Last night, my Grandma fell and broke her ribs. Well, only two of them, but that’s enough when you’re 89. This is the Grandma I keep writing picture books and essays about (that’s her with her stapler in this month’s … Continue reading →

I am home with a sick kid today, like most of the rest of North America, it seems. If you are home, too, or avoiding your writing, or waiting for a phone call, here’s a beautifully written, evocative essay that … Continue reading →

Oh, wow. So, last night I attended the monthly Writer’s League of Texas meeting. This one was  a very good panel, with authors Varian Johnson (a good speaker, and not so hard on the eyes), Stephanie Klein (a hoot!), and … Continue reading →

When I was in graduate school, every semester the writers were required to take a “workshop” class. This was where you went to have your soul sucked out through your nostrils with coffee straws. Or at least that’s what it … Continue reading →

As Gertrude Stein said, “Silent gratitude isn’t much use to anybody.” So I wanted to take a quick moment to thank all my friends, family, and strangers from the Blogosphere for sending your lovely comments about my essays. THANK YOU! … Continue reading →

Okay, let’s just get this out there: Everything I write is autobiographical. I’m not going to tell the lie I learned in my graduate school writing workshops. I don’t make all this stuff up. Not really. Well, I mean, of … Continue reading →

Okay, I know. Two posts in one day? Excessive. But I had two pieces of good news today! First, I sold another puppet play to another anthology, this time to a holiday-themed book. It will be out in early 2010. … Continue reading →

What a day! No details, but it was NO FUN until… I got home, walked right past all the dirty dishes and the enormous mounds of laundry, pulled two of my own gigantic homemade chocolate chip cookies out of the … Continue reading →

Ten years ago today, I ended the longest day of my life — 23 grueling hours of unmedicated back labor — with a plea for an epidural (which made both my mother and husband burst into tears of gratitude for … Continue reading →

I’ve been thinking a lot about the role of religion in genre fiction, and more specifically its role in the fiction I write. I spent most of the last ten years working in churches. I went in a 3/4 time … Continue reading →