Creative Listening in the Land of Dementia: Three Innovative Ways to Enjoy Repetition in the Caregiver’s Journey, by Deborah Shouse
Deborah Shouse is one of my writer friends and mentors. For many years, Deborah has written and spoken about being a caregiver and advocate for Alzheimer’s patients. She is the author of Love in the Land of Dementia: Finding Hope in the Caregiver’s Journey (Central Recovery Press Nov 2013). Her blog, Deborah Shouse Writes, focuses on finding the […]
Writing Creative Nonfiction: Objective Facts v. Personal Truth
Readers who are not writers may wonder what “creative nonfiction” is. Many writers wonder also. How can nonfiction be creative? I recently attended a program at The Writer’s Place in Kansas City on Creative Nonfiction. Our presenter was Kate Meadows, a freelance writer and editor. The definition Kate used for “creative nonfiction” was “telling true […]
Memories of Green and Orange on St. Patrick’s Day
We celebrated the major holidays in our family—Thanksgiving, Christmas, and Easter, but we didn’t celebrate many minor holidays. Except St. Patrick’s Day. My mother made sure we celebrated that. My maternal grandmother (Nanny Winnie) was half Irish and half Scotch. My Irish great-grandmother, Cecelia Ryan, died well before my mother was born, so my mother […]
Don’t Worry, Be Happy
My maternal grandmother was always happy. At least that’s how I remember her. Her birthday was in mid-March, so I think of her often this time of year. As I’ve mentioned before, we called her Nanny Winnie. She was too light-hearted for “Grandmother,” though she could have been a “Granny.” But “Nanny Winnie” is what […]
Norton Museum: Thinking Differently About Art, Writing, and Life
On my recent trip to Florida, in addition to viewing wildlife and water activities, I went to the Norton Museum of Art in West Palm Beach. This was my second visit to the museum. In 2009, when I first went to the Norton, I was awestruck by a special exhibit showing Ansel Adams’s photographs juxtaposed with […]
Is Life a Beach or Not?
I’ve written before how much I love the ocean and how I count a year as good if I get to spend time on the beach. By that reckoning, 2014 should be shaping up to be a good one. I spent a day in late February basking in 80 degree sunshine on the beach at […]
Everyone’s a Critic
My husband and I recently returned from a week-long trip to Florida. I worked some on my writing, but mostly I drank up the sunshine and warmth. The respite from mid-western cold and snow was a much needed treat. But during the week, I did have to face several critics. As a writer, I know […]
My Blog Nominated for the Versatile Blogger Award
This is my week for blog chains. Monday I followed a tag by Juliet Kincaid, and today I am thanking Kate Loveton for nominating my blog for the Versatile Blogger award. Check out her blog, Odyssey of a Novice Writer. Calling me “versatile” is something of a joke in our household. My family does not […]
Author’s Blog Chain
I’ve been asked to participate in an Author’s Blog Chain this week, which gives me the opportunity to tell you more about my writing. Juliet Kincaid, a Kansas author and member of the local Sisters in Crime chapter, tagged me on her blog, Juliet Kincaid, Writer. Juliet has recently written a series of cozy mysteries featuring Cinderella, […]
The Secret Is Out! News of Gold Spreads in California
As I wrote last month, the California Gold Rush began in late January 1848 when James Marshall found gold on Johann Sutter’s land near what is now Sacramento, California. At the time, California was still owned by Mexico, though the U.S. Army controlled it, and the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo was about to be signed, […]