If there’s one thing Southern gals know how to do, it’s gab. Silly or serious, all it takes is a glass of iced tea and time. Pull up a chair, kick off your shoes, and make yourself comfy…get ready to dish!
Fear Not
Anyone who grew up when I did learned to love the Charlie Brown Christmas special. We talk about Charlie Brown trees at the lot, those poor things that are more stick than needles. We know all the words to “Christmas Time Is Here.” We know exactly how awful pink aluminum Christmas trees are, no matter what today’s fashionable magazines tell us is “on trend.” But the best thing about the Charlie Brown Christmas special is something we might not know. When Linus is telling Charlie Brown about the meaning of...
read moreLearning to Let Go
Trips to Daddy’s in Highlands have a pattern. The way up is the hated trip on I-75 through Georgia–the Interstate that seems like it’s been under construction since I was a kid. The way back involves an overnight stop in Clemson at my aunt and uncle’s house on Lake Keowee (Aunt Lou’s B&B, we call it), then a loop up and over Greenville, down through Clinton so we can buzz my alma mater, Presbyterian College and grab some Whiteford’s Giant Burgers (a P College tradition!) for lunch, then home down...
read moreRWA National: The Courageous Writer: Power Through the Fear
Considering my last couple of years have been like a tunnel, this workshop really hit the spot. Aspiring author Fae Rowen, debut author Laura Drake, and NYT bestselling historical author Tessa Dare shared a passel of wisdom about the fears that crop up in all stages of the writing career, how to face them, and how to get past them so you can be productive. Here are some highlights: “There is only one thing that makes a dream impossible to achieve: fear of failure.” –Paulo Coelho Many of us suffer from atelphobia, the fear of...
read moreRWA National: Doing It All Over Again: Writing Novels in a Series
New York Times bestselling authors Eloisa James and Sarah MacLean and their editor, Carrie Ferron of Avon, delivered a solid hour of information for those of us planning a series of novels. Although the thought of planning a series, like James’s Desperate Duchesses, and MacLean’s Scoundrels, seems daunting, it becomes less so when you consider the following: CONNECTIONS: What is it that connects the books? It can be a place, like MacLean’s gaming hell; a town, like the small towns created by writers like Debbie Macomber and...
read moreRWA National: New Adult: Young Adult Books “Grow Up”
Subtitled “Everything You Want to Know About the Hottest Genre in Publishing,” writers Jennifer L. Armentrout, Cora Carmack, and Molly McAdams, agents Kevan Lyon of Marsal Lyon Literary Agency and Suzie Townsend of New Leaf Literary, and Avon editor Tessa Woodward discussed the emergence of the New Adult subgenre. Here are some highlights from their talk: New Adult focuses on the firsts of everything (first job, first place, first relationship, etc.) plus growing into adulthood–the “awkward heartbreak period,” as...
read moreRWA National: The Joy of Writing, With or Without a Contract
After the last year or two I’ve had, my writer self needed some TLC. Authors Dani Collins and Cathryn Parry presented several strategies to get yourself unmoored and productive. They provided a series of tools to tackle difficult writing situations. COPING STRATEGIES: If you’re struggling with self-doubt, ask yourself “Why do I write?” and “What is success to me?” Then, reflect on your answers. Are you struggling because you’re trying to do something you don’t think is important? You have to...
read moreCast Iron Chronicles: Black Beans and Rice
This Florida girl really feels sorry for non-Floridians who have never eaten Cuban food. Ropa vieja, lechón asado with lots of garlic, boliche, empanadas, maduros, dulce de leche, and, of course, pressed Cuban sandwiches with a side of black beans and rice. Although South Florida is best known for its vibrant Cuban community, we have pockets here and there in Central Florida and some excellent local restaurants, like Rolando’s in Casselberry, Numero Uno in Orlando, and the beloved Black Bean Deli in Winter Park. But sometimes you just...
read moreSomething Wicked This Way Comes
One Sunday morning lo, these many years ago, I went to youth group at the church and met up with my friend Scott. We had horrifying news to discuss. Daddy had gone on a date the night before–with Scott’s MOTHER. After sharing mutual teenage ick over the thought of parents dating, one of us hazarded the unthinkable: “What if they GOT MARRIED?!” Well, they did. I inherited a bonus mom and a couple of brothers, and one memorable April night during my senior year of high school, Daddy called to inform me that I had a new...
read moreNesting Instinct
Our Carolina wrens are back! A couple of years ago, we noticed a patch of thready Spanish moss in our brass mailbox. The door latch on the box isn’t that tight, so it was hanging down. We thought the moss must have blown in there (we’d had some spring storms) and didn’t think much of it. At least, we didn’t until more things showed up in the box: leaves, withered potato vine, plastic bag shrapnel from a newspaper caught outside during one of our flash monsoons. I suspected pranking teens until one afternoon I peeked in...
read moreSwamp Thing
After a weekend in Sunny San Diego, mimi can’t begin to say how happy she is to be back in her Central Florida swamp. The first time I ever flew west, I spent much of the time with my forehead pressed to the window, watching the landscape change from brilliant Southern green to hard-baked desert brown. Florida and California may have palm trees and beaches in common, but that’s where the similarity ends. May I just say that arid California weather coupled with two days of hotel meeting rooms and hours trapped in an airplane have...
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