Sometimes my times in darkness shape me just as much as my times in the light. Depression is like a deep sleepwalk, a fog cutting me off from seeing the world like I once used to. I can’t touch or sense things the same way. I’m trapped in a sleep/death. Sleeping Beauty lay in a dreamless prison for a hundred years. Snow White ate a poisoned…
And now for something completely different! I took this week off of my official writing schedule. Still kept busy with various projects and ideas, but released myself from the strict routine I normally adhere to. In it's place, I planned one fun thing for each day of the week, and had a delightful turn out. Saturday: I went to the Renaissance Faire in my area, dressed…
Today it is my great pleasure to introduce you to Natalie Soldano. Natalie and I met through our husbands, and we share an interesting commonality: Natalie and I are both English majors who married engineers. Her husband and my husband are close friends, and inevitably Natalie and I found plenty to talk, laugh, and cry about (all quite normal in the life of writers!). I love…
As I left my house a few mornings ago, I noticed one trailing vine of clematis, fallen across my path. The other blossoms on my plant had long since withered, but this vine bore thick, velvety, flowers – late arrival beauties. My garden is teaching me about life. I can only water it in early morning or late evening, away from the busy hum of the…
This week's had some highs and lows for me. Lows: a bout of depression that forced me to cancel all commitments and reassess. Highs: camping with my best friend and my husband by Diablo Lake. The lake was the temperature of glacier melt--in my humble, screaming opinion--but it felt incredible after a long, sweaty hike. Another high: getting beers with two very dear friends who helped…
"Now that she's in a relationships, I never see her." Sound familiar? My new post on the touchy topic of friends feeling abandoned after someone gets into a romantic relationship is up on SheKnows. Most of us have felt this pain, from one angle or another, and it sucks. But we often forget that when it's our turn to get all mushy and kissy-face, we do…
I don’t consider myself a particularly “material girl,” and though I love beauty, fashion, and color, I’m more of a saver than a spender. But all that melted when I saw The Dress. Waves of silky garnet, the swish and sweep of fabric designed for a dancer… It cost as much as ten regular dresses. It was a queen’s gown, a victor’s laurel wreath. I vowed…
This week, in honor of the music theme of my Monday post, I’m selecting some favorite songs that describe my week and state of mind. If you click to the YouTube videos, I suggest not watching the videos with them (the images ruin the magic for me, personally) but if you listen to them, you’ll get a soundtrack for my week. I am the Luckiest, Ben…
Today I introduce you to my good friend Will. We originally met through a shared love of swing dancing. Later, after I graduated college and he went on to grad school in journalism, we collided at a mutual friend's writing group. Will’s sense of humor and devotion to uplifting, encouraging, and supporting his friends makes him a magnetic leader. He constantly strives to make everyone laugh…
I'm in a video! A writer friend who I met on Twitter, Imran Siddiq (@flickimp) invited me to be part of this fun video project. We all sent in clips of ourselves that were five seconds long, describing what kind of writer we were. I'm at the :51 mark. It's fun to see all the different ways that people portrayed themselves. I think I talk really…