The difficult days

Holidays can be hard. When they’re good, they’re magical. When they’re not, they present the ideal in stark relief. Why aren’t you happy? Why does your family snipe at [...]

I am America

America is in a dark place, and it’s sometimes hard to watch. I was reminded of this as I read the news this morning: one headline said that some Republican law makers who voted for the [...]

This is the day

Regular readers will know that the winter solstice is a special day for me, and that I often mark it with a post. The winter solstice is the day that taught me to look on the bright side. I live [...]

Avoidance

I am a world-class avoider of things. Seriously, I could teach a class. Like… a graduate-level class. I am singularly talented at not doing what I tell myself I want to be doing. Be it [...]

One scary question

Twenty years ago, newly in possession of my first computer, I typed in to whatever passed for a search engine back then, “I want to die.” This is not easy to write, today. I am a [...]

Why

A cold blanket covers everything. Your favorite spot to gather berries, down near a river, is frozen through, the bushes spiny bristles outlined starkly against the white. You’ve got some [...]

Mystery solved

It is no surprise to regular readers that I am terrified of solo home ownership. I grew up in an illegal basement apartment, then in other rentals. I had never lived in anything much bigger than [...]

Sweet Home Alabama

Last November, I was scheduled to go to two trade shows, back to back, one in Macon, Georgia, and one in New Orleans. It was my job to bring them in within budget, and when I crunched the [...]

New novel underway

Publishing is a bruising business. As regular readers know, I parted ways oh-so-amicably with my agent earlier this year. She was awesome, but didn’t seem to love the direction of my [...]

A night of soot

My heart, full of soot, dark. Rife with canaries I refused to hear. My hands hurt. Siphoning off all joy and spark Just today, but telling me the story of every day that’s left. I am the [...]

The holiday blues

When I was around thirteen or fourteen, my father sat me down and said, “Things have been tough this year. There aren’t going to be a lot of presents this Christmas.” He [...]