Published in Literature Lust·6 days agoDid Camels Actually Roam the American West? Read Inland, a Haunting StoryTeá Obreht’s novel — One of the best memories of my life is the night that I got to ride a camel over a section of the Gobi Desert outside of Xian, China. …Books7 min read
Published in Garden Glory·Jun 24Do You Need Sunshine for a Gorgeous Window box? Not On Your Life!Shamrocks and Bellflowers — For the past few years, I’ve tried flowers requiring part sun, part shade in the window box outside my office. But it’s on the back side of our house under a tree that gets bigger every year, casting more shade every day. …Flowers3 min read
Published in The Writing Cooperative·Jun 22Want a “Real” Writing Career? Build an Oeuvre Like Great Writers Before YouFocus on the long-term — Short-term vs long-term writers I have never been fast at anything. I think about things. Worry about the details. Focus on the process. I laugh — or, depending on the day — I SNARL when I read about people who can write a blog post in twenty minutes. For me, that kind of supersonic…Careers6 min read
Published in Garden Glory·Jun 22An Early Summer Bouquet You Might Need TodayBecause pink is a great spirit-lifter — Fresh flowers make me smile. Their colors, shapes, and scents just do something good for my soul. One of the joys of flower gardening is that you can create bouquets and bring them into the house, or create them for people who need a pick-me-up. …Flowers3 min read
Published in Garden Glory·Jun 17Why Bee Balm Is a Good Thing for Your Garden (and the World!)Five reasons to plant — Bee Balm is a common plant, indigenous to the Eastern United States, and it’s great for flower gardeners. It is actually “Monarda,” a member of the mint family, and it comes in reds, purples, pinks, and whites. If you don’t have Bee Balm already, then you might want to consider…Gardening5 min read
Published in Be Open·Jun 177 Interesting Facts About Father’s Day You Might Not KnowThe result of one daughter’s mission — ONE: A particular man was the inspiration for Father’s Day William Jackson Smart was quite a guy. He fought for both sides of the Civil War. (Yes. Both sides.) Born in Arkansas in 1842, William Smart enlisted in the Confederate Army and drove a supply wagon for the “Rebels” until the Northern Army captured him in 1862 at the Battle…Fathers Day4 min read
Published in The Writing Cooperative·Jun 17Want an Easy Way to Promote Your Book? Here’s One Surefire, Cheap TacticVisuals work — The perennial question: how to promote your book By 2017, self-published books had increased to more than 1 million titles, and that number has grown dramatically in the last five years. The exponential increase of books has created an oft-lamented problem: How do authors of small press or self-published books draw attention to their books? How do you…Marketing4 min read
Published in Literature Lust·Jun 8Want a Chilling Account of the Civil War and Its Devastating Aftermath?Read This Scorched Earth — A different kind of Civil War novel Forty years ago, I read John Jake’s North and South trilogy about the Civil War. Before then, I read Margaret Mitchell’s Gone with the Wind and went SEVEN times to watch the film at the local dollar theater with my best junior-high- school friend, Sandy Budd. But I can’t remember…Civil War6 min read
Published in Garden Glory·Jun 5Why a Traditional Window Box May Be Perfect For Your HomeFive Practical (and Pretty) Reasons — You can never have too many flowers! Call us old-fashioned, but both Bill and I think that traditional window boxes filled with flowers are a beautiful accent to a home. Every spring, I plant my baby plants in the window boxes under our kitchen windows, waiting expectantly for them to fill out. …Home5 min read
Published in Literature Lust·Jun 4How the Novel “Black Widows” Uses Polygamy, Murder, and POV to Spin a Stunning StoryCate Quinn’s book — One man, three wives, shunned and living in an isolated desert. What could possibly go wrong? Cate Quinn’s 2021 novel, Black Widows, is a dark mystery-thriller. Really dark. Various reviewers called it “tantalizing and troubling,” a “brilliantly twisted crime novel,” and “a tense portrayal of an unconventional family.” Termed “domestic noir,” Black Widows is a novel you won’t forget, even if you’re troubled by it.Books4 min read