Come join us!

And bring your questions! On Aug 29 at Alumni Hall in Haverhill, NH, I will participate in a panel discussion about writing and publishing. I know I will have a great time comparing notes with authors Bernie Marvin, Zoe Tilley-Poster and Michelle Sherburne, moderated by my good friend and writer-buddy Hilary LLewellyn-Thomas.

A little Mystery in Life?

I love journals – what writer doesn’t? I'm sure you've heard it before: the smell of the paper, the feel of the covers, the bright promise of clean pages. Long before I dreamed of writing my own stories, I loved the pure hope contained in all those blank pages. The promise and possibilities can’t be…Read more A little Mystery in Life?

Desert Eyes

© DRIFT magazine When I moved to the northeast, people asked me, “How could you bear to live in the desert? It’s always the same.” Long ago I visited a friend who lived in the southwest, and on the drive from the airport to his home outside town, he remarked, “You’re lucky. The desert is…Read more Desert Eyes

Can I Get Here From There?

I spent most of my adulthood in the Southwest where the name “Garcia” (pronounced Gar-see-ah, or if you’re a snooty Spaniard, Gar-thee-ah) is as ubiquitous as Smith. So that’s how I pronounced the name of the little road here in New England until I was gently corrected. According to the folks here, it’s not Spanish…Read more Can I Get Here From There?

Different Memories

If my family had been a bit more prosperous, I might have been at Kent State University in Ohio on May 4, 1970. I might have somehow been involved in or witness to an infamous early shooting of students not by a crazed citizen but by a military body charged with protecting them. As it…Read more Different Memories

White is the New Orange

What is White? The other day I was filling out one of those forms that have little boxes to click: African-American, Asian-American, Latin-American, Native American. And White. Okay, there was one that said something like “prefer not to say”. To me that has always felt rather childish, like “Neener-neener, you can’t make me tell you.”…Read more White is the New Orange

A hard slog to an Easy Pass

2022 was a rough year, and no one was happier than I was to leave it behind. Or so I thought, until a couple weeks ago. Let me start at the beginning, which actually wasn’t until October 25, 2022. Coming home from a New England Library Association conference, I found myself on a toll road…Read more A hard slog to an Easy Pass

Hail and Good Riddance

For three weeks I watched my landlord’s son clear the driveway repeatedly of several feet of snow and ice. I huddled in my apartment while the power was off-and-on and the skies wept in dark despair. This week the sun came out and it all turned to warm ugly mud in a mood swing that…Read more Hail and Good Riddance

To AI or not to AI

A friend recently shared this article from “The Verge”, about authors using Artificial Intelligence. I read it out of light curiosity, believing such technology had no connection to me. It made me incredibly sad and depressed, not least because of the initial description of the woman who needs to finish a new novel every nine…Read more To AI or not to AI

How do I Care? Let me count the ways.

Today I abandoned a book for the second time. I’d like to borrow that relationship cliché--it’s not you, dear book, it’s me. But I don’t think I can. Yes, I get that readers’ preferences change. Perhaps the kind of books I like to read are past and gone. And don’t get me wrong, this author…Read more How do I Care? Let me count the ways.