But only a very few… — We were worried, but we had hope. Orioles arrive On April 30th, we glimpsed our first Baltimore Oriole. Because of their absolutely stunning brilliant orange plumage, they are our favorite springtime arrival. Four days later, we saw our first pair of Orioles, a flashy male and his subdued — but gorgeous —…

Dog-eared and dear to me — Let me be clear. I think that the best way to be a writer is to write, all the time. Whenever you have a spare moment. To scribble in notebooks, on placemats, and index cards. To have an unapologetic love affair with your keyboard every day, caressing it while drafting…

An offering of scents and sentences… — “Spring shows what God can do with a drab and dirty world.” Winter is dull and dismal here, gray and dreary in central Illinois from November through March, and sometimes April. …

We’re anxiously awaiting their arrival — Anticipation Do you love Christmas and anxiously count down the days until it arrives? Have you ever been excited about an upcoming event, tight with anticipation? Yep. Us, too. We’re counting the days until the Baltimore Orioles arrive. Bill and I put out our jelly bowls two weeks ago. Our liquid…

Victor Lasalle’s 2023 novel — The hook A review of Victor LaValle’s new novel, Lone Women included this synopsis by publisher, Penguin-Random House: “Crafted by a modern master of magical suspense, Lone Women blends shimmering prose, an unforgettable cast of adventurers who find horror and sisterhood in a brutal landscape, and a portrait of early-twentieth-century America like…

What You Need to Know — “Blurb” What the heck is the derivation of that crazy word? Is it adapted into English from a different language? Is it a slang term? Is it a combination of words? The answer to that is “none of the above.” Do you know how Theodore Geisel, a.k.a. Dr. …

There’s power in the pages — Book lovers will relate If you’ve ever escaped from a hostile world by falling into the pages of a book… If you’ve ever read a book and felt like the characters were standing in the room with you… If you’ve ever struck up a conversation with someone reading a book that you’ve read, too… …

Don’t we all want to know? — I first met Britt-Marie when I read Fredrik Backman’s novel, My Grandmother Asked Me To Tell You She’s Sorry. …

March 30th is National Pencil Day! — Laugh all you want, but simple things make me happy…like pencils. My joy in pencils started late in my life. I had always been an acolyte of blue ink pens (Tül gel, Medium point, please,) and never even considered a dalliance with pencils before the age of sixty. …