“Say it, reader. Say the word ‘quest‘ out loud. It is an extraordinary word, isn’t it? So small and yet so full of wonder, so full of hope.” – Kate DiCamillo From the outside, quests seem exciting. They’re full of … Continue reading
“After the family broke, and when the house was about to sell, I walked around it for a last look. Under the eaves, on the ground, there was a path worn in the dirt, tight against the foundation — … Continue reading
“I’m not afraid of death; I just don’t want to be there when it happens.” – Woody Allen Fear. At a basic level, fear is an emotional response to a perceived threat. Essential, historically, to the survival of humanity. Yet … Continue reading
The first time, there were just three of them, my used-to-be-friends, with their wild hands latched onto my arms like vines imbued with dark magic, pulling me down to the earth; their fists turned into impossibly hard knots of bone, … Continue reading
“Writing is both mask and unveiling.” ~ E. B. White That quote seems to sum up one of the most rewarding byproducts of writing for me: the paradoxical duality of simultaneously concealing and revealing oneself. On one hand, I’ve spent … Continue reading
Last week I mentioned that one of the best things I ever did for myself as a writer was attending an artist residency at Ucross. Today I’ll explain WHY that was so important and I’ll also mention two other things … Continue reading
Q: Did you always want to be a writer? A: Not a chance! As I mentioned on my ABOUT page, I never read my first poem, short-story, novel (and so on) outside of an English class until I was twenty-six … Continue reading
“Living is abnormal.” – Eugene Ionesco I came across Ionesco’s quote right around the first of the year and I thought about sharing it then as my own personal inspiration for how to approach the new year, but in the … Continue reading
“What you see and what you hear depends a great deal on where you are standing. It also depends on what sort of person you are.” – C. S. Lewis Cincinnati native, Jessica Evans and I share a few things … Continue reading
I picked up my cell phone just now to text a friend. Then I remembered, she’s gone . . . two weeks already. It’s the fifth time I’ve done that. An idea sparked a laugh, made me think of her, … Continue reading