Talking Story
Cash Flow Oh-oh
The Carnival Chronicles
We’re screwed. Taxis in the Caribbean are more than four times what I expected and everywhere I turn people have their hands out for a tip. I didn’t bring enough cash, which usually isn’t a problem, but our bank and credit cards won’t let us get cash from the ATMs....
Contrasts
The Carnival Chronicles
Outside of the walled resort the town is poor, clothes from Goodwill poor, the kind of poor where there are not enough jobs for young men, so they congregate around shade trees waiting for the day’s catch to arrive in leaky dinghies. My kids have never seen this kind...
Shoes
The Carnival Chronicles
Shoes are a problem. Any pressure on the healing scar on my heel and I want to curl into a little ball and quiver. It’s not supposed to be this way, but what can you do? Knowing I was going on these trips, I had the surgery in early January, assured that I’d be...
Snorkel, Mon
The Carnival Chronicles
I’m sitting on a bench waiting for someone to tell me which catamaran to get on, listening to a couple of guys bang on steel drums. I suddenly realize they’re playing Hotel California. The shave ice colored buildings—blue raspberry, lemon yellow, strawberry...
Cane Fire
The Carnival Chronicles
If I close my eyes, I’m not middle-aged and riding in a taxi van through the foothills of Barbados, I’m nine standing on the kickball field at Kahului Elementary School on Maui, Hawaii, watching black snow fall from the sky. The air smells like burnt marshmallows and...
Hellooooo! Hell, No.
The Carnival Chronicles
It’s no secret I hate perky. Chirpy, gleeful, happy—particularly in the morning—rubs me like sandpaper on a sunburn. But my personal seventh level of hell is reserved for cruise directors. Hellllllooooooo! He cackles every time he gets on the mic. The blue-hair set...
Glutton-Free
The Carnival Chronicles
On the cruise ship there is food everywhere you turn. But since I’m allergic to wheat, about 90% of it I can’t eat. Breads, meat drenched in gravies and suspicious sauces, food fried in the same oil as breaded chicken tenders and onion rings—I sometimes on the ship...
Cramping Styles
The Carnival Chronicles
Whenever I travel, I always look for the quiet nook, the place away from the karaoke bar scene and the disco fever, where I can sit and write. Last night while exploring the ship I found a little room called the Iliad Library. There are four tables, a few chairs and a...
Sea Horses
The Carnival Chronicles
Of all the things I thought I would do on my Caribbean vacation, riding a horse would’ve been last on the list. We have horses at home; mine is a Tennessee Walker named Marley. She’s sturdy, well-trained, and bomb-proof, but I rarely ride her. I’m with Sherlock Holmes...
Snow is a Four Letter Word
Oh my, &*(^&^@#%^!!! It’s SNOWING again. I bought little cute sandals, capris, and tee-shirts. I got my toes painted a sunny orange-creamsicle. There’s a tube of sunscreen in my day bag and even a fold up hat. The calendar says spring—winter should be over....
Book Review: Dr. Stuart’s Heart
by Johnny Worthen
Set in the same world as Beatrysel, Johnny Worthen’s novelette Dr. Stuart’s Heart delves into the world of lost love, longing, and an academic approach to modern magick. Dr. Stuart is a history professor and hopeful necromancer who believes a talented graduate...
Book Review: Little Visible Delight
From the popularity of movies like Fatal Attraction to the TLC reality series My Strange Addiction, it’s no surprise that we’re fascinated by the extreme forms love, hate, desire, fear, and need take. Little Visible Delight is an anthology of darkly twisted obsession...
Swimwear Evolution
Oh, hell’s bells. I have to buy new swimwear. When I was a kid, this meant going with Mom to Sears or JC Penney and trying on a new bikini. No big deal. Bonus if we stopped for guri-guri on the way home. In Hawaii in the 1970s, we all wore bikinis because kids didn’t...
If You Give a Writer an Idea
If a writer gets an idea, she’ll need an icy Diet Coke before she can sit down and write. When she goes to get a can from the fridge, she’ll notice the salad dressing next to it is expired. If she notices the date is two months past, she’ll wonder what else is old. If...
Spring? Not Yet.
The calendar says first day of Spring, but the snow flurries are flying. In defiance I’m wearing my new summer capris and a t-shirt, but in the space heater under my desk is on. The sun peeks through bare branches to shine hazily through my office window. I know in a...
Uintah High School Creative Writing Workshops
On Feb. 28, 2014 authors Christine Haggerty, Angela Hartley, and I held two creative writing workshops at Uintah High School in Vernal, UT. I talked about being an author and building craft skills and Angela gave a presentation about the power of synesthesia in...
Union High School Drama Workshop
On Thursday, February 27, 2014 authors Angela Hartley, Christine Haggerty, and I held two drama workshops at Union High School in Roosevelt, UT. I gave a short presentation about how writing is really for the dogs and then we workshopped five original scenes. The...
Non-Writer’s Block
I don’t believe in writer’s block, even though I’ve been stalled out on book three in the Niuhi Shark Saga for several months now. It’s not that I can’t write—I’ve continued to write and even publish other works—it’s that I haven’t wanted to work on the series. It’s...
Cover Reveal: Daddy Doin’ Work by Doyin Richards
Rounding out the week of cover reveals is Daddy Doin' Work by Doyin Richards. Doyin started a parenting blog a couple of years ago and has a large social media following. Known for his down-to-earth, if you're taking care of your own kids, it's called parenting, not...
Cover Reveal: Defiance by Adrienne Monson
Vampires! Here's the cover of the second book in the Blood Inheritance trilogy, Defiance by Adrienne Monson. From the back of the book: Leisha and Samantha barely survived the vampires and immortals six months ago. Now, an explosive battle between the vampires and...