Social media is about being connected, staying in touch with old friends, finding out what’s happening in the world. Unless, like me, you’re a competitive soul. In which case it’s a matter of keeping one step ahead of, well, honestly, my husband. Yes, yes, I profess to only be competitive with myself. And for the most part that’s true. Unless I perceive a challenge by a boy, in which case…
Okay, I get it. The weeping. The FAULT IN OUR STARS comparisons (which really make sense). The actual whole cancer thing. But don’t dismiss my buddy Colleen Oakley’s BEFORE I GO as just a “cancer book.” Because it’s so much more than that. It’s a love story. Between Daisy and Jack, who met when he rescued her from a bumblebee, and are opposites in so many ways. It’s about Jack’s…
There are some topics on which I have no right to blog: Raising twins (don’t have ’em), Skydiving (won’t do it), Sword-Swallowing (ow)… Yet even considering all those, probably the topic on which I have the least right to blog is Balance, and I mean that in every sense of the word. I will fall over if I try to do tree pose, I’m too impatient to find that perfect…
Even as I write this, I’m sitting with my grandmother and sister, watching the Eagles defeat (so far, keep your fingers crossed) the Giants, at the tail end of a weekend filled with fun, food, and family. Work is great — Elixir was a bestseller, and Hilary and I are working on the sequel; Populazzi ARCs have arrived at Harcourt; I’m working on some really fun TV and DVD projects…
I’ve always been very independent. I need some time alone everyday to decompress (and write). I like to do things myself, and hate being told what to do. And then I married someone as independent as I am. He is equally as bossy and opinionated. He needs time alone in his studio everyday. But we’ve managed to muddle along. We know to give each other space, and we like to…
I’ve always been a big reader, and that means there have been a lot of books that made a difference in my life. On the Banks of Plum Creek, by Laura Ingalls Wilder, was the first chapter book I ever read. Animal, Vegetable, Miracle, by Barbara Kingsolver, changed the way I thought about food and eating. On Writing, by Stephen King, propelled me into finishing my book. But there was…
I always wanted to be a June bride. I don’t know why. Maybe it was the song from Seven Brides for Seven Brothers… maybe it was an incredibly fun family wedding one June that struck me as simply perfect. Maybe it’s society’s fault. But regardless of the reason, when I started thinking about marrying my husband (before he was in on the plans, actually), I wanted a June wedding. I…
Dear Oppressor, You don’t seem to know I exist. It’s understandable, I suppose. If you did notice me, it would be with indifference, possibly even disdain. That’s fine. I live to be abused and ignored, filled to the brim or stripped bare, pummeled with sharp objects, suffocated with unidentifiable and smelly things at the whim of others. I have witnessed untold decadence and misery. I am a stalwart, stoic carrier…
I have a special gift. I remember lines from movies. Not just the classics, like, This is the start of a beautiful friendship Cinderella story. Outta nowhere. A former greenskeeper, now, about to become the Masters champion. You want the moon? Just say the word and I’ll throw a lasso around it and pull it down. Houston, we have a problem Here’s looking at you, kid I’m gonna make him…
I am honored to close this week’s festivities for Jenny Gardiner and her fantastic debut novel, Sleeping with Ward Cleaver. It truly is an honest, brassy, HIGHLY relatable look at what happens to many marriages a few years and a few children in—covering so much more than just loss of that initial spark, when passion dissolves into comfort (and sometimes malaise). It’s about sharing responsibilities, about respect, about communication, about…
