Do you feel you must wait for inspiration to strike before you can write? It’s time to let that go. When you allow yourself to just write for the pleasure of it and not weigh yourself down with lofty expectations? Writing becomes a hell of a lot more fun. And the best way to start? […]

It’s easy to get stuck in a rut. To eat the same food. Watch the same television shows. Read the same books and magazines. YAWN. All writers have been there. But it will affect the quality of your writing. Why? Because you’re not living in the world of curiosity. There’s an unusual writing resource you […]

Years ago, a friend of mine found this print of The Skating Minister in a thrift store. I was green with envy. I almost challenged her to a snowball fight for it. However, common sense prevailed and I secretly grumbled to myself. All is fair in love, war and thrifting. So why do I love […]

What you’re looking at is where I’d be living if I had a dollar for every person who said this phrase to me: “I don’t know what to write about.” Maybe you can relate. You have probably always had the desire to write and maybe you’ve dabbled in writing over the years. But more often […]

A few years ago, The New York Times ran a short story about a company that branded their dried potato dish: Funeral Potatoes. The name had caused a bit of a ruckus. People were offended by it. Shocked right down to their little tater tots. Because I guess we aren’t supposed to say the words […]

One of my long-dead boyfriends, Vincent Van Gogh, said this about my favorite time of the year: As long as autumn lasts, I shall not have hands, canvas and colors enough to paint the beautiful things I see. Oh, Vincent – you nailed it. There’s so much happening in the Fall/Autumn that I have to […]

It has been blistering hot this past month. (Yes – even in Canada!) A few weeks ago, my husband and I were going to be out of town, so I asked my garden-loving parents to water my garden. This wasn’t a small request. They had to drive 30-minutes each way. But they quickly said YES […]

Writing can be a real bugger. Sometimes you have no idea what you’d like to write about. You want your writing to be profound and meaningful but your brain only comes up with the sound of crickets. This is a writing prompt about a time you needed to loosen up. You?? Yes. You. I’m a […]

I can’t help it. And if you enjoy writing – you can’t help it either. Eavesdropping. While you wait in line at the grocery store, airport or concert – conversation swirls around you like pieces of paper in the wind . Some of it you block out and ignore. Other conversations? You just can’t stop […]

I wrote my Amazon bestseller, A Fine Mess, a few months after I’d finished breast cancer treatment. I had bad chemo hair, a new perspective on life, and a burning desire to help people going through their own fine messes. ie/ Divorce, job loss, illness, death, getting left at the altar wearing a dress worth […]