a year-end life lesson

It seems that some of us are always trying to find our figurative home. Maybe for others, they always feel at home. I had written in my memoir, Under the Birch Tree, about making connections and discovering my self.  I wondered if my discoveries would continue though my story had come to an end with the publication of my book. [...]

2018-12-27T20:59:05+00:00December 27, 2018|Categories: life lessons, memoir, memoir writing|Tags: , , , , |

Go on, take a hike!

Photo by Pixabay on Pexels.com Our time is filled with input. We stare at screens of many kinds– desktop computers, laptops, phones, iPads, televisions – being inundated by someone else’s thoughts, a type of pre-programmed programming.  We become sedentary in body and in mind where our bodies cease to move through a sensory environment and our minds become [...]

How “aha” moments are your “becoming”

Michelle Obama’s recently released memoir, Becoming, has sold more than 2 million copies in 15 days. The number of copies sold in a short period of time did not surprise me. The long awaited release, characterized by preorder numbers and publicity, drove anticipation. Why were so many eager for the book to be in hand, to hold it as if [...]

Got autobiography but want memoir?

Photo by Pixabay on Pexels.com   I recently had an opportunity with the National Association of Memoir Writers (www.namw.org) to talk about my memoir, Under the Birch Tree and other points about writing my book. During this hour-long virtual book club, the topic was transforming autobiography to memoir. However, so many points to make in so little time, so thought [...]

is there noise in silence?

Photo by Oleksandr Pidvalnyi on Pexels.com When recently rifling through a slush pile of started-but-never-finished blog posts, I came across one I remembered where noise in silence appeared to be the topic. I thought about what is silence and the absence of it.  Are we ever really in a state of silence? I thought I'd pick up where [...]

mindful connecting

The warm foundation walls contract with a bang and a clatter and then a snap from cooling after the furnace kicks off. The sound effects, intermittent with varying degrees of volume and consistency, interrupt an otherwise silence that is characteristic of most days. The stillness and quiet seemingly overpower any audible interruption making me feel as if I am suspended [...]

Book the Year?

Just when I considered Under the Birch Tree and I to have fallen into a lull after our publication, launch, and events, I am excited to share news with you! Under the Birch Tree is up for Book of the Year at OnlineBookClub.org! Rated 4 out of 4 stars, Under the Birch Tree has been reviewed as " . . . [...]

What’s in a surname, anyway?

As a youngster, my DNA was evident through my green eyes, light brown hair with a cowlicked plume of honey-streaked hair just above my right eye. Could these physical traits have been carried down the DNA ladder? I recently did one of those DNA tests to find out about my ancestry. With a Polish mother and an English father, I [...]

2018-09-19T20:25:23+00:00September 19, 2018|Categories: ancestry, home, memoir writing|Tags: , , , |

Transitioning: book publication to post pub

Your book was published. You cold called indie bookstores and libraries, sent email inquiries to venues for author events, you met up with writing groups, friends, co-workers, fellow writing colleagues, you solicited book reviews and book awards. Publicity and book tours. There was always something to do. Perhaps some authors have no discernable transition because it’s a “business as usual” [...]

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