“See, mommy? It’s a Christmas packet.” *grumbles*  “It’s the same one we did last year.” “That’s nice hon– you got them all right…”  *winces*  “Of course you did.” “Yeah, but this year they had a thing about Christmas symbols. I talked about the snowman, which wasn’t really a symbol of  Christmas, but just of winter… Read More

Okay– so, writers figure it out fairly quickly. Human beings are finite creatures, and there are very few stories to tell. I didn’t take the class or read the book, but there are something like nine basic plot archetypes–because humans live very short lives. We’ve got coming of age, falling in love, supporting/protecting our families,… Read More

Okay–I’ll be honest. A lot of you saw my post on Twitter/FB that said I wasn’t feeling great–and I’m not. Nothing dire– just a fever, sore throat–mild, but, well, draining. As in, I woke up, head hurt, everything hurt, and I could find no reason whatsoever to get out of bed. Story of my day…. Read More

Mate let the house this morning with this parting shot:  Here’s your phone. Don’t forget the dog’s appointment. And the cat crapped somewhere in the kitchen and then dragged stuff on top of it to hide it. Good luck finding it! Needless to say, sleeping in (which I usually do on Thursday) was a complete… Read More

Okay– So, when I was teaching, we used to have to make kids read out loud at the beginning of the year, mostly to just get a bead on how fluent they were at reading. Sometimes this really helped– the kids who flat out couldn’t keep up could, at a decent school, get help, and… Read More

Hi all! So, I’ve been in the writing and editing cave, finishing up on Fish Out of Water– this is going to be a first for me folks, because I’ve just committed to doing at least four books– one a year– on the same couple. As in not “oh, I’ve been planning on it!” as… Read More

YAYAYAYAYAYAYYAYAYAYAYAYAYAYAYAYAYAYAYAYAY!!!! Hello, all, and HAPPY NEW YEAR! I am super excited about this New Year– of course, being old, I’m excited because I hope it’s a little less exciting than last year. *whew*  I’m still tired!   Anyway–this was a fun *Kermit Flail* because I put out the all-call and got a HUGE response, and… Read More

Hi all! This is, as promised, a ficlet about Skip and Richie, my heroes from Winter Ball. If you haven’t read the book yet, maybe bookmark this and come back to it later. If you have read the book–enjoy! *  *  * The Christmas card arrived about a week and a half late, and Richie… Read More

So, one of Mate’s New Year’s Eve Traditions is to watch the thin Man movies back to back until the dark hours of the morning. This year, he watched them as well, and Zoomboy and Squish came to love them, just like Chicken had before him. And this year, Ted Turner came on during an… Read More

So here’s the thing about knitting… Today, I neglected my house, my shopping, and even my job a little, to sit and watch television and knit. I was making a project for someone who had asked for it, and she had offered money. I refused. Because– I make money at my job. When I take… Read More