I’ve always been a fan of lifelong learning. It’s an aspect of life that’s highly valued in the town I grew up in, Port Townsend, WA, a hub of history, nature, the arts and inquiring minds. The subjects I’ve pursued lean to the arts side, particularly theater, music...

It’s hard to settle down and write my weekly blog. I can’t get the school massacre in Florida out of my mind. America, today, is disgusting me. We have by far the highest rate of death from gun violence of any of our socioeconomic peers. We have for a long time....

Speaking update: I am so excited! In three weeks, we’ll be in Reno, Nevada, at the Nevada Reading Week Conference ( http://www.nevadareadingweek.com/ ). My sessions (Kids as Critique Partners and So You Want to Write a Novel) happen on Saturday, March 3rd. I’m busy...

This week I had planned a blog in honor of that rare triple event, the Super Blue Blood Moon. The idea went sideways Wednesday afternoon when Bruce found a house prospect in Walla Walla, WA. We met with our realtor Thursday morning at 10:30 AM, walked through the...

Technophobe though I am, I truly appreciate the modern-day convenience of conference calls. It’s so easy! You dial a number to the central hub, put in a code, say your name and, voila, you’re there! Unless, of course. . . I’ve participated in two conference calls in...

Two decades ago my inner life was in turmoil. My father’s death in 1994 had pulled my spiritual and emotional legs out from under me. I didn’t realize this for years, wrote it off as grief-induced internal discord. Eventually, I told myself, I’d get over it. Daily...