Employment History

On Monday, I start a new job as a full-time communications writer. The company is based out of Indy, but I’ll work remotely from Starkville. Perfect. It’s been a pretty fun ride — kind, scary-smart people to interview with, exciting work to be done, my first full-time gig in a long time. Well, full-time as […]

The Gift of Letting Go

When I write fiction, I write about relationships. Siblings, spouses, children, parents, friends. Our lives are shaped and molded by our relationships. And sometimes they can be tricky. So, I write about them to help illuminate what’s important, what’s universal, what we all struggle with, what we all sink into and find comfort in — […]

2012

2012. I like the sound of it. 2011 was a year of Big Changes. This one is going to be a year of Grand Adventures. I love the possibilities. We wrapped up the Old Year in high gear. Lots of visits with wonderful new friends and treasured old friends. Hugs for grandparents, cousins, aunts, uncles. […]

The Spaces In Between

Sunset at the Beach

The lovely, spiritual, intuitive Amy Oscar is hosting a December Writing Circle. Every day (give or take a few), she is presenting participants with writing prompts to do with as we please. We can use them, ignore them, choose to eat Oreos instead. I love that kind of freedom. Today’s prompt, however spoke volumes to […]

I Write Because

Books

It’s the kind of prompt I loathe the most. But as part of a contest entry, I had to do it. I had to write about why I write (in 500 words or less) with the oh-so-ordinary “I write because…” opener. So, without further ado — or complaining — here she is… I write because […]

Adventures with Shmee: Part One

Katrina and Andrea

My first Starkville visitor left after we dined at Mugshots last night. We drank our final beers, toasted with our last shared glasses of red, sneered at the LSU fans sitting at the bar. She ate veggies, I ate fries. We hugged. I didn’t cry. You know why? Because she gave me a new set […]

Pleased to Meet You

As many of you know, I’m the new “Mom Blogger” for Indy’s Child magazine. If you haven’t seen their site, I’d run over right now. There’s a lot of good stuff… and some pretty cute kids. But if you miss my posts over there, you’ll be able to find them here, too. (And no, they […]

An Essay

Books

What does fiction mean to me? This is the question posed by my fabulous life coach, Andrea Maurer, as part of our 90-Day Power Play program. And being the A+++ student I strive to be, I wholeheartedly threw myself into research and reflection. First, however, a little background. This question was prompted by my general […]

Getting to Know You

Katrina and Mary

One of my favorite parts about creating fiction is getting to know my characters. When you spend such a colossal amount of time with them, they quickly become the oldest of new friends. There is an infinite amount of pleasure in wondering what they’re going to say and do next, in listening to what they […]

Facebook Status Overload

George Standing in Christmas Trees

Yesterday was our annual “Picking Out the Perfect Christmas Tree” outing. The weather was gorgeous, the sun stunning, and I only heard one under-the-breath order to “shut it” (because they’re not allowed to say “shut up”) from one charming Willis child to another as we loaded into the Suburban. On the way to the Christmas […]