It’s one of my expressions. I use it often and it usually makes the person who asked the question smile. It usually goes something like this: Question: Do you want dessert? Answer: Have you met me? It basically means, of course and, duh, if you really knew me you wouldn’t be asking that question at all. Throughout my life I’ve been told that I’m an open book. I know I wear my heart on my sleeve and it’s hard for me to hide how I’m feeling from people close to me. It’s okay too. It hasn’t always … [Read more...]

Every couple of months I meet my aunt for lunch. We meet at the same place (1/2 way between our homes) and for years we’ve ordered the same thing. All of that recently changed when they started to list the calories on the menu, and now I order an unsweetened ice tea and a crab cake because it’s a healthy (healthier) choice. The point of lunch, though, isn’t really to get a healthy meal. It’s really to get a healthy mind. My aunt is a therapist and these lunches usually play out with her … [Read more...]

What started as a simple desire to de-clutter lead to an epiphany. Seriously. I was cleaning out my home office today because I’m giving it a facelift. I want a better place to write and a better place to be inspired. I want new paint, some new artwork, a new comfy chair and less “stuff”. I started on the filing cabinets and accordion files and was amazed at how much paperwork I've actually saved over the years. In my quest for order, I have been forced to acknowledge that there is no need for … [Read more...]

I claim to read all types of books but the truth is, book for book, I don't read a lot of non-fiction. I've never really thought about why that is, but if I had to guess, I'd say it’s because most people's real life stories aren't that interesting to me. There are exceptions of course. Off the top of my head, I loved The Glass Castle by Jeanette Walls, Eat Pray Love by Elizabeth Gilbert, Tuesday's with Morrie by Mitch Albom and Angela's Ashes by Frank McCourt. I admire these authors for putting … [Read more...]

I was out to lunch with my husband today when I noticed two older couples sitting at the tables around us. One couple was sitting next to each other and the other was sitting across from each other.  Because I have romance on the brain, it made me think: which seating arrangement is more romantic? Is it better to sit next to each other, or is being across from each other and being able to look into each other’s eyes better? I couldn’t decide so I asked my husband. He said sitting next to each … [Read more...]

Music has always played an important role in my life, so it's not coincidental that I made it relevant in my first novel, Stay. When writing a novel, especially one in the first person, it’s so important to get into your character’s head and “feel” what they are feeling. Music helped me do that. When I wrote about how afraid Alexa was to fall in love with Julian and why, the words from “Again” by Needtobreathe guided my writing. I in turn let her use the words to explain to Julian how she was … [Read more...]