Feb 5, 2021Neighbors' Noise - Part 1Flora opened her door and there stood Mrs. Savellini frowning in the frozen morning. “It’s your responsibility to shovel the sidewalk,...
Jan 29, 2021NewThe writer opens her journal. It’s new, brand new, and hand-crafted of real leather with her name stamped on the cover. It was a gift for...
Jan 22, 2021Fiction on IceEzra’s eyes follow the lines that look like seafoam green waves. Warm periwinkles and grays mix into the pattern, but it never moves....
Jan 15, 2021Hope Along the WayEdward Tulane is an unlikely friend. He doesn’t have a heart. Even though he means the world to Abilene, the girl who considers this toy...
Jan 8, 2021Celestina and the StorybookThe cat’s glowing eyes followed Celestina as she flapped her green wings and circled the room. Darkness surrounded the tiny dragon except...
Jan 1, 2021A Slow Reader and a Snowy RoadI pondered over the title, “Resolution Road,” for January 1st, with a clean, fresh path stretching ahead. When I snapped the photo on my...
Dec 18, 2020Tracing the LightThe clearance sign caught his attention, and he turned toward it. On a table lay a dozen or so ornaments, discounted with yellow...
Dec 11, 2020Lamplight and a HookI entered Charles Dickens' world of Victorian London with a lengthy audiobook that's taken more than a year to finish. The reader of this...
Dec 4, 2020Fiction on a FridayHere's a short story I wrote titled, "Savannah's Gravity and Grace." It came from a writing prompt from the writers' group I belong to,...
Nov 27, 2020After the HarvestI walked in an Iowa cornfield looking for leftover scraps. Whole, dried corncobs deter squirrels from climbing onto our bird feeder, so I...
Nov 20, 2020Not Intended for the MouseThe mouse nibbled three holes and out spilled birdseed. I couldn’t blame him for wanting both food and warmth. But with masking tape I...
Nov 13, 2020For the Fine-Point PaintbrushOther writers publish their books and have their stories read. The world tweets about it and buzzes with their words. I stand at a fork...
Nov 6, 2020Three French Hens and How They Made Her LaughI used to write about chickens. My mom had a coop full of fancy, French hens and they became characters in books I would create for her...
Oct 30, 2020A Tree to Write Home AboutThe Secret Garden movie, released in August 2020, offers colorful landscapes and snapshots from Frances Hodgson Burnett’s original story...
Oct 23, 2020A Pumpkin Patch of WordsIf our words – those said aloud, written down, or typed out – sat lined up like pumpkins in a field to be picked, what would they...
Oct 16, 2020Revisions from a Writers' GroupOn Monday, I made revisions to my blog post from last Friday after a lady in my local writers’ group offered feedback. When I attempted...
Oct 9, 2020Mud and MetaphorsThe shore stretched out where the water usually flowed. After a long, dry summer, the river sank low. Now the autumn winds made it choppy...
Oct 2, 2020Thanks to TolkienThe thickest fiction book on our shelf doubles as a heavy-paged place to press leaves and flowers. Especially during this time of year,...
Sep 25, 2020Snail MailA lady in my writers’ group writes poetry and narrative with brilliant imagery about her childhood growing up in Iowa. But during the...
Sep 18, 2020Suzy-Grace Hears a Song on the RadioIn The Staircase of Suzy-Grace, Suzy hears a song on the radio. Here's how it fits into the story I wrote: after listening to the words,...