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 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 →

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 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 →

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 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 →

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 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 →

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 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 →

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 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 →

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.

K is for Karst

We’re almost halfway through the alphabet, and I’m feeling a little loopy. What is “karst” anyway? And why did I choose it over “kiss”?

In Rightfully Ours, between the fracking, a rainy spring, and some other geological factors, conditions are ripe for a phenomenon I’ve seen plenty of in south-central Pennsylvania – the sinkhole. No, karst isn’t precisely what I imagine going on underneath my fictional world, but it’s pretty close, what with limestone deposits being prevalent in these parts. Continue reading →