Musings
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Sunday Snippet: The Father’s Day 2025 Edition
For many years, Father’s day was an…uncomfortable holiday for me. My dad left our family when I was 6 years old, and was never really in my childhood, except for the occasional times when we went to where he worked to pick up the few dollars he was willing to give us. He rarely paid support, and my mom worked her tail off going to school full time to get her nursing degree in addition to being a cashier at a grocery store to keep food on the table. I honestly don’t know how she did it. The woman didn’t sleep for over two years. Mother’s Day was huge for…
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Sunday Snippet: The Lake Life Reality Edition
We are in our 14th year here at the lake. It’s hard to believe we’ve had our cottage for so long, particularly given that we waited for so long to buy one. It seemed like whenever we were ready to buy, cottages were just out of our reach and when they were in our reach, we weren’t in a position to consider buying one. Fourteen years ago, when this marriage-long dream came true, we were overjoyed. We still are, although the realities of lake life are a little different from the fantasies. This is a rehash of the harsh realities of lake life, but I’m doing it again anyway because…
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Sunday Snippet: The Let Freedom Ring Edition
It’s a holiday weekend–which means a three-day weekend for a lot of folks. We’re at the lake and although this is sort of the official start of summer, the park isn’t hopping like it usually is every year at this time. Oh, it’s busy. Folks are here opening up their cottages and getting boats in the water, but somehow it seems more subdued. Even the amusement park, which has been a part of the lake community since 1928 isn’t as crowded as usual (that’s according to Son, who took his family there yesterday. I avoid the amusement park except to go by it in the boat when we’re cruising the…
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Sunday Snippet: The Ode to Mom Edition
It’s Mother’s Day–a day that always gives me a lump in my throat as I remember my mom. Not this year, but about every seven years, Mom’s birthday (May 13) lands on Mother’s Day, which makes the day even more bittersweet with memories of her reading aloud to us on camping trips and her humor and intelligence and sense of fun. It also reminds me of the numerous times she and I crossed swords because we were both so set in our thinking–I hope I’ve outgrown that. I’m so grateful for the ten days I got to spend with her in CA six months before she died. Those days, over 37…
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Sunday Snippet: The Author Event Edition
Did you really write all these books? How long have you been writing? How long does it take you to write a book? Where do you get your ideas? and interestingly, Do you like doing this? Do you like writing? Those questions and others came up from readers at the author event I participated in yesterday and the last one was the only one I hadn’t heard before. Yes, I did write all these books. I’ve been writing since I could hold a pencil; I wrote my first book at age 10, but I’ve been published since 2012. It takes me about four to six months to write a book.…
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Sunday Snippet: The Wildflowers and Memories Edition
Neighbor and pal Mary and I have been walking in between raindrops this week, admiring all the spring flowers in folks yards and the magnolia trees and other flowering trees that are blooming. Some wildflowers are showing up in yards as well because we live in a neighborhood with lots of huge old trees. Wildflowers like delicate spring beauties, violets, and the little white blooms that look like stars. They’re so beautiful and they reminded me of when PJ and Kate and I used to go out into the woods behind our church when we were kids and hunt for wild flowers. The woods there was gorgeous and full of…
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Sunday Snippet: The March Memos Edition
It’s that time again, mes amis. March memos. March has been an incredibly busy month so far–finishing a book, starting a new one, editing gigs to do, April book events to prepare for, plus housework and laundry and keeping fit. Thus, I do have a few things I need to get off my chest. Dear Spring, WTAH? Twenty degrees and frost on the ground one day, eighty degrees the next? And what’s with all the rain? Oh, wait, it’s spring in the Midwest… of course each day is a new weather adventure, but FYI, I’m ready for real spring. Warm days, cool nights, sunshine… you know… Confusingly, Nan ~*~*~*~*~ And…
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Sunday Snippet: The I Might Need a Break from Technology Edition
Do you ever wonder how we survived before computers and cell phones and social media? I can’t remember when I last dialed (literally dialed) a telephone or got up from the sofa to change the TV station. Or took a picture with an actual camera. When I last typed something on a typewriter or used a paper roadmap to figure out where I was going or opened a recipe book to find a new way to cook chicken. I google every thing now. Texting is second nature now, too, as is taking pictures with my phone, and FaceTiming with my sister. Life has changed so much in the last twenty-five…
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Sunday Snippet: The I’m Still Learning Edition
It’s been a tough week for me, for the country, for the world, and I debated long and hard about what my column for today would be. I could so easily rant here–it’s my space, I can say what I want. But I don’t want this to be a political platform. I prefer to keep this about my writer life, my editor life, and some things about just being Nan. If you follow me on Facebook or Instagram or Bluesky, you know where I land, so I opted to talk writing instead, because as my friend and fellow author Anne Stuart so aptly puts it: “Everything in my life is…
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Sunday Snippet: The Warehouse Club Edition, + Fun News!
Hiya, happy Sunday. It’s snowing here in the city (probably up at the lake cottage, too, from the look of the radar), and I am snug in our little brick house enjoying this view. I love snow. It makes me want hot chocolate and a fire in the fireplace, a soft snuggly sweater, and a good book. And speaking of good books… See what I did there? It’s called a transition or a segue. It’s an author trick to lead readers to the next part of the story. That one wasn’t very subtle, but it’s fun to practice the art. Anyway, speaking of good books, I want to crow a…