Writer - Author - Poet
Writer - Author - Poet

Gone Fishing

Not long ago I needed to buy a few items from my local outdoor store. Usually, when I drive into town, I combine several errands to make the trip worthwhile. But that time I just made the trip for those few things. When I got to the store the front door was locked and the […]

The Poet

A poet can be described as anyone who uses language creatively, who can evoke a specific emotional response through words, or a person possessing special powers of imagination: Edgar Allen Poe, William Shakespeare, Maya Angelou, Robert Frost. My favorite poet as a teenager was Elizabeth Barrett Browning and I spent hours reading her collective works. […]

Emily and Me

The Bible still holds the record for the most books sold at 5 billion copies. Next, Quotations from Chairman Mao (1.1 billion copies), the Quran (800 million copies), Don Quixote (500 million copies), followed by Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens (200 million copies), and The Lord of the Rings (155 million copies). The Harry Potter books, 7 in all, have sold more than 500 million copies. The Complete Poems […]

Mistakes

J.K. Rowlings was rejected 12 times by publishers. They all thought Harry Potter wasn’t good enough. There were insufficient lifeboats on the Titanic because engineers at the time believed it was unsinkable. It took 177 years to build the tower of Pisa and 10 years for it to start leaning. Faulty construction led to the […]

Life Goes On

Where I live, most trees and shrubs form their buds in the late summer or fall before they go dormant for the winter; sleeping, not growing, or changing, waiting until spring to swell and leaf out. Bears give birth usually in February, during hibernation and even though the mother bears metabolic rates have slowed, they […]

Valentine’s Day

When I was in second grade, I had a crush on a boy in my class named Frank. I liked his dark black hair and blue eyes. To me, they sparkled in the light. For months I wanted to tell him that I liked him and that we were destined to be together, but I […]

Praise

My book consultant believes that as an author I should be singing any or all commendations, honors, awards, and endorsements most, if not all, of the time. “Get your brag on,” she says. “Don’t waste time. Get over yourself.” Easier said than done, and besides, isn’t someone who is constantly promoting themselves annoying? Shouldn’t I […]

Snowshoeing

This winter the conditions for snowshoeing have been just right. Lots of good snow and cold temperatures which has encouraged me to snowshoe a lot. Near where I live, we’ve created a solid trail that runs about two miles from start to finish. Whenever it snows, I try to be the first one on the […]

Stress

The word stress comes from the Latin word “strictus” which means “to tighten” or “narrow.” Stress is defined as the pressure exerted on a material object; a state of emotional strain resulting from very demanding circumstances; a particular emphasis made in speech or writing; or subject to tension or pressure. Hans Selye, the founder of […]

Pileated Woodpeckers

Current scientific studies state that approximately 48% of existing global bird populations are declining. According to Audubon, more than half of the US bird population is shrinking due to habitat loss, climate change, predation by domestic cats, and invasive species. They also suggest that there have been 3 billion North American birds lost since 1970. […]

New Beginnings

Beginning. /be’ giniNG / the point at which something starts; the first part; inception; initiation; outset; arising; emergence. A few weeks ago, I burnt five boxes of old, damaged books when we decided to light our yearly burn pile, the only paper stuff in an otherwise ten-foot-high mound of cedar and spruce boughs, branches, small […]

Branding

According to Google, in 2021, there were 4 million books published worldwide. Just .0025% sold over 1,000 books (which is considered successful.) Last year, out of 38,000 American authors who wrote 2 books a year, only 300 of them made a living from their writings. It is estimated there are over 1.2 billion freelance writers […]

A New Year

One of the most popular ways of bringing in the New Year is with a big firework display. They occur all over the world as the clock strikes midnight, ending the last moment of the year and the first second of the new year. In New York City, a huge glowing ball is lowered down […]

Winter Solstice

Indigenous cultures from around the globe have observed the winter solstice for thousands of years, marking the interconnectedness between the natural world and the people. There is even evidence of humans observing the winter solstice from as early as 10,200 B.C. In Ancient Rome, the winter solstice, or Saturnalia, began on December 17 and lasted […]

Snow

Spring brings a chorus of migrating birds, loggers cutting down trees with their chainsaws in the nearby valleys, or thunder and lightning storms. Summer is full of laughter, and dirt bikes on the forest service roads. My neighbor opens her doors and windows when she plays the piano. There’s rarely a quiet time in the […]