Blog
What I am Learning in Idaho
Don’t rely on your cell phone to determine the actual time in Boise because you will wake up to: 1. Read the time as 7:25 a.m. on your phone. 2. Panic because the girls need to be awake by 7 a.m. for school. 3. PANIC because you have failed your sister on your first day […]
How I Found the Wizard (Chautauqua: Day Three)
Though I am eager to start my third day in Chautauqua, I wonder how Monday can match Sunday’s experience. Not only is Send in the Clowns stuck in my head (and I can’t stop singing the song), for last night’s supper, we were treated to the best barbecued chicken I have ever eaten. And then, […]
Always Stop to Hear an Angel Sing (Chautauqua: Day Two)
On Sunday morning after breakfast, Nanci and I walk two blocks from the Athenaeum Hotel to Art in the Park: a craft show in Miller Park overlooking Chautauqua Lake. Because the show does not open for another two hours, artists are still arranging their goods on tables. There is pottery of all kinds. Ceramic tiles. […]
How I Landed in Oz, Otherwise Known as Chautauqua: Day One
Eleven hours after leaving my father’s bedside in Chapel Hill, I am on another plane back to Washington, D. C. (my second Washington layover in twenty-four hours). With twenty minutes to make my connection to Buffalo, New York, I run the length of fifteen gates and make the flight. Nearly an hour later, we approach […]
Good News To Share
With upcoming plans to visit my ailing father, who lives in Chapel Hill, I’ve been worried—and feeling a bit guilty—about leaving the toy store in the middle of the busy summer season. To compensate for being gone, and to starve my guilt, I’ve put in extra hours, which is why I agree to open the […]
A Dream to Dance
The summer has presented me with challenges–one after another–and some, which I had hoped to avoid. Having an ill parent with few options for an acceptable living environment is something I would wish on no one. It is my worst nightmare, and to avoid feeling physically sick over the situation, I try to find small moments […]
New Jersey SCBWI 2011 Conference
This year the 2011 annual New Jersey SCBWI Conference took place at a new location in Princeton, NJ, where I had the privilege of working behind the scenes of such a large undertaking. While I have attended the yearly NJ conference since 2007, this was my first time I co-chaired a committee. My volunteer responsibilities […]
A Whale for Steven (A story for Father’s Day)
On this father’s day 2011, I share a story from the toy store. A story that affected me greatly, long after it happened. It involves the love of a father for a son, and every time I think of that day, I am reminded that gifts do not always come wrapped in pretty paper with […]
What is An Antagonist?
After attending the recent New Jersey SCBWI Annual Conference, I had to make an unexpected trip to Miami. When my family calls for help, I get on a plane. I’ve earned a lot of miles this year. On a better day towards the end of our trip, my sister and I ventured into the Florida […]
Why It’s Easier to Kill My Darlings Than Tame My Spider Plant
One of the topics discussed at last week’s NE SCBWI conference was the importance of ridding your manuscript of overgrown scenes, useless characters, and runaway descriptions. If you don’t pay attention to where your story is going, there is a good change it will run wild. Wild is exactly what happened with my spider plan—the […]