Category: reflection
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A rant on finding a writing craft book…
I have four physical writing craft books on my desk and a to-be-read pile of 10-15 books in every room of my house. And this month, I am reading my unsolicited submission pile while overseeing a ridiculous amount of summer releases from my brand. (But as I see the first…
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When the satire feels real
We are all familiar with that old cliché about life imitating art. The recent political and legal controversy about the president’s deployment of the National Guard in California eerily echoes the constitutional crisis depicted in my novel, Splintered River. In the novel, the ambiguities in the Constitution about command of…
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He will always be my princess
In late fall 2019, my neighbor discovered that a stray cat in the neighborhood had crawled under her porch and given birth to kittens. My daughter set out to trap them, and we fairly quickly brought home the runt. It was Christmas season and the Judi Dench version of Cats was in…
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Networking & Relationships
I periodically submit writing articles to Hippocampus Magazine. I often draft them when I have an idea and send them to the editor who makes a little stock pile in her electronic filing cabinet. Earlier this week, they published another of my essays: Now What? How Patience & Building Relationships Can Pay…
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Poetry Rocks!
A while ago Art Director Gayle Hendricks (who teaches graphic design at Northampton Community College) asked me if I wanted to join her for a poetry walk. These were the details: All are welcome to enjoy a unique experience blending nature, poetry, and mindfulness at the Bethlehem campus’ beautiful acreage,…
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Jill Peters speaks to GLVWG
Jill Peters, one of the early presidents of the Greater Lehigh Valley Writers Group, spoke to the organization Saturday April 26 about team writing and working on the book Hear Us Out: Six Questions About Belonging and Belief (Fortress Press, 2023). She approached the group with wisdom and charisma, and…
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The Magnificent Storm
Last night, the Lehigh Valley of Pennsylvania had a magnificent thunderstorm— the kind that shook the house, flashed lots of lightning and sent pounding rain into every open window. As the cacophony abounded, I soaked in the storm (pun intended) from the safety of my bedroom. My cats and Goffin’s…
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Reflections on a Battle between Bookshop.org and Amazon.com
I’m thinking about how the world keeps changing. Now I’m not putting a judgment on that reality, but as I approach my 50th birthday in May I have reached that age where the experiences I cherish the most are very different from what happens in my everyday life now. Small…
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Poet Palooza 3
Thank you to everyone who attended Poet Palooza 3 at downtown Easton’s Book & Puppet Company with representatives from other local presses and publications, including Darrell Parry of Stick Figure Poetry. The evening featured 16 local poets and a mini-workshop, and the bookstore itself has a money museum and art gallery. So here’s another reflection, applicable to readers…
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There is no art without story
As a journalist, I know there is always a story. If two people are in a room, I used to tell my interns and new reporters, there is a story. If a meeting gets canceled, there’s a story why. As humans, we cherish story. We may live in day-to-day routines but our entertainment,…
Parisian Phoenix Publishing 