Musings
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Sunday Snippet: The Moving Right Along Edition
And so we are. I’m finally out from under a rather large editing gig that was a particularly challenging one. I only have one project on my desk this week, although I am getting another at the end of the week, and so my plan is to write, write, write. I had the great news from my editor that Max’s book is on the way to the copy editor, along with warm congratulations that I’d nailed the story in revisions and she’s excited for the next one. Whew! That is always a marvelous message to receive. So the next one is underway and I’m learning the characters and their quirks…
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Sunday Snippet: The French Butter Edition
I love French butter. We discovered it in Paris, naturally enough, and it’s perfect butter. Creamy and delicious with just the right touch of salt. We ate it on croissants at the little café around the corner from our apartment and on crusty baguettes from the boulangerie next to the laverie (laundromat). It was sheer paradis sur terre (heaven on Earth). I’d never really appreciated butter of any kind before that trip to Paris because my mom bought margarine and that’s what I grew up on. My grandmother had butter at her house and I recall thinking it tasted…oily. And because the size of my butt has been an issue my…
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Sunday Snippet: The Loving My Own Words Edition
When Liz and I were on retreat earlier this month, we spent a lot of time discussing our WIPs. At one point she read me something she’d just written and said, “I really love it. That’s so nice when you like your own stuff.” I had to agree. I have to confess, I am one of those writers who needs to do that—read what I wrote previously in order to get into writing mode. I sometimes wonder if that’s because I’m an editor in my heart (and in my day job), but I don’t think I’m the only writer who works this way. I’ve tried just picking up where I…
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Sunday Snippet: The Mother’s Day Edition
It’s Mother’s Day. About every seven years or so, my mom’s birthday, which is May 13, lands on Mother’s Day Sunday. Not this year and honestly, I’m glad. The bittersweet of that convergence of memory-inducing events is enough to put me into a fetal position in the corner. There are days even after 33 years–dear lord, Mom has been gone 33 years!–that I miss my mother so much I ache with it. Not because she and I were all that close when I became an adult because we weren’t really. What I miss is my mommy. The woman who read to me endlessly, even when she was exhausted from working…
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Retreat Report #2
Hey, it’s Liz Flaherty here making myself at home on Nan’s blog. Hope you’re having a good day. We’re enjoying our time in Madison. We went out for a piece of pie this afternoon because the weather on my iPhone said it wasn’t going to rain for awhile. Well. Ahem. We did find out that all Nan’s sweetness and light (and a dose of chocolate and pecans) won’t dissolve when wet. We both thought she was carrying her umbrella when we left, and then when she couldn’t find it, we thought she left it in a store. A return stop there assured us she had not and gave me a…
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Retreat Report
We’re here and it’s been a good first day. Liz has gotten some writing done, I’ve gotten some other stuff done that needed doing, but I’m brewing the opening of Beck’s book, so I imagine I’ll start writing tomorrow. Our drive down was leisurely and fun. We stopped at charming little Stream Cliff Farm in Commiskey for an outdoor lunch and to buy some wine. I also got a gift for Husband because I love him and it was too sweet to pass up. Don’t tell him, though, it’s a surprise. Everyone had on their masks, which was nice. Our little cottage is adorable and we love it! It’s just…
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Sunday Snippet: The Do I Make Difference Edition
I love this bit of wisdom from John Matthew Fox—a writer and editor whose emails I subscribe to. It’s something that I’ve thought about in regard to my own books and then dismissed because it seemed unimaginable that my books would affect anyone beyond a few hours of pleasurable reading. But, as I struggled with the latest River’s Edge story—Max and Lauren’s—I came back to this snippet from Fox. Truth is, my words do matter and when I write them, even when I struggle with the story and it feels as if I’m pulling the words from the very depths of my soul, my books matter. They make a difference…
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Sunday Snippet: The Spring is Springing Edition
Happy Easter to all who celebrate! Spring seems to be springing already and you know, between covid hibernation and writing like a madwoman, I am more than ready. The gardens are coming to life–look at our peach tree buds–aren’t they pretty? We’ve had a typical March in the Midwest—warm, lovely, sunny days and then cold, gray, and chilly ones. But now it’s April, and somehow this spring seems particularly promising, because ever since this time last year everything has felt…I dunno—unsettled. I’m not the only one feeling a sea change—I think the whole world is in this boat on many different levels. Liz and I have had endless conversations about…
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Sunday Snippet–The Wardrobe Edition
My readings in Simple Abundance the past few days have all been about self–becoming more confident and seeing myself in a new way. Clothes were part of the topic–wearing them, buying them, choosing them…knowing what best suits me. Sarah Ban Breathnach talks about finding clothes that fit my lifestyle. That assumes I have a lifestyle, which I’m not entirely sure I really do. I’m a writer. I pretty much live in comfort clothes–yoga pants, T-shirts with a sweater tugged over the top of them or a sweatshirt if it’s really cold outside. Slippers or socks and I’m good to go for the day. There are even days, I confess, where…
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Sunday Snippet: The Writing Furiously Edition
And so I have been, writing furiously that is. Close to 8ooo words in a week. That’s pretty heavy writing for yours truly. One thing that has really helped up that word count is sprinting. If you don’t already know, sprints are timed writing challenges that writers do together. Sometimes it’s just Liz and me, other times it’s Liz, me, and several Tule authors that get together online. We chat for a few minutes (okay, whine), and then we turn off our cameras and mics and each spend anywhere from 25 minutes to 50 minutes writing. It’s not a time for editing or research, it’s a time for getting words…