Tammy Letherer, Author at

Updated on October 28, 2014December 15, 20123 CommentsBlog

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 »

Updated on October 28, 2014November 2, 20126 CommentsBlog

Must Be Present to Win

I’ve been asked lately why the excerpts from my upcoming book have become erratic. Well, I’ve hit a wall, and rather than sit in stunned silence, I thought I’d offer this post as an update. There have been some pretty big bricks in my path. My dad died, and though we didn’t have much contact, …

Updated on May 27, 2016September 19, 2012Leave a CommentBlog

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.

Updated on December 18, 2014August 9, 2012Leave a CommentBlog

Unplugged

Sadly, my computer had to be taken to hospital today to undergo a scan. I’m told it’ll be all better by tomorrow, so please keep it in your prayers. This is bringing up some memories for me….when I was a kid my brother cut all my doll’s hair off and my mom said she was …

Updated on May 27, 2016July 2, 20121 CommentBlog

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.

Updated on September 30, 2014June 18, 20121 CommentBlog

Angel Therapy

I recently gave my first public reading, and somehow managed to stave off most of my fears until the morning of the event. That’s when the catastrophic thinking kicked in. What if no one shows? What if too many people show? What if my tongue gets tied, my face turns red, my palms sweat, or …

Updated on May 27, 2016March 28, 2012Leave a CommentBlog

I am an Author

I’m sitting in a room with 25 fourth graders and we are all shouting, “I am an author! I have something to say!” I have goosebumps. I’m much older than 10 and have written a novel, but never in my life have I shouted those words. Call me a slow learner. Add to that humbled volunteer. I’m a writing coach at an Open Books literacy field trip; my group and I have just spent 2 hours learning about character and creating our own from a photo of a nondescript brunette twenty-something. The kids decide she is Anna, a fashion designer in New York City with an on-again-off-again boyfriend. She’s trying to pay off student loans and doesn’t know if she can afford to stay in the city.

Tammy Letherer

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