Here I am, with a full mailbox on Mailbox Monday, hosted by Marcia at The Printed Page.After weeks of one or two books, imagine my glee to find THREE.  Not a lot by some standards, but they are surely welcome here.Unfinished Desires, by Gail Godwin, came to me from the Amazon Vine program, as did The Postmistress, by Sarah Blake.In Unfinished Desires, we read this on the Amazon page:Bestselling author Godwin (Evensong; The Finishing School) brings readers back in time to the early 1... Read Full Story

One of my favorite Post-Thanksgiving events is one in which my kids and grandkids gather together.  Or at least the kids and grandkids who are available on a given day, usually two days after the official Thanksgiving.My oldest son is never available, it seems, since he lives in Berlin!  For various reasons, someone is always missing.But, as you can see, I have six grandkids and two of my grown kids available.  Not bad, I guess.We enjoyed a feast in a local California Pizza Kit... Read Full Story

Imagine my surprise to get word about this fabulous (and sparkly!) award, gifted to me from Ryan, at Wordsmithonia.Ryan describes it this way:The Splash Award is given to those blogs you find alluring, bewitching, impressive and inspiring.Following those guidelines, it is difficult to narrow it down to just a few, since there are so many fabulous blogs out there!   But I will begin with the following:   Shellie, at Layers of Thought   The Betty and Boo Chronicles   The Dam... Read Full Story

This Monday meme is hosted by Marcia, at The Printed Page.We talk about the books we received in the mail, or books we bought during the week.Well, sadly, I only received this one.  But it looks like a good one!  I've actually added it to my reading list for the week.  Alice in Thunderland:  A Feminist Fairytale, by Maeve Kelly, and I received it from Amazon.It's part of my Alice in Wonderland Challenge, over at Take Me Away, and when I'm done, I'll be posting my review at... Read Full Story

In a tale of addiction, we explore one young woman's journey toward recovery.Through the slatted blinds I could feel the persistent slivers of sun, reminding me that I hadn’t croaked after all. On a scale of one to ten, I’d surely racked up a “fourteen” in my efforts to achieve Nirvana. But, as always, in my quest for the ultimate high, I’d gone too far, earning points instead for “most idiotic” or, at the very least, “self-destructive ass of the century.”Groaning at the nagging reminders of ... Read Full Story

In this meme hosted by Marcia, at The Printed Page, we share information about the books we received (or bought) this past week.It's been awhile for me, so naturally I was excited to receive The Accidental Bestseller, a contest win from J. Kaye's Book Blog.Here's what the Amazon page says about this book:Once upon a time four aspiring authors met at their very first writers' conference. Ten years later they're still friends, survivors of the ultra-competitive New York publishing world. Mallor... Read Full Story

In this short story, a young woman begins therapy to uncover the secrets from her past.“Phoebe Welch?” Glancing up from the magazine I’d been nervously skimming, I stand cautiously, as if trying to get my bearings. Then, rather shakily, I move toward the doorway and the beckoning voice; but then I hesitate for just a fraction of a second. As if I’ve somehow shored up my courage, I resolutely follow the receptionist down the corridor to Dr. Holmes’s office. I had started these therapy sessions... Read Full Story

Here is an excerpt from my current WIP, a new novel that explores life's defining moments.As she stood poised on the threshold of her life, in the moments after everything changed, Jillian Michaels would look back and think “a-ha, those were the defining moments.” Those junctures that distinguished her life before and after the choices she had made.Meeting Evan Thurston had been one of those turning points. At the time, she hadn’t thought so. What did she recall about her meeting with Evan Th... Read Full Story

With the Thanksgiving season approaching, I thought it relevant to excerpt from my short story "Family Values," an offering on the Amazon Shorts program.  In this tale, a family gathers to celebrate the season, but unexpected drama ensues.They huddle around the table like so many crows perched on a fence, all in their own little worlds. At the head of the table and assuming his rightful role as patriarch, Father dictates the flow of the platters, gesticulating and grunting, but otherwise... Read Full Story

This Friday meme is hosted by J. Kaye's Book Blog, and in this post, we offer up any new book blog discoveries we've made during the week.Lately, I've been keeping note whenever I click over to a new blog that I enjoy, for whatever reason.  Maybe it's the "look" of the blog, but certainly the content plays into my fascination.Some that I found this week are the following:Fyrefly's Book BlogReading with TequilaYou Can Never Have Too Many BooksWelcome to the Attic GirlNow I'm off to visit ... Read Full Story