I recently heard a lecture on interior design and how it links to our personalities as well as our mental health. Hrmmm, I can't say my gut reaction was particularly positive. “I’m in a group of new moms, listening to someone tell me that I need to make my house a lovely, aesthetic piece of art so that I can feel more at peace when I'm…
I love to make everyone happy. Now I reread that sentence and mentally insert “which is impossible” to the end of it. That’s the only way the sentence can be consistently true. I strive for the impossible. I love my family and friends passionately. I am an active member of my communities. And yet it’s delusional to tell myself that I can satisfy every social expectation…
It’s a good day to live in Seattle. This is not breaking news, but the Seattle Seahawks have made their mark as Super Bowl champions and my hometown has erupted in frenzied ecstatic cheering. A few weeks ago, the news of a victory parade downtown made me shudder—large crowds=stampede, death and mayhem in my mind. Perhaps I was raised by protective parents (okay, fine, I was…
I'm astonished I never saw the bias before. I didn't realize how hard it truly is to thrive as an introvert in American society. Reading the book Quiet by Susan Cain has deeply impacted my thoughts on the subject. I wrote about my initial reactions here, as a guest post on my publisher's website. Read my post on Quiet Power.
When I mix up my right and left hands, we all chuckle. When I mix up the brake and gas pedals while parking, someone loses their cool. More accurately, that someone losing their cool is me: I’m pounding my steering wheel with both fists, swearing and half-hissing half-wailing because I’ve hit the gas while trying to hit the brake, and all because I thought my Honda…
This week, I'm reviving the Friday Five where I briefly detail five things I've learned about life this week. 1. We learn to laugh in stages. I didn't know this was part of human development, but we actually don't laugh all at once! Right now, when I tickle George's belly, he gives off a couple grunts. He's not at the "peals of laughter" stage. It's hilarious…
December. My baby’s four month anniversary. Christmas rush. Maternal exhaustion. Guilt has no place here. It’s really the last thing I need. Outside my home, the frost sheaths the brave blades of grass that raise their heads. Inside my home, Christmas lights offer no warmth as I weep and share two huge, aching desires in my heart: to be a mother to my beautiful son and…
I surface. I blink in the watery, clear light of autumn. I cradle a small warm bundle of life in my arms and hear him cry for attention, love, and food. The reason for my long absence from this blog was the birth of my son, George Liam Stephens. He arrived early on August 1st, and my life has turned head over heels: In love. In…
“Where do you get your ideas?” The questioner lowers his raised hand, glad that I called on him. His eager eyes are glowing. I say something about song lyrics and scraps of conversation that have sparked story ideas for me. But, just once, I’d like to answer: Well, there’s this special access pass to the Great Ideas Warehouse that they give you when you graduate with…
I wrote a guest post that Forever Young Adult picked up for their SmartyPants column. Since I have two twin siblings at the core of my new novel, Forecast, I thought an exploration of other sibling relationships in young adult literature would be fun. I picked two of my favorites: Katniss and Prim from The Hunger Games trilogy and Sam and Patrick from The Perks of…