writing. Part of my reason for this visit (besides […]
Watching For Whales
I just got back from a wonderful writing retreat on San Juan Island,For 6 blissful days, I, along with the other 5 members from our Diviners writing group, spent hours at a time writing. We stayed at a wonderful house that looks out over the waters of the San Juan Channel with Mt. Baker in […]
Family Reunion
We did it! 40 of us came together in my Kirkland, Washington home this summer for a long-awaited family reunion. Children and grandchildren, sisters and brothers, nieces and nephews came from New Mexico, Arizona, Florida, California, and even from Berlin, Germany to celebrate. For me, a sun-lit moment occurred when my granddaughter, 2 year-old Anika […]
Backyard Campfire
This week we had a fire in my rose garden. Really. My grandkids (Josh, 4 and Amanda, 6) asked me, “Grandma can we make a fire in the backyard and roast marshmallows?” And I, good grandmother that I am, agreed. First we had to find a safe place to build it. There was a nice […]
Hang On To the Leash!
Last night I saw a dog walking himself.Really. I was strolling along in our local park just before sunset when a Golden Lab trotted by me, one end of his leash properly attached to his collar, the other end neatly folded between his teeth. There was no master-type person in sight. I watched, transfixed, as […]
Opening the Gift
Today is the Fourth Day of Christmas, and I am reflecting on all the lovely celebrations our family has had this past week. We started with my daughter Deb’s birthday on December 22cd, which we celebrated by attending the Nutcracker, the Pacific Northwest Ballet performance. This was a special gift since my 7-year-old grandson Weston […]
Soaring with The Eagles
Wow! It’s been a long time since I’ve posted a blog, though many of you have been following my adventures in Alaska via Facebook. I just arrived home from this amazing trip Thursday night, and my mind and heart are still filled with vast and startling images of Denali and Kenai Peninsula. My overall favorite […]
Writing in the San Juans: A New Start
Here I am in Friday Harbor, with 5 of my favorite friends: Judy Bodmer,Nancy White Carlstrom, Katherine Grace Bond, Janet Lee Carey, and Dawn Knight. Together we are mighty: the Diviners Writing Group. Each week on Tuesdays, we meet for an afternoon of reading and critiquing each other’s work. We laugh together, cry together, and turn […]
Analog has not dead yet
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A train to remember
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