Start listening to a new series today! 
Prepared. Caffeinated. Never Quit.
My mug collection is extensivce. I have some in Florida, where we have our rentals, in the Vrbo we have here in California, and, of course, my place. Oh yes, there are boxes of mugs in storage and they are…
I learned Something!
I feel like I've been learning so much this past month. Took a class from Becca Syme, a Gallup Certified Strengths Coach, and have learned so much about my process, style, and some of the motivators in my life that…
Motherhood: Should Come With Warning Label
I think our family had given up hope that Don and I would have children. The pointed questions had stopped. Now we heard, "So, what's new, anything?" I was attending Court Reporting school in San Francisco, and had a part…
My Beach, Your Beach, Their Beach–View from the Back Side
Everyone is doing their best to find their happy balance between news and ways to cope with the way things are right now. It's a challenge, isn't it? I won't go over all the things that could go wrong. I'm…
Covid Quarantine: What Changed and What We Learned
Like anything that challenges us, adversity brings out the best and sometimes defeats us. My favorite quote is this: "Adversity doesn't make us, it reveals us." Here are some of my thoughts. Time for New beginnings I've never gone to…
Lock Down to Amp Up
I had a silly thought. Here we are on lock down, not able to fly to places we'd like to be, have those nice beach vacations (I'm envious, can you tell?), but I'm gardening, paying bills, straightening my office, doing…
Place Becomes Character in my story
Our recent purchase of a triplex on Florida's Gulf Coast has spurred my new love affair with this part of the U.S. and gives me a chance to be bi-coastal and nearly right on the beach (100 steps) on a…
Writing Romance While Steaming Veggies…and other woes…
Most people think being a romance writer is very romantic. Try writing a love scene when your husband is steaming cabbage or making hearty chicken soup. Or how about when the oatmeal overflows or the pot goes dry? I think…
Can I be a character in my own book?
My husband bid on this opportunity for me to become a character in one of Barry Eisler's upcoming books, and won. OMG, I mean, Barry Eisler! If we bumped into each other, he wouldn't know who the heck I was...…
Hard To Remember That Kind of September
You've all heard the stories of what 9-11 means to different people around the globe. On remembrance days like these, we are indeed a small blue planet. We are more connected than we realize. On days like these it comes…