We all have favorite local businesses. I believe the best are those where we almost forget that buying and selling have anything to do with it, where we exchange something meaningful and the money that changes hands merely supports that exchange. Sometimes I describe...
A couple of weeks ago I finished the first draft of my novel, and paused to take that single breath of victory before diving back into battle. At first, I’m nervous to use the word battle, because I fear someone will tell me to relax or not to struggle. I myself used...
When Ilona Fried of the À La Carte Spirit blog invited me to a blog-hop on writing, I was thrilled for a different reason than you might think. Yes, I love to write about writing. Yes, I felt honored to be chosen by a wise, thought-provoking blogger. I’m also in awe...
Today a writing prompt at the Creative Bloomings blog inspired me, enough so that I wanted to share the results with book lovers who read my blog. The prompt was to write a poem in tribute to a writer who inspires me. I chose to write about Luis Alberto Urrea, the...
To me, life is one (hopefully) long journey, full of dirt roads, blind alleys, and exhilarating straightaways. Some people pick a target and spend their days marching inexorably towards it, while others zig and zag, trying to see as much as possible. It’s doubtful...
During a conversation at a recent party, a friend said there was a word she was tired of hearing lately: “deserve.” When someone asked whether it was because she was a teacher and her kids used that word, she said that wasn’t it. She said that most of her students are...
Today I’m giving a craft talk to a teen writing group at the Jefferson County Open School on behalf of the Lighthouse Young Writers Program, and my talk will include one simple revelation that I’d like to share with all writers, with all creative people actually. It...
We are all connected to the natural world. All of us made from it. Whatever your beliefs, one must acknowledge that our bones and blood and skin are made of the same stuff as rocks and trees and rain. “Ashes to ashes, dust to dust” sums it up best. The Way is a novel...
You may recall this week's return guest as a living example of the Girls Trek Too mission: "to inspire women to live life as an adventure." Sandra Ford Walston does that every day as America's Courage Expert, and I'm grateful she has returned to share more of her tips...
Since the Girls Trek Too mission is to inspire women to live life as an adventure, I was excited when America's Courage Expert agreed to share her wisdom with us. Please welcome Sandra Ford Walston, author of the bestselling book Courage: The Heart and Spirit of Every...
Cara Lopez Lee is the author of the novel, Candlelight Bridge, and the memoir, They Only Eat Their Husbands. She’s a winner of The Moth StorySLAM and is featured in many personal storytelling shows. Her writing appears in such publications as the Los Angeles Times, Manifest-Station, and Rivet. Cara and her husband love traveling, but their home is coastal Ventura, California, where they enjoy tending their Certified Wildlife Habitat full of birds, bees, and butterflies.
