Category Archives: Kids

January 24, 2023 · 10:00 am

Hot pizza on a rainy day

Bloganuary: Describe the happiest day of your life

I decided to filter this prompt through the advice in Our Town by Thornton Wilder. If you choose to revisit a day, make it an ordinary one.

It was late spring, a weekday, back when my kids and I were taking karate classes together. The weather was warm enough not to need jackets, so we didn’t bring any to class.

A storm blew in while we were doing roundhouse kicks. After class, it was still raining hard. To wait out the storm, we decided to skip along the covered sidewalk of the strip mall and order take-out pizza for dinner.

Except, when the pizza was ready, it was raining even harder.

Pizza in hand, we debated. Go for it and risk soggy pizza or wait and content ourselves with cold slices when we got home?

We were too hungry to wait. We hunkered over the pizzas, cardboard boxes hot against our palms, and raced for the car. After a few steps, we were soaked through. By the time the three of us were secure in the car, we were laughing.

Maybe it was the endorphins from karate, or the promise of pizza, or that it was so close to summer vacation, but we didn’t stop laughing for the entire drive home—or when we had to race inside through that same downpour.

After we toweled off and hung up our karate uniforms to drip dry, the pizza was—somehow—still hot. It was nothing more than franchise pizza, but we ate and laughed, laughed and ate.

I don’t remember what happened before karate, and I’m not sure what we did for the rest of the evening. But this window of time is something my kids still mention in conversation, even now.

I think this is how those important life milestones should feel but never quite do. It was a burst of pure joy, pure living that can’t be manufactured.

You simply must trust that life will give you some of these moments.

Hot pizza on a rainy day after karate class doesn’t sound like the ingredients for the happiest day of my life. But if I had to pick one day to go back and live again, it would be this one.

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January 15, 2023 · 10:58 am

The gift at the end of the treasure hunt

Bloganuary: What is the most memorable gift you have received?

My daughter worked so hard on this Christmas gift.

As you can see, it has the following:

  • a map
  • a treasure hunt with clues
  • a large glass crystal
  • a keepsake box with a hand-painted coffee cup

And yes, she sent me all over the house searching for my gift. And it was all in honor of the first season of Coffee and Ghosts (long before there was a second, third, and fourth season).

For my daughter, I’ve always been a writer. She witnessed my first novel being published by Simon and Schuster. She saw the ups and downs, mainly because I shared them with her and explained what I was doing and how publishing worked. My kids know how to check print books to see if the book in question is a first edition. This might be an unusual skill to pass along to your children, but there you go.

So she also witnessed my transition to indie publishing. I explained my reasons for that as well. How no publisher (in their right mind) was going to publish a series based on the slim premise of catching ghosts with coffee*.

When I reached the end of the treasure hunt, she told me why she created this Coffee and Ghosts-themed gift.

Because when everyone said no to you, you said yes to yourself.

And that’s a gift I hope will continue to linger—for both of us.  

*To be fair, “The Ghost in the Coffee Machine” was part of the Coffee: 14 Caffeinated Tales of the Fantastic anthology. It was also produced in audio by The Drabblecast.

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January 10, 2023 · 10:00 am

Comfort and Joy

Bloganuary: What brings you joy in life?

The first things that popped into my head were:

  • Talking with my kids
  • Writing
  • Curling up with a good book and some hot peppermint tea at the end of the day

That being said, I wonder if those things simply bring me deep contentment. These aren’t necessarily significant things, after all. They don’t change the world. But maybe that’s okay. When I manage all three of those things on any given day, I consider that to be a stellar day.

So I’m going to take those small things and hold them close.

They are comfort and joy.

They are enough.  

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June 26, 2016 · 9:26 am

Weekly writing check-in: the one with the first week of summer

Summer is here! It’s official, not because of the date, but because it’s the lull between regular dance season and summer dance.

Not as much writing this week, but I did do a lot of prep work for taking things wide. This includes a fair amount of reformatting and making sure the epub format is working, revamping some covers, setting up accounts, and so on. This always takes longer than I think it will. Always.

And that’s about it. Submissions/rejections, as always.

Writing Work:

  • Writing: Coffee & Ghosts ~3,000 words
  • Photoshop tutorials
  • Formatting and prepping to go wide

Submissions:

  • Knight in the Royal Arms
  • In a Manner of Speaking

Rejections:

  • Knight in the Royal Arms
  • In a Manner of Speaking

Acceptances:

  • None

Publications:

  • None

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June 19, 2016 · 10:06 am

Weekly writing check-in: the one with the dance recital

So it was the week of the big dance recital–dress rehearsal on Friday (no small thing) and two performances yesterday. Despite that, I did do some writing this week. I finished up the brainstorming and outlining for episode two and even drafted +2,000 words.

I also decided that after a year of being exclusive at Amazon, I’m going to take all my content wide, selling on iTunes, Kobo, and Nook. I’ll lose money initially, but it isn’t really money I depend upon, so now is a good time to make this change. Plus, I have a much larger catalog of books this time around, which I think will help. Also, I have a Mac now, which means I can go direct on Apple. That might make a difference as well.

And that’s it for the week.

Writing Work:

  • Writing: ~ Coffee & Ghosts brainstorming and outlining, 2,600 words
  • Photoshop tutorials
  • Copy edits for Gretel and Hansel

Submissions:

  • None

Rejections:

  • None

Acceptances:

  • None

Publications:

  • None

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June 12, 2016 · 1:33 pm

Weekly writing check-in: the one with the ballet bun

So I had one of those moments this week, one where I think: oh, so that’s what happens in this story. It wasn’t a week where I did a lot of writing, although I did transfer a story I had written longhand in a notebook to the computer. But! I think I have a handle on the next episode of  Coffee & Ghosts.

Otherwise, it was one of those quiet weeks. My daughter’s Girl Scout troop bridged to Senior Scouts and we’re gearing up for the big dance recital next week. To that end, I need to cobble together her hair into a ballet bun.

Edited to add: Ah, yes, it took our combined efforts and forty minutes of work to unlock the ballet bun achievement level.

Writing Work:

  • Writing: ~ Coffee & Ghosts brainstorming and outlining
  • Photoshop tutorials

Submissions:

  • The Saint of Bright Red Things

Rejections:

  • The Saint of Bright Red Things

Acceptances:

  • None

Publications:

  • None

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June 5, 2016 · 12:58 pm

Weekly writing check-in: the one with the amazing tour

Tour

Ah, the last week of school. To celebrate, my daughter and I went to see Phil and Dan and The Amazing Tour is Not on Fire. It did not disappoint, especially if you’re a fan–or should I say phan. No spoilers, but I will say that it was LOUD.

In other news, I finished off the novella I was working on. I do plan to add to it, especially the front end, since I started it off thinking it would be a short story. But for now, I’m pleased. And while I didn’t truly do a story a day in May, I’m happy with the amount I did write.

Otherwise, I didn’t do anything else except a few tutorials–no submissions, no rejections, nothing. I’m looking forward to getting back to Coffee & Ghosts this month. The break from it was good because now I’m really excited to finish off season three.

Writing Work:

  • Writing: ~ 7,000 words
  • Photoshop tutorials
  • Craft work

Submissions:

  • None

Rejections:

  • None

Acceptances:

  • None

Publications:

  • None

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May 10, 2015 · 10:41 am

Weekly writing check-in: the one with détente

dogsandcats

So, this illustration of dogs and cats, living together, only took +7 months or so. But at long last, we have achieved détente.

This week, I finished up the Description class–so now I know how to describe things–kept up with the other class, and even wrote some non-class related words. I also sent out two submissions this week as well. So, a pretty good week.

Writing Work:

  • Description class
  • Narrative Design class
  • Writing ~ 4,000 words

Submissions:

  • Knight in the Royal Arms
  • March Madness

Rejections:

  • None

Acceptances:

  • None

Publications:

  • None

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May 3, 2015 · 11:40 am

Weekly writing check-in: the one with oh never mind, I’m too tired

Last dance competition of the season last night. So. Tired. And I’m not even the one who danced. We rolled into the driveway at about 11:30 p.m., which I’ll have you know is way past my bedtime. And the dog’s bedtime. And the cat’s bedtime. Everyone was just a bit off their game due to this schedule change. If sleeping can be called a game, that is. In the case of our pets, I think it can.

Kept up with my course work. This is the last week of the Description class, and while I’ve enjoyed it, I’ll be glad not to have the extra homework to do. Otherwise, I made two submissions this week, had one rejection, and one story short-listed.

And now, I’m just going to go read or nap or something that doesn’t involve moving.

Writing Work:

  • Description class
  • Narrative Design class

Submissions:

  • Incriminating Evidence (reprint market)
  • The Life Expectancy of Fireflies

Rejections:

  • The Life Expectancy of Fireflies

Acceptances:

  • None

Publications:

  • None

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April 26, 2015 · 10:16 am

Weekly writing check-in: the one with another sale

So … I sold a reprint this week to Evil Girlfriend Media, which is one of those inspired names, right up there with Mad Scientist Journal. I also discovered that the Kazka Press website is no longer online, so I will start looking for reprint markets for the stories I sold there as well.

I kept up in my classes, but I’m finding it difficult to balance two craft-heavy classes with writing new words. But I knew this month would be a difficult one for new words anyway, what with dance competitions and camping trips and who knows what. And as everyone knows, it’s the who knows what that’s particularly time-consuming. So, it’s working out. I’m enjoying the classes, revising some work, and sending out some as well.

Oh, and I sold a couple of things in there too. See? It all works out.

Writing Work:

  • Description class
  • Narrative Design class

Submissions:

  • Gretel and Hansel
  • Keeping Time (reprint market)

Rejections:

  • Gretel and Hansel

Acceptances:

Publications:

  • None

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