This morning I woke up after a dream–I dreamed today was Thanksgiving, and I had NO food and a houseful of people. My son had a dream as well; he told me that he dreamed about “an epic bed” which featured a mattress in a bath tub, floating on water. His dreams are always more Read More
Category: Writing History
Another visit to Akron
Akron’s been on my mind lately, as I’ve been there more in the past two weeks than I have in years. Okay, only twice, but still. Last week my husband and I went to a concert (Wilco, in case you were wondering) at the Akron Civic Theater, which is truly one of the oddest looking Read More
We’re going to the zoo, zoo, zoo…
I love zoos. I am glad that I still have a relatively small kid so I can go to the zoo without making excuses, but I would go even if I didn’t. We are blessed in Northeast Ohio to have not one but two great zoos: the Cleveland Metroparks Zoo and the Akron Zoo. My Read More
In Praise of Deadlines
As you all know, given how loudly I shouted it from the rooftops, I recently signed a contract for my first book. This week I received a flurry of emails from the publisher and my editor, with tons of business-related stuff, marketing tips, and–ta da!–my first round of edits. I have been told by published Read More
A Victorian Era Time Capsule
Two weeks ago my family and I wandered westward for a family reunion and to visit some of my husband’s childhood haunts. On the way there my husband suddenly turned off the road into the DeSoto National Wildlife Refuge. Turns out he spent many happy hours exploring there when he was a kid, and when Read More
Announcement Time!!
I am delighted to report that — drum roll please. . . Today I contracted with The Wild Rose Press to publish my first book. I am tremendously excited and still a little bit dazed, although I suspect it’s nothing compared to how dazed I’ll be when I get the first round of edits. . . And Read More
Up, Up and Away
Okay, I know, this is a week late. Sorry! It’s been crazy town over here. So my research last week took me on a rather meandering path. I am working on two books at once, which is par for the course for me, given my short attention span. One of them I had shelved for Read More
Intersections
The other day as I was driving around town with the kid, he asked what people did before there were traffic lights. I replied that policemen helped to direct traffic, but honestly, I was just guessing. That got me thinking: when were traffic lights invented, and when and where were they first used? Truly, I Read More
In Defense of Romance
A few weeks ago I attended a portion of the annual Cleveland Rocks Romance conference, sponsored by the Northeast Ohio chapter of RWA. The fabulous Christie Craig was the speaker–if you ever meet her, ask her to tell you the story of the Festiva, the cowboy, and the burning mattress. I was laughing so hard Read More
Western Reserve School of Design for Women
It’s been interesting to me lately how often I get inspired by presentations to the DAR. I suppose I shouldn’t be surprised, since for the last two years I have been in charge of selecting the speakers, but whatever. In our most recent meeting, the speaker was discussing the history of the Cleveland Institute of Read More