Writing Season One

A Great Story for Halloween

I came up with the idea for a short story contest and, having never done such a contest before, didn't know what to expect. I wondered to myself: do people even write short stories anymore? I didn't know if I would get no entries or a hundred. I'm pleased to say that I got one entry...Contest winner extraordinaire Lizette Garrido. Read more →

Halloween Writing Contest - The Last Pumpkin On Earth

See this lonely little pumpkin? Announcing the 1st Annual Halloween Writing Contest at Mosaic Mandalas. Read more →

The Beauty and Joy of Reading Books

National parks. Murder. Mystery. What do these have in common? Books - read once, read many times...what do books have to do with national parks, murder and mystery? Read more →

Wishing I Was Going to the 2012 CA Womens Conference

Did you know that the California Women's Conference is the largest such organization in the U.S.? I wish I could attend the conference as a blogger/media reporter. I would love to represent the really tiny, one-woman artist business and play reporter...all in one package. That would be cool. Read more →

What's happening in Livermore and writing a Screenplay

It was a joy to touch base with artist acquaintance Christine McCall and find out what's going on in the Livermore, Dublin and Pleasanton area. And I'm writing a screenplay. Read more →

Fine Writing is a Joy to Read

CabinetI love to read. As a kid through my teens and into college I read probably hundreds of books. I grew up with the Nancy Drew mystery series which is probably where I first got my love of that genre and why I still collect book series featuring female sleuths. Read more →

Honored to be part of "Defining Moments" by Susan Rae Baker

Susan Rae Baker is one of those amazing people who have the gift of teaching and leadership in the areas of Life and Business coaching. Her website says of her: "...Her aspiration in life is to help people become what they were designed to be, so that they can live a happy, fulfilling and successful life...." Her first book, "The Last Box" won the Mom's Choice Award for Women's Issues. This book, subtitled "A Women’s Guide to Surviving Corporate America," according to Susan took: "...over 30 years of experience and compiled it into an engaging, thought-provoking book intended to bring... Read more →

Beautiful Women of Libya and Art of Writing

I promised a second part to my earlier post, "On Vogue, Dazzling Fashion and Intriguing Writing." I promised to mention a fashion miss: "...The only miss I'll mention is actually a segue into the Intriguing Writing portion of this post...." I was reading through the September issue of Vogue - sometimes the fashion photo spreads are quite beautiful, almost works of art photography. However, some are just, well, awful. Not only is the shot itself unattractive, so is the outfit the model is wearing. I find myself in these situations feeling a bit sorry for the model who has to... Read more →

The Art of Writing is such a Joy

Just a quick post to share the Joy of Writing. Ever since I was a kid I enjoyed writing stories. I had a younger sister and two younger brothers and loved to make up stories to entertain them. When I got to high school I got interested in reporting and found that I greatly enjoyed interviewing and writing about the interesting things that others did. That stayed with me into my early work life when I found employment as a newspaper reporter. My "beat" was always in Lifestyle. Once in a while I would write op-ed pieces or a column... Read more →

On Vogue, Dazzling Fashion and Intriguing Writing

Magazine on my desk. Before you get all excited and concerned, this is not a post sponsored by anyone but me - coinage had to be shelled out for that volumne sitting on my work table. It just happens that it has provided my brain with some choice art-related thoughts as regards fashion and writing...and both so handily encased within these 758 pages of the Vogue fall issue. Because girls like fashion and I'm a girl [listen, it's not a news flash that females remain girls-at-heart no matter what age they are. I remember my grandmother, in her 80's, feeling... Read more →