I wasn’t presented with flowers in the traditional sense during my first bookstore signing on the Sherman’s circuit, but I snuck in a visit to the Coastal Maine Botanical Gardens while I was in Boothbay Harbor, so I did get to see their magnificent display. And so my memories of this day will include the… Read more »
May 2018
Independent Bookstore Day
Bookstores have always meant a lot to me. I grew up in rural Maine (yes, Mount Desert Island is quite rural, especially in the winter), and I was lucky to have an indie nearby: Sherman’s Books of Bar Harbor. I remember walking up the wooden step into the shop and spending a good hour in… Read more »
Story Bite 8: On Building Stakes
It’s fairly easy when you start a story or a novel to come up with a basic character and a goal. The next part of building a story—the conflict—is a little bit harder, but not bad. And then comes the hardest part: the stakes. This is what’s missing when a lot of people try to… Read more »
Sherman’s Bookstore Appearances
I’m thrilled to be doing a series of appearances at Sherman’s Books, Maine’s locally-owned indie bookstore chain, starting this month. Sherman’s was a very important bookstore in my childhood, and I’m delighted to go back to these fantastic indies in this way.
Happy birthday, Mom! I wish she were still here so that I could call her and hear her lovely voice. I always rang her on her birthday, and we chatted about whatever was going on. Usually, she`d tell me a story about what her dogs were up to (she had two Rhodesian Ridgebacks who were great companions), something fun that had happened at work (she made so many friends, so the story might have been about one of them), and a thank-you for the flowers I`d sent.
Just sharing that memory and this, a picture of her that I have on my desk. She`s at Bug Point Light in South Portland, Maine, and it`s a freezing day with the wind whipping off the water, but she`s beaming because she`s with her family, including her son-in-law, whom she adored.
I miss you, Mom, but thank you for being such a warm presence in my life. I will always remember that feeling.
#Birthdays #ParentalLoss
Eight years ago today, I lost a person very important to my life, one of my best friends ever: my mom. Here`s one of my favorite pictures of her on Mount Desert Island, a place she loved. Mom was a huge support and advocate for me as I grew up on that island, and always believed in me. When I was an adult, though, we had a new and very special relationship. She`d come to visit me and we`d go on adventures, exploring the area where I lived. She had a job, but she`d leave early on Friday and spend the whole weekend with me, returning home late Sunday. Those times, just Mom and me, were so incredibly special. We joked, talked, sat in companionable silence, and just felt each other`s company. My mom loved to learn and adored history, nature, plants, and animals, and more. I miss her so much. The grief of loss softens, but it never goes away.
#ParentalLoss #Love