So here’s the thought process: A friend recommended I change the name “Maisie” of Maisie’s List to something a little easier on the ear. Viewing a list of popular names around 1980, when the character was born, I came across “Christy.” I have a friend named Christy whom I love a lot, and who serves…
I always worry that my novels are too short. Soul Lost is my longest at 81,000 words, but Megan is much shorter, only 47,000. A book that has not yet seen the light of day, The People of the Green Hills, is more epic in my mind, but on paper it is only 67,000 words.…
One of the things I love about my sons as adults is that they are now the teachers, and I truly enjoy learning from them. Currently my younger son is teaching me about alternative rock, and I’m loving it. Context: I’m working on a new book with a working title of “Maisie’s List.” The protagonist is…
I saw Beauty and the Beast yesterday, and–Wow!–I love it. I have to say that as immersed as I was in the story, periodically I was reminded of Harry Potter, and I wondered if Emma Watson noticed the similarities as she was making the movie. The castle (particularly the castle. Didn’t it look like Hogwarts?), the…
I carry an angel in my pocket. She is made of pink quartz, about 1 1/2 inches long. One night she fell out of my pocket onto the bathroom floor and the upper end of her left wing broke off. I was devastated because she is my worry stone, good luck charm, and the all…
My conversations with my boys have taken a more philosophical tone this year, and they have covered ideas from what it means to be human to the nature of truth. We agree on many things but on many others we do not. One thing we cannot agree on is the nature of love. They hold that…
Did you get the allusion? Fahoo Fores Dahoo Dores Welcome Christmas Come this way Fahoo Fores Dahoo Dores Welcome Christmas, Christmas day Welcome, welcome fahoo ramus Welcome, welcome dahoo damus Christmas day is in our grasp, So long as we have hands to clasp. It’s our buddy, the Grinch! Narrator: And what happened, then? Well,…
