Those Who Are Neil Diamond Fans And Those Who Aren’t

There are many dichotomies that can define a person born in the latter half of the twentieth century. Beatles Vs. Stones; Ford Vs. Chevy; Coke Vs. Pepsi. Folks will say that the constellation of your preferences can be used to draw a picture of what you are and how you see the world. But the [...]

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Play That Dead Man’s Song

It’s a hot September, but the wind blowing through the concrete and steel makes the whole thing fairly manageable. My husband has a meeting in one of these buildings somewhere; I’ve got hours to kill. Hours to kill in Chicago–me and Al Capone. Chicago is one of those cities I always associate with killing. And [...]

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A Truth Universally Acknowledged

I have a reputation around these parts (i.e. Planet Earth) as somewhat of a contrarian. I know that it seems as though I leap to the chance to spoil everyone else’s good fun with Lady GaGa, fish tacos, Survivor, The Democratic and Republican Parties and whatever else it is that everyone is crazy about at [...]

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The Molehill I’m Dying On

A few weeks ago the news came out that e-book purchases are outpacing hardcover sales for the first time ever. I personally don’t think it was an accident that once that word got out all of a sudden e-book prices on highly publicised new releases were higher than the hardcover price. It was at that [...]

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Gin Was Mother’s Milk To Her

When I was a baby my parents once put orange soda in my bottle.  I know there was a reason–the doctor told them to–but I do blame this in part for the fact that I am addicted to soda.  Or “pop”. We always called it “pop” in Indiana when I was growing up.  I started [...]

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As Barbara Walters Once Asked…

You know, I have no idea for certain what kind of tree I would be, but after this winter I’m fairly certain that we’ve narrowed it down to “deciduous”. All last spring and summer I was a fountain of writing goodness.  If not here on the blog, at least in the pages of MSWord.   I [...]

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Get Your Jesus Out Of My Facebook

You. Yes, you. I’m talking to you. We need to get a few things clear here. First off, I’m a Christian. And not one of those people who just says they’re a Christian when they mean “I went to Sunday School when I was a kid and I’m not Jewish or Atheist or anything else [...]

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Your Demons Are Not My Problem

Right now it’s illegal to sell wine and liquor in a grocery store in Tennessee. I’ve become so accustomed to this antiquated bit of buffoonery that it felt very off somehow to see Bailey’s Irish Creme gift sets in the Indiana Target store we shopped in over Christmas. Kind of like coming across your friend’s [...]

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What Matters In A Book Review

Open up Amazon and look at any of the more popular releases of the last 18 months or so and a strange thing will happen. Books that have been well-reviewed in the press show up with 2- and 3- star ratings (out of a possible 5), sometimes even before they’ve been released. Surely, you think, [...]

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The Werempire Chronicles

The book I’m writing right now tells the story of a young woman who is the daughter of a brilliant but detached physician and his artsy wife. It’s a simple bildungsroman about growing up both wealthy and poor, both loved and estranged. My three main characters represent reason, faith and consequence. But you wouldn’t know [...]

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