Winners and finalists are determined on a basis of superior written matter coupled with excellent presentation in every facet of the final published product.
Books
3 Ways to Enjoy the Givingness of Life
I was standing at my kitchen sink this morning, washing dishes and looking at an affirmation card I have stuck on my refrigerator that says the givingness of life never leaves me. It got me thinking.
First, I wondered, is “givingness” even a word? I looked it up and yes, it is, except in the Scrabble dictionary. I’m not sure what the Hasbro company has against givingness, but the more I focus on it, the happier I feel.
Will Your Story Chain You or Set You Free?
On an ordinary Tuesday night in December, two weeks before Christmas, my husband of twelve years asked me to join him at the table, where he sat with a piece of paper and two fingers of scotch in front of him. He had three things to tell me: 1. He’d had an affair shortly after our marriage. 2. He’d been using escorts on business trips. 3. He was leaving me for someone he’d met and known for one day in Las Vegas.
Not Naughty, But Nice: How to Co-Exist With Your Kids’ Stepmother
My ex-husband and his new wife were a picture-perfect couple. So much so that they were photographed for the cover of Crain’s Chicago Business magazine. They were featured in an article about how stepparents are either relegated to support status or simply invisible.
But his new wife wasn’t invisible. She was posed with him and our three children on the front steps of my house—sorry, now their house—as if she had lived there for more than two months, as if she had been mothering my children for years. She was being interviewed because she started a support group for other women like her.
When There Are No Words
I’m so grateful for the friends, old and new, who came to my book signing at Women and Children First Bookstore! I was especially surprised to see a few faces I had not seen in fifteen or twenty years; the spark of recognition in meeting again was indescribable.
That’s what it’s all about, isn’t it? A spark of recognition.
I write in pursuit of it. I read in search of it. I connect with friends for the joy of it.
HELP is Not a Four-Letter Word
It was just past 6:30 and the party started at 7:00. There were boxes of books and tablecloths and candles and wine to be unloaded, food to be unpacked and beautifully arranged, microphones and music and smartphones to hook up.
There was a lot to do to prepare the rented space for my book launch celebration party and not much time to do it.
Memories Light the Corners of My Mind
Last night, I got up at 2:30 am to get a drink of water. For some mysterious reason, I suddenly remembered a gift I’d received more than twenty years ago. A work colleague gave my fiance and me an early wedding present; it was a water decanter with matching glasses that had the words ‘his’ and ‘hers’ etched on them. They must have struck us, in our arrogant twenties, as old-fashioned because we made fun of them and gave them away.
I’ve always been ashamed of that.
Making Friends With Confusion and Uncertainty
I have no idea what to write.
As I was thinking about today’s blog, these were the only words running through my mind. I don’t know, I don’t know, I don’t know.
It made me realize that I’ve been saying this a lot lately. I was at a gathering recently with other She Writes Press authors and one woman asked me how I was feeling about my upcoming book release.
My Journey to Publication (and Your Face at the Finish Line!)
Seeing the groups of runners along the lake training for next month’s Chicago Marathon has brought back memories of my own brief experience as a marathon runner.
More than a decade ago I took on the challenge of completing the Chicago Marathon, and it was one of the hardest things I’ve ever done. My IT band began burning before I hit the halfway mark, and the pain had me ready to give up in the last mile. I needed to be screamed at, pushed, and nearly carried in order to cross the finish line.
When Your Ex Has The Picture Perfect Life Without You
My ex-husband and his new wife were a picture-perfect couple. So much so that they were photographed for the cover of Crain’s Chicago Business magazine. They were featured in an article about how stepparents are supposedly either relegated to support status or are simply invisible.
But his new wife wasn’t invisible. She posed with him and our three children on the front steps of my house — sorry, now their house— as if she had lived there for more than two months.
