White Orchid
White Orchid : Flourishing in tropical heat, petals pink, splotched, violet, pale or bright, none can compare to simply white.
100 Words on Travelers with no shoes
100 Words on Travelers with no shoes : Skin stretched against concrete where normally shoes stride protecting feet from all sorts of things like gum & street debris. These brave soles are travelers with no shoes for a good cause in Amsterdam as Participants of the One Day Without Shoes event. Sponsored by Toms shoes,  “One for One” global giving program, they have donated 2 million pairs of shoes to children in over 50 countries. One has to admire those up for the challenge of barefoot walking & the company that gives. Which is why this 100 words is dedicated to all those little feet, here’s the link!
Stained – a novel
Stained – a novel : Had I of known each woman would forever leave her mark, change me with her sorrows and joys I might have passed. After all I have been a therapist for twenty years. Little could be said that I had not already heard in some form or another. And yet, with them each revelation touched my heart as though for the first time. Of course I am getting ahead of myself. I sometimes do. – Idona (A Character)*  *Snippet from Stained by Teresa Little
Angelic Fire
Angelic Fire : If ever one needed proof that we are just a cog in the greater wheel of the Universe, just look up. The stars say it all.    

Book Review – Prince Of Tides

Posted on by — Leave a reply

It isn’t often that the two halves of my soul (the reader and the writer) agree on a book’s worth and find something different to admire in the process. Yet this is exactly what Pat Conroy accomplished with The Prince of Tides. I’ve seen the movie, it’s old, and it is one that has always stuck with me. To date I think it is one of the best performances I’ve ever seen by Nick Nolte. His chemistry with Barbara Streisand “Lowenstein” by the end, just gets ya. So here is what I loved as a reader: Conroy pulled me in immediately. Tom Continue Reading →

Goodreads Book Challenge

Posted on by — Leave a reply

This year I’m seven  four books behind on my Goodreads challenge. What I lack are not books, it’s time. Stephen King will tell you to spend every spare second reading. As a kid I did. Books kept me from being bored but now with 24-hour access to the world via practically any electronic device, on demand TV, games, life, the lost cyber hole of social media, I’m lucky to read in binge fits between my favorite TV shows. All the greats tell you to read your genre and read widely. Stephen King says he reads an average of 70 to Continue Reading →

Universally Approved

Posted on by — Leave a reply

I use an affirmation deck – The Universe Has Your Back by Gabrielle Bernstein. Normally I pull a card or two, smile, and continue on my day. For whatever reason on this particular day I pulled 5 cards in this exact order. It was fitting at the time. Still is. So I thought I’d share. I find a deeper meaning and personal growth amid the discomfort. Attack, pain, fear, judgement and any form of separation are merely calls for help. When I lean on the Faith of the Universe, peace becomes real. I create mindful moments throughout the day, reminding myself Continue Reading →

The Good Earth – Book Review

Posted on by — Leave a reply

Some books sweep you away and the reasons you love them jump off the page. After reading The Good Earth, it’s hard to say what captured me. Of course, it is a classic. A Pulitzer Prize winner. The writing holds up. It is still rich, simple, and beautiful, with an effortless flow from beginning to end. However when I finished the book, I couldn’t say what the ‘It’ factor was that grabbed me. There was no gush, no excitement, no explanation for why I wanted to read Sons (the second in the trilogy) or why in the billions of books Continue Reading →

100 on Pain

Posted on by — Leave a reply

It slides, slipping degree by degree down that slippery slope. A dark diamond, exquisite, tear shaped, catching light along this fiery plight. The pain so ripe, showing me how blood blossoms in beads. Jagged edges, little nicks, cutting flesh, leaving scars upon the heart. Strange how fragile the pain, an elixir of tears in crystal drops. So much more weighty than joy. It wears me low. I crave only dark, a place to shut my eyes. I’m so tired. Vibrating through my nerves, the pain reminds me I am alive. Even here, caught in a landslide, I can still feel.

Binge Worthy – Under The Dome

Posted on by — Leave a reply

Sometimes you need a break. Ben (protag in current work in progress is sliding into a darkness of his own and well, writing said darkness, it really hasn’t been much fun. So despite being so close to the proverbial end, I decided to be a sea slug. Three days of back to back Under The Dome and my couch. Since I’ve been chained to my desk or a book, please excuse my lateness to the party. Plus, if I am being honest, I wasn’t in the mood to watch the show. I read the books. Yeah, plural. So I thought Continue Reading →

Dreaded Red Ink

Posted on by — Leave a reply

I’ve been there and it wasn’t pretty. Think murder scene with lots of arterial spray. That’s how it felt too, like walking in and seeing my butchered baby twitching on the floor in its death throws. Each red line and critical review felt like a personal affront. Sorry. I can’t not take it personally. I mean really, how can I be detached? After countless hours spent pouring over each and every word, (maybe not every word), pulling out my hair and chewing pencils, worrying about plot, characters, living and breathing them for months (or years), this hot mess is all Continue Reading →

100 on Used Books

Posted on by — Leave a reply

Like any book nerd, I’m constantly searching for good books. My favorite place of perusal are used bookstores. The real kind with paperbacks shoved in piles against walls and stuffed on copious shelves that one gets lost between. The slight musty hint of paper/glue lingering in the air. Back in the day, there were no benches, comfy couches, or coffee. Only nooks to lean in and floors to sit on. Books there had dog eared pages, well-worn covers and bent spines attesting to other people’s empty love affairs. I rescued as many as I could before Kindle.   **Thank you Bookworm Continue Reading →

Falling for the Written Word

Posted on by — Leave a reply

I was a goner at my first introduction. There was something magical about opening and closing a book, even if I was reading the same sentences again and again. Okay, the pictures helped and who doesn’t love Dr. Seuss or the Bernstein Bears? It only got worse from there. Newbery Award winners, classics, the ever popular and the tried and true, didn’t matter the genre, just that I could escape into another world. Borrowed library books, hand me downs, comics, even cereal boxes, I read them all. Yes, I fell hard and fast for the written word. The love affair Continue Reading →

Sharks Teeth

Posted on by — Leave a reply

Her toes dug into the sand. “I’m not going.” He didn’t hear her as he bent to pick up another shark’s tooth from amongst the broken shells littering the shoreline. They had been arguing now for the last ten minutes. “Here.” Ben said placing the small black tooth in her hand. Afraid of the words coming his way he quickly bent once more. They had been this way all summer. Him singing her praises and giving chase, her running away. Now that he had finally caught her, she was going away. Why sending her away with a bunch of sharks’ Continue Reading →