Showing: 242 Articles

Hello Loved Ones

It’s 1968 in Holland, Michigan, and Sally Van Sloeten wants to know why her father doesn’t love her. Her mother, sister, and brother call her dad a deadbeat and never want to see him again, but Sally vows to find him in time for a Father/Daughter banquet, even if it means running away with a gas station attendant named Cash. She doesn’t care that her brother Lenny was arrested for breaking Cash’s nose. She won’t let Lenny’s explosive temper stand in her way, and she’s too preoccupied to wonder what has him so angry. All she knows is that she has to be like the other girls, whether it’s at the banquet or in the front seat of Cash’s car. But as Sally realizes her dream, her mother reveals a painful secret that sends her spinning out of control.

Finishing Touch – Writing/Editing Support

Are you writing and re-writing the same sentence until you start to question what language you speak?

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‘Rewrite Your Life’ Sessions

Have you ever given advice and later realized that you were “speaking in your own ear?” The beauty of language is that the words you choose are encoded with all the answers you seek. Somewhere along the line you may have stopped hearing your own inner wisdom. You may use words or phrases that subtly undermine your true essence and desires. You may tell stories that keep you stuck in the past, or operate from scripts that were handed to you long before you knew your own character.

My Children’s Book Funded on Kickstarter!

It’s so exciting to have this book funded in just 2 weeks, and it’s all thanks to you! I’m so grateful for the amazing support. LET’S KEEP IT GOING! Why overfund? As those who work with energy know, like attracts like, and good snowballs into better. Everyone loves a winner, and the satisfaction that comes with being part of a success story feels pretty good too. In this case, more money means fees and rewards are easily covered, and promotional materials can be produced, but more importantly, it makes the second book in the series possible.

Don’t Shoot the Messenger

(Originally posted in 2011. Re-posted in light of Connecticut school shooting.)

I come from a family of gun enthusiasts. My younger brother is a fire arms instructor in Iraq. My older brother, who lives in Atlanta, keeps a handgun tucked in his waistband. Even my 66-year-old mother is taking up arms, having just earned her permit to carry a concealed weapon in Michigan. Recently she held up her paper target for me to see — 2 bulls’ eyes! Her exuberance seemed to expect matching enthusiasm from me. …Read More »

Kids, Kramps and Kudos

Well it was a close one, waiting to see which would cave first, the Chicago Teachers Union, Mayor Rahm, or my sanity. After 7 glorious kid-filled, Norman Rockwell-esque strike days, the kids are back in school, and I have one less excuse to not be writing. Though there was that week of intense cramps, nausea, headaches and overall feminine maladies to remind me that no, I’m not getting any younger and that my hormones are, just like the teachers’ union, demanding more air conditioning and willing to shut down the system to get it.

Jesus Take the Wii

My 7-year-old daughter loves to sing, and she recently had a chance to sing in front of a small group at a recital. The performance seemed to melt away any remnants of self-consciousness and free her inner chanteuse, because since then she’s been belting out Adele and Katy Perry and even Rascal Flatts at home. The other day she turned on an old favorite – Carrie Underwood’s Jesus Take the Wheel. Every time she launches into the chorus I have to laugh, remembering how she used to think it was Jesus take the Wii.

Reserve Your Spot in My Writers Residency Program This Summer

👉 Enjoy dedicated writing space just steps from Lake Michigan
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