Blogging from A to Z Challenge: S is for Siblings in Stories

Blogging from A to Z April 2017 Challenge

For the first time, I’m participating in the Blogging from A to Z April Challenge! The concept is simple: Each day in April I’ll be blogging on a topic  starting with the letter of the day, beginning with A and progressing to Z by the end of the month. Posts will be short and will relate to my chosen theme: my new coming of age story, Rightfully Ours, released April 1.


S blogging
S is for Siblings in Stories

I have a thing about writing siblings in stories. I love it.

While I’m not particularly close to my brothers due to the large gap in our ages, we share a history. When you grow up in the same household, where you make shared memories, you share a bond. Continue reading

Blogging from A to Z Challenge: R is for Resurrection Choir

Blogging from A to Z April 2017 Challenge

For the first time, I’m participating in the Blogging from A to Z April Challenge! The concept is simple: Each day in April I’ll be blogging on a topic  starting with the letter of the day, beginning with A and progressing to Z by the end of the month. Posts will be short and will relate to my chosen theme: my new coming of age story, Rightfully Ours, released April 1.


R bloggingR is for Resurrection Choir

Have you ever heard of a Resurrection Choir? I’ve heard mention of it here and there over the past decade. It’s simply a volunteer choir whose members sing at church funerals. Sometimes, it’s at the request of the family of the deceased. In other cases, I think it is customary for every parish funeral Mass. (I say Mass because my experience is with Catholic churches, but it may be a ministry of other Christian churches as well.) Continue reading

Blogging from A to Z Challenge: Q is for Quarrel

Blogging from A to Z April 2017 Challenge

For the first time, I’m participating in the Blogging from A to Z April Challenge! The concept is simple: Each day in April I’ll be blogging on a topic  starting with the letter of the day, beginning with A and progressing to Z by the end of the month. Posts will be short and will relate to my chosen theme: my new coming of age story, Rightfully Ours, released April 1.


Q bloggingQ is for Quarrel

I love the nuances of language. We writers are always searching for the word that best matches our meaning. What sets “quarrel” apart from synonyms such as “bickering,” “dispute,” “fight,” or “fray?”

One of Merriam-Webster’s definitions is “a usually verbal conflict between antagonists.” Continue reading

From A to Z Blogging Challenge: P is for Pirates

Blogging from A to Z April 2017 Challenge

For the first time, I’m participating in the Blogging from A to Z April Challenge! The concept is simple: Each day in April I’ll be blogging on a topic  starting with the letter of the day, beginning with A and progressing to Z by the end of the month. Posts will be short and will relate to my chosen theme: my new coming of age story, Rightfully Ours, released April 1.


P bloggingP is for Pirates

What is our fascination with pirates? Kids love pirates, for sure. Pirate play sets, books, and costumes never go out of style. For my oldest son’s fourth birthday a decade ago, I hosted a pirate party in our back yard in which the kids dug for buried treasure, crafted parrots to perch on their shoulders, played Pin the X on the Treasure Map, and pummeled a papier-mâché pirate piñata. (Ask me if I had the will to host anything so elaborate for any of the children that followed. The answer is no.) Continue reading

From A to Z Blogging Challenge: O is for Orchard

Blogging from A to Z April 2017 Challenge

For the first time, I’m participating in the Blogging from A to Z April Challenge! The concept is simple: Each day in April I’ll be blogging on a topic  starting with the letter of the day, beginning with A and progressing to Z by the end of the month. Posts will be short and will relate to my chosen theme: my new coming of age story, Rightfully Ours, released April 1.


O bloggingO is for Orchard

A couple of summers ago, I took my three youngest children, then 7, 3, and 2, to a local orchard to pick peaches. It was hot. My 2-year-old kept disappearing down rows of fruit-heavy trees. There were bugs. But it was still fun. Continue reading

Blogging from A to Z Challenge: N is for NaNoWriMo

Blogging from A to Z April 2017 Challenge

For the first time, I’m participating in the Blogging from A to Z April Challenge! The concept is simple: Each day in April I’ll be blogging on a topic  starting with the letter of the day, beginning with A and progressing to Z by the end of the month. Posts will be short and will relate to my chosen theme: my new coming of age story, Rightfully Ours, released April 1.


N blogging
N is for NaNoWriMo

For those who do no know, NaNoWriMo is National Novel Writing Month, which takes place annually in November. It was during NaNoWriMo 2010 that I wrote the first draft of Rightfully Ours, then tentatively titled All That Glitters. I hadn’t ever attempted writing fiction longer than a short story, and even that had been a decade earlier. Suffice to say, I didn’t really know what I was doing, only that I wanted to get 50,000 semi-coherent words written during that November. Continue reading

Blogging from A to Z Challenge: M is for Medals

Blogging from A to Z April 2017 Challenge

For the first time, I’m participating in the Blogging from A to Z April Challenge! The concept is simple: Each day in April I’ll be blogging on a topic  starting with the letter of the day, beginning with A and progressing to Z by the end of the month. Posts will be short and will relate to my chosen theme: my new coming of age story, Rightfully Ours, released April 1.


M blogging M is for Medals

A personal item or token of some sort can tell you a lot about a character. It may be a piece of jewelry, a memento kept in a pocket, or a treasure tucked in a nightstand drawer. I’ve used religious medals as items important to Catholic characters in my novels.

In Ornamental Graces, it was a Miraculous Medal pinned to the inside of Grandma’s bra (!), later given to a special young woman. In Rightfully Ours, it is a St. Paul medal given as  birthday gift to Paul from his friend Rachel. Continue reading

Blogging from A to Z Challenge: L is for Lentils

Blogging from A to Z April 2017 Challenge

For the first time, I’m participating in the Blogging from A to Z April Challenge! The concept is simple: Each day in April I’ll be blogging on a topic  starting with the letter of the day, beginning with A and progressing to Z by the end of the month. Posts will be short and will relate to my chosen theme: my new coming of age story, Rightfully Ours, released April 1.


L blogging
L is for Lentils

Yesterday I bypassed “kiss” for “karst,” despite the kisses in Rightfully Ours. Today, I’m going to skip the overly broad “love” for “lentils.” Yes, lentils. The legumes.

I don’t believe I ever tasted a lentil until I was in my twenties, and my husband encouraged me to make lentil soup. I found a recipe in one of his cookbooks and gave it a shot. In fact, it earned a regular spot in our menu and has a tiny place in Rightfully Ours when Rachel makes a pot for her family’s dinner. Continue reading