Say It With Seventeen…haiku inspiration
(April Iris, Author’s Back Garden) As a writer, I find it useful to explore all types of literary […]
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In Sickness and in health…a covid challenge
After receiving all of our Covid vaccinations and boosters, and after dodging the bullet for four years, my husband and I both finally succumbed to that insidious virus, this past week. I can only guess how ill we would have been had we not been fully vaccinated.The good and the bad of us falling ill
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A Celebration of Love…in all its forms
Although we feel love throughout the year, it’s the month of February that officially celebrates it, crowned mid-month on Valentine’s Day. For me, a celebration of love includes all of its beautiful forms. In addition to Valentines for our romantic partners, I believe in presenting them to family and friends—including pets who prefer edible ones!
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Happy New Year…around the World
The New Year is upon us, and it is steeped in tradition. From Japan to North Carolina, folks have unique ways of celebrating this new beginning that returns each year like clockwork. Here are a few interesting ones that I have come across, but I am certain there are as many traditions as there are
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Embracing the Mysteries…of Christmas
For my cousin, Linda, forever open to wonderment December 1, 2023 In December, amidst the lights and twinkling glitter, bopping inflated Santas and Grinches, fluttering flags and brightly lit trees adorning our homes and storefronts—lies the still, quiet heart of the season. Silent night, holy night. The deepest, darkest time of the year (in the
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A Pause…to give thanks
Early morning of November first found me removing all vestiges of Halloween from our outdoor decorations. Down came the witch flag, the cool ghost with his fedora and shades, the arched-back black cat, the tiny ghosts lining the walkway, the little ghost flying from the tree next to the street, the witch windsock, the dangling
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True Colors…leaves and people too
“Smoky Mountain Autumn”— photo by K. L. Wood As leaves begin to lose their chlorophyll-green and reveal their true colors, we enter the
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Be Like The Sunflower…more lessons from the garden
For the fun-in-the-sun of it, my husband planted a row of sunflower seeds along our backyard side-fence. I’ve got to tell you, there’s nothing like watching sunflowers grow for nearly instant gratification! From seeds to nine-foot-tall flowers took only a few summertime weeks. As I watched those beauties grow from seedlings to skyscraping blooms to
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Seeding, Deadheading, & Weeding…lessons from the garden
As I sweated through a recent session of deadheading my flowers in the midst of this meltingly hot summer, I had a lightbulb moment. Gardening is a perfect metaphor for writing. One can also draw parallels to life, in general (but that’s a blog for another day!) Bear with me, now, as I explain myself.
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Carolina Moon…keeping shining
The song, “Carolina Moon”, written in 1924 by Joe Burke and Benny Davis, often floats through my thoughts when I gaze up at a North Carolina moon. I also warmly equate it with my dear mother, born in Swansboro, NC just one year before the song was composed. Legend has it, that it was written
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Parenting…our protagonists
With these months of May and Mother’s Day, and June and Father’s day, I have turned my thoughts to child-rearing. (Sort of…) Kids! Whether they are nine or ninety—what are we going to do with them? They sulk in silence. They sneak off to who-knows-where. They speak some kind of kid-gibberish that we struggle to
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A Love Note…to libraries
Along with spring showers, April brought National Library week, and it put me in mind to ponder libraries and their intrinsic worth. It’s hard to imagine living in a world without public libraries, but truly free (non-fee, non-subscription based, government funded) ones did not exist for American citizens until the first was established in Peterborough,
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Open and Shut…the shamrock’s lesson
To celebrate St. Patrick’s Day, my husband—with his deep Irish heritage—gave me a lovely shamrock plant that sits on the windowsill above my kitchen sink. I’ve been reminded of something important by that emerald-green plant. More on that later in the post… On March 24 and 25, I volunteered, as I have from its inception,
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“Hope springs eternal”…and vice versa
As Alexander Pope mused back in 1733, “Hope springs eternal…” For me, Spring hopes eternal, and Spring officially arrives in the month of March. Unless you live in the southern hemisphere in which Spring begins in September!) March is the baby of the seasonal year—All pastel pinks, and blues, and lavenders, and yellows, and the
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Moving Forward…not moving on
Over the past few months, several within my part of the world have died or had their death anniversaries. These passings have turned my thoughts to the subject of grief and mourning. (Bear with me, now, I promise this post will not be a downer!) With the advent of social media, I have become aware
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January…the two-faced month
I’m sure that many of you may rely on digital calendars, but I love the physical ones with intriguing imagery and the ability to easily glance ahead at what is in store. It is my New Year’s Day tradition to remove the previous year’s calendar from the wall and sit down with it beside my
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Ghosts of Christmas Past…seasonal mysteries
Tis the season for hearing Christmas songs played everywhere you go. An annual favorite was recorded by Andy Williams in 1963 and has a line that may spark your curiosity: “It’s the most wonderful time of the year…There’ll be scary ghost stories and tales of the glories of Christmases long, long ago…” Wait…Ghost stories? At
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At the Fair…fun, fear, and fantasy
Country fairs have long been a staple of American life, with many books and movies centered around them. Especially those with the added attraction of carnival rides and games, they are often portrayed in equal measure entertaining, delightful, exciting…and creepy. Places where young people try out their flirting and flaunting skills and one’s nerve is
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“All Will Be Revealed”…a poetic Celebration
Here it is! The book cover for my newest novel, the second book in my Zephyr Stone middle grade supernatural mystery series: Zephyr Stone and the Haunted Beach House. I am thrilled with the way artist Laura Hollingsworth caught the “spirit” of the book, and love how cover designer Cassie Torgent linked it to the
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Climbing Higher…growing Bigger Hearts
August 1, 2022 I noticed a curious phenomenon this summer. A morning glory plant which “volunteered” in a pot beside my deck, reached out a tendril and entwined itself around a stick propped against the railing. I didn’t plant the morning glory so I assume a breeze or a bird seeded the pot. A climbing
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Sea Glass…Jewels from the Sea
Edenton, North Carolina—the town I’ve called home for the past ten years—hugs the shoreline of the Albemarle Sound. It’s in an area that has become known as the Inner Banks. You could set sail from Edenton, head east for about fifty miles, and drop anchor at Kitty Hawk on the Outer Banks. Along with my
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