Obsessions
What to Eat, Watch, and Give This Year
The tree is up, the outside of the house is decorated, and the holiday cards are in process. Every year, December seems to go by faster and faster — the month hasn’t even started yet and I already can feel the days slipping away. I want to pay attention to every single second this year.…
Read MoreThis Post Was Eaten By A Killer Whale
A very bright kid I know likes to share what he calls the “irrelevant statement of the day” every time I see him. I’m stealing the phrase and using it here, because this blog post is a digression. Today I’m not talking about writing or kids — I’m talking about killer whales. Okay, it’s not…
Read MoreHow Not to Lose
Last week, as I faced off against my ever cocky teenaged fencing opponent, it occurred to me: I was going to lose. Sadly, this is not the first time I’ve been graced with this epiphany. I have never been the speediest turtle, nor the most coordinated. Because I am old and crafty and gifted with…
Read MoreNo Gift With Purchase
John Scalzi, a writer I really like, did a very kind thing this week: He gave writers and editors the chance to share information about their books in his blog’s comments. A type of writerly gift guide for the holidays, if you will. I thought it might be fun to do something similar. So I’m…
Read MoreThe Cost of Being an Expert
I’m taking fencing classes. It’s good exercise and it makes my brain work in different ways. I will never, ever be good at it. Part of it is I just don’t have the right physical gifts — my hand-eye coordination is lacking, for one, and I don’t have the speedy reflexes you need to avoid…
Read MoreWarm Weather At Last
Riding That Success Train
The ever-charming and entertaining Joshilyn Jackson posted a blog post today that started me thinking. I’m the kind of person for whom “good” is not usually “enough,” and my definition of success is constantly being adjusted upwards. It’s a good thing, having goals, but there’s also something to be said for enjoying the moment, for…
Read MoreThe Kool-Aid, I Am Drinking It
You know how I’ve written that I prefer actual paper books to these new-fangled electronic readers? And I do, truly. Except that, um, I may have seen the light a little. I’m using my Kindle to read drafts by other writers, and my IPad when I need to read a book for my book club quickly,…
Read MoreJoin Me for Coffee?
I’m over at Sia McKye’s Over Coffee blog today, talking about making sure my world stays larger than size of my monitor. Stop by if you get a chance. And remember, you have till Monday to comment and be entered to win a copy of Wake.
Read MoreWhat I've Learned ( Or, Things Not to Do on Winter Break)
There are two things I will never, ever do again: 1) Drink a margarita and champagne in the same day; and 2) Watch a DVD I know nothing about with my mother-in-law. I’m not sure which was more painful. In my defense for the first situation, I rarely get out, the two different drinks were…
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