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Posts Tagged ‘postaweek2011’

On the 18th of April…

Posted in Love, Writing Craft, tagged , , , , , , , on April 17, 2011 | 27 Comments »

A happy marriage is a long conversation that always seems too short.                                                                                         [...]

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An Evening with Garrison Keillor

Posted in Live Performance, Radio, tagged , , , , , on April 9, 2011 | 19 Comments »

I’m a Garrison Keillor groupie.  So when my youngest son invited me to attend An Evening with Garrison Keillor last Wednesday at the State Theater, I didn’t scream “Yes! Yes! Yes!” with raised and shaking fists as an ordinary wild-eyed groupie might. Instead my soft “I’d love to, dear. How nice of you to ask.  [...]

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Worry-Wart

Posted in Characters, Craft, tagged , , , , , , on April 1, 2011 | 12 Comments »

“Worry often gives a small thing a big shadow.” ~ Swedish Proverb I’m a worrier. I guess I always have been but I don’t think I realized it until a few years ago. On a visit to Wisconsin, my siblings and I sat talking around the kitchen table one evening when I said something, although [...]

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Domino Theory Revisited

Posted in Change, tagged , , , , , , , on March 26, 2011 | 6 Comments »

“Dictators ride to and fro upon tigers which they dare not dismount.  And the tigers are getting hungry.” – Winston Churchill The news was grim from Syria this week.  Dozens were killed, including two children, during security force clashes with protesters.  “We do not want your bread,” the people chanted in their marches. “We want [...]

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NJRW Chapter Meeting & Why I Belong

Posted in The Writing Life, Writing Business, tagged , , , , on March 20, 2011 | 16 Comments »

The New Jersey Romance Writers met Saturday, March 19, at the Hilton Woodbridge in Iselin, NJ. At the General Meeting, President Shirley Hailstock and NJRW’s Board updated members on the group’s finances, the new website, upcoming events including April’s Special Event, planning for October’s Put Your Heart in a Book conference, and the status of [...]

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Earthquakes & Flowers

Posted in Journeys, Writing, tagged , , , , , , on March 13, 2011 | 12 Comments »

We were parking our car in a Chinatown lot near the Philadelphia Convention Center when my sister called.  We had tickets for Springtime in Paris, the 2011 Philadelphia Flower Show. Paula’s voice held a note of urgency. She asked about our oldest son living in San Francisco, an untimely concern I thought.  We had not [...]

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A Family for your Characters

Posted in Family, Writing Craft, tagged , , , on March 6, 2011 | 6 Comments »

My mom and dad divorced before my 2nd birthday. Within a few months, Mom moved to another state and remarried.  She’d known my step-dad since their childhood in northern Minnesota.  My older brother and I grew up in a household with Mom, our step-dad, and ultimately five other siblings.  Our younger brother, Tim, died in [...]

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Hylda’s Husband

Posted in Inspiration, tagged , , , , , , on February 27, 2011 | 6 Comments »

A few days ago I wrote about Hylda Schmeling whose charming photos I’d discovered in a Goodwill store.  I relayed details of her life that I’d found in a quick online search. Hylda so intrigued me that yesterday I spent an hour or so researching her husband.  It occurred to me that he’d probably graduated [...]

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Hylda

Posted in Inspiration, tagged , , , , , on February 25, 2011 | 10 Comments »

I found her in a thrift store, framed in a shiny metal frame and covered with a sheet of thick glass.  She was young.  Pretty, too.  Garbed in a delicate white dress, she wore a broad bonnet, the type worn early in the twentieth century.  Edwardian, I believe.  Maybe 1905 or 1906. The frame seemed [...]

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Traveling American

Posted in Family, Reflections, Travel, tagged , , , , on February 23, 2011 | 13 Comments »

“There are always flowers for those who want to see them.” ~ Henri Matisse Last week we had a sudden death in our family. I needed to travel from Pennsylvania to Wisconsin so I went online to make airline reservations.  Since I had to fly in two days, the fares were close to $1,000; normally [...]

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A Writer’s Valentine

Posted in Commitment, Love, Marriage, tagged , , , on February 13, 2011 | 4 Comments »

My passion is writing romance. I grew up on boy meets girl stories. I watch romantic movies, read romance novels, and write happily ever after stories. For years, I’ve been a member of Romance Writers of America©.  Most of my close friends read and/or write romance.  Finally, and most important, I have been married to [...]

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Birth and Death

Posted in Reflections, Writing Craft, tagged , , , , , on February 7, 2011 | 3 Comments »

Last week massive storms ripped a 2,000-mile swath across the land. On Tuesday at 1:32 am, in the middle of the heavy Wisconsin blizzard, a text message appeared on my cell. It was from my brother. “At the hospital,” his words read. I didn’t actually see the message until I woke around 5:30. By then [...]

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Winter Muse

Posted in Reflections, Seasons, tagged , , , , , on February 3, 2011 | 5 Comments »

I’ve always been fascinated by winter. I’m not sure why.  Maybe because I was born during the month of January.  It could be because my parents were from northern Minnesota or that their ancestors all hailed from northern Europe.  From my Wisconsin childhood, I recall snowbound winters and a few temperatures of 30 below, not [...]

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Secrets

Posted in Reflections, Writing Craft, tagged , , , , on February 1, 2011 | 6 Comments »

In writing a novel, there are many ways to enrich the characters.  Some writers fill notebooks with complete details.  They include every aspect:  height, weight, hair and eye color, college attended, hobbies, astrology sign, mother’s maiden name, father’s occupation.  The writer plans carefully and leaves nothing to chance.  All this detail, whether or not it [...]

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The Will to Write

Posted in Commitment, Courage, tagged , , , , , on January 23, 2011 | 9 Comments »

The difference between a successful person and others is not a lack of strength, not a lack of knowledge, but rather a lack of will. — Vince Lombardi Legendary Green Bay Packers’ Coach Vince Lombardi understood success and he understood what it took to achieve it.  It takes willpower to coach a team to the [...]

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Mothers & Daughters

Posted in Family, Generations, Reflections, tagged , , on January 15, 2011 | 3 Comments »

I’m thinking of her today. Her gentle voice and proud image linger about me. The relationship between a mother and her daughter can follow many paths.  A childhood friend was incredibly close to her mom. The two of them talked, laughed and shared silly secrets. Yet another good friend and her mother were like strangers; [...]

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A New Year

Posted in Christmas, Motivation, Resolutions, tagged , , on January 9, 2011 | 4 Comments »

It’s Sunday, January 9th, and my house is still decorated for Christmas.   I got a late start.  When I finally got around to decorating, I scattered seasonal décor with a light hand.  Instead of a 6-foot tree, I set up a table tree in our bay window.  Elsewhere our Christmas stockings, my Jim Shore Santas, [...]

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