That's how long I've been alive. And thinking of it in days really changes my perspective. It makes me realize how very important ...

It's a strange thing writing a book. We create characters we grow to really love, and sometimes that makes it hard for us to do all the...

Hello! So happy you're here!! You know what's great about a new house? All that POTENTIAL, right there, waiting for you to realize...

Yes, what you may have suspected is actually true: I hear voices. And being a writer, I am fond of creating analogies to describe those vo...

We've all heard the old adage, "be careful what you wish for." Well. I've been wishing for my edits, and now I'm bur...

For those of you who love to read, we've got an interview series going on over at the Odyssey . In the past week, three new books from ...

So I've been working on this article for a local paper on National Poetry Month (April) and why poetry is so important and wonderful and...

Last night I attended the reading/release party for the latest issue of Birmingham Arts Journal, graciously hosted by the Birmingham Public ...

Nobody tells you when you're just starting out as a writer just how much you will change and your manuscript will change and your outloo...

My friend Suzanne and I have got it all figured out: Poetry is Feline Prose is Canine Think about it: the cat shows up when it wants to. S...

So Kirie, whom I completely adore, over at 3 Little Chickies , tagged me for this fun little romp through the photo files. Instructions are...

Someone told me once that there are three parts of a book: the beginning, the end, and everything in between. Trouble is, you can't get...

Last night as I was at the stove trying to make magic with chicken and onions, my father called, from the hospital, where he has been since ...

As Oscar nominations are set to be announced in just a few minutes, I wanted to share this little bit of trivia I recently read: Actors who...

How do you judge a book? I mean, when you walk into a bookstore and pull a book from the shelf, what is it about the book that ultimately m...

Yesterday my friend Teresa sent me to Nathan Bransford's blog where guest blogger Adrienne Kress answers the above question . And it go...

So you're asking yourself, do I really need an agent? All I can do to answer this question is share my own experience. When I started re...

First Day of Winter “All secrets are witnessed.”- Barbara Kingsolver Somewhere glaciers that haven’t moved for hundreds of years shift ever ...

1. I am so inspired by this jar of buttons. The glass was a gift from my mother (it originally held daylilies from her garden), and the bu...

You know, sometimes it's the little things in life that put a little bounce in my step. Like ABC's The Bachelor. Yes, this is my n...

So, thanks to fellow Tenner Kay Cassidy (whose YA book THE CINDERELLA SOCIETY sounds awesome!) I've been thinking about goals. What do I...

So I've been thinking about this word thing. Last year, JOY came right to me, without thought or consideration. I knew instantly it was...

Welcome, 2009! Bring me what you've got. I am here, ready with my crisp calendar and fresh appointment book and reams of white paper. ...

Check out my 10ers post on self-help for writers . "Our greatest glory is not in never failing, but in rising up every time we fail....

New Year's Eve 1988 11:58 on the clock-face so you pulled over to the side of Bradford Road cheeks glowing green heat humming eyes never...

Happy day before! "I like to compare the holiday season with the way a child listens to a favorite story. The pleasure is in the famili...

Einstein's Daughter Had she been clock or apple, compass or moving train, perhaps Einstein would have loved her. Had she been mysterious...

How's this for a non-holiday image? Thank you, Lynn, for sending it my way. Don't get me wrong, I love the warm family aspects of t...

I am thrilled and honored to find two of my poems in the December issue of Glass , which also includes poems by such poets as Anuja Ghimire,...

My Dress Hangs There – after the painting by Frida Kahlo When the maid asks, must you leave New York so soon? I ...

Don't you love it when someone knows you so very well that they can hear a song and be absolutely certain that you will adore it? And t...

This weekend it was my great honor to spend some time with Tinnie Pettway, one of the famous quilters from Gee's Bend who has authored a...

I spent yesterday in Montgomery tucked away in a private dining room with writing students from Booker T. Washington Magnet High School and ...

Here's a wet picture for a wet day, thanks to my lovely sister Lynn. It just so happens that we were together the day she took this one...

First, a confession: I've never been a big fan of Alice's Adventures in Wonderland . Book or movie. Until now. See, my novel E...

And There Was an Orange Moon Last night I waited six hours for the sound of your key in the door my body curled in a tight ball and I though...

1. I'm hungry. Was Thanksgiving really just yesterday? 2. It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas 'round these parts. Al...

The very best part of getting a blog award is passing it on. And as soon as Kirie sent it my way, I knew instantly who I wanted to send it ...

Many thanks to the lovely Kirie at 3 Little Chickies for giving me this award! Kirie is an amazing woman who is a mom and artist -- and she...

Well... I didn't hate it exactly but I sure didn't love it. The best part was being a part of such excitement. You should have seen...

Okay, for those of you who don't know, I have two favorite poets: Mary Oliver and Sharon Olds. So when I found out Sharon Olds was goin...

Letter from Malta - with thanks to Raymond Carver This is the letter I was going to write earlier but didn’t because I was watching an airpl...

Let's get the rejections out of the way first: Rattle and Indiana Review. Sigh. I sent them my best work and still, I'm just not ...