If you’ve read my blog or follow me on social media or heard me speak, you probably know how much I am obsessed with Scotland. It wasn’t always that way, though. But I met Scotland at a pivotal time in my life. I first visited Scotland when I was 13 years old. I was with… Read more »
Edinburgh
Story Bite 16: It’s All About Perspective
Perspective—the voice that tells a story—can entirely change a story’s meaning, purpose, and feel. Here’s an example: When I was four years old, I was invited to the birthday party of my older brother’s best friend, Aaron. There was a chocolate cake in the kitchen while activities went on outside. I grew bored with the… Read more »
A New Year, and Looking Back
Happy New Year, everyone! I wish you all a joyous, peaceful, warm, and creative year filled with the light you need in your particular lives. For me, I’m looking forward to editing a new book that I’m very excited about. More on that when it’s closer to publication. Today I looked back on some of… Read more »
Drest (and Me) in Scotland: Part 2
One of our first visits in Edinburgh this year was to my favorite museum ever: the National Museum of Scotland. It’s an incredible place. What makes it especially close to my heart are the magnificent exhibits of Scottish history, starting from the forming of the earth, lochs, mountains, and hills (the Borders!!!!) to the modern… Read more »
Drest (and Me) in Scotland: Part 1
Scotland, and Edinburgh and the Borders in particular, are places very close to my heart. Early this summer, I made my third trip in my adult life. As usual, it was a part-research trip and part-family vacation. Because The Mad Wolf’s Daughter is in print, I took along a copy with the idea to pose it at… Read more »
Castle Scenes: Part 1
The great medieval castles of Scotland have always inspired me and helped me create my fictional worlds. In this series, I’ll share pictures of castle bits that have directly led to specific scenes in my novels. For this post, let’s talk castle stairs. I always knew that castle stairs were narrow, and spiral, and designed… Read more »
Story Bite 3: On Food
Last month’s writing prompt was about setting. I hope your mouth won’t water too much over November’s prompt, which is about…food! For this month, write either nonfiction or fiction. Write as yourself, or pick a character (create your own alter ego, or go ahead and pick someone from your favorite book). Here’s a visual to start: This,… Read more »
Starting With a Castle…
If you follow me on Twitter, you may have noticed my love for—oh, let’s just be honest—enormous obsession with Scotland’s castles. These are the stone behemoths that dominate Scotland’s landscape (particularly in the Borders), looming above cities, countrysides, and seas. Kings, earls, and lords—Scottish and English alike—built these fortresses from the 11th to 16th centuries to… Read more »
These lilacs have the most glorious scent, but are pretty modest in their way. The former colleague I lost over the weekend to cancer would have liked them for both those reasons.
#flowers #grief #lilacs
It’s been a tough week. A moment with a few flowers can make a difference.
#flowers #azalea #springflowers