Permission to Rest

I haven’t been writing much lately. Not blog posts, not short fiction, not novels. Nothing. And I’ve been beating myself up over it pretty much any time I think about it. I’ve been feeling isolated not just from the process of writing but from the community of writers and the entire concept of being a […]

In Memory of Krista

Wow, what a blurry old photo! Look at those happy kids, their whole lives spread out ahead of them! Of course, that was 35 years ago, and life has a way of surprising you. I met Krista when I was in 8th grade. She had just transferred to our school and was involved in a […]

Prophecy From The Vault

Here’s a curious aside. You sitting down? Ok, let’s go. With everything going on in my life and the world, my emotional energy to sit down and write has been pretty limited for a while. But as I’ve been getting back on that horse in the last few weeks, I have been going through some […]

Keeping Weird Alive in 2022

Can we all just agree that the last few years have been, well, weird? Now that that’s out of the way, I am looking to take a modicum of control over the weird in the coming year. Because I’m a writer, and weird is what writers do. I haven’t been writing much this year for…reasons. […]

Review: Teen Killers Club

On the list of things I adore, coming-of-age stories are high on the list. Put a bunch of misfits together in a new environment, be it school, or, let’s say, a camp where they can learn something about themselves and create a found family and I’m there with a goofy smile and popcorn every time. […]

My Favorite Song: Matthew 25:21

Here we are again. Another favorite song. And this is a special one. Today is my mom’s 80th birthday. It’s also the 17th anniversary of my dad’s death. So, big day. To head off any concern, my mom’s health is fine. She’ll probably outlive all of us. My dad’s health, well, it had been on […]

My Favorite Song: Man Didn’t Walk on the Moon

Back with another favorite song. I honestly do not know how or where I heard this song. It might have been served up by random on a streaming service or in a movie or show and I Shazam’d it. Zero clue. The most likely explanation is that I was doing a sampling of female pop […]

My Favorite Song: The King Must Die

Do you ever get that question, “What’s your favorite ____?” I hate that question. Not because I don’t have favorites. The problem is I am an enthusiastic fan of so much stuff. I have too many favorites. And the frustrating thing is, many of these things I love border on the overlooked. So I’m going […]

A Musical Interlude: Shirley Horn

I’d like to preface this post by saying I get that jazz music is kind of niche these days. It’s either seen as impenetrable or dusty by too many people, and outside of a few big names (Miles Davis, John Coletrane, Dave Brubeck, Louis Armstrong, Ella Fitzgerald, etc), it’s all a mystery. And I can […]

Tales From The Trunk: Another Exit, Another Waffle House

In the spring of 2005, I took a trip to the deep south for a wedding. We flew into Pensacola where the bride-to-be met us and drove us to Fairhope, Alabama where the wedding was to take place. It was my first trip to the SOUTH south. I mean, I’d been to the Miami and […]