Vintage Lit: Mary Roberts Rinehart & Her Maine Connection

Mary Roberts Rinehart's The Yellow Room

We’ve all heard the big Maine literature names from days of old: Sarah Orne Jewett, Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, E.B. White, Harriet Beecher Stowe, Edna St. Vincent Millay. I love them all. However, there is more to Maine literary history than these venerable writers. I’ve been astounded to realize that many popular-in-their-day genre fiction writers also… Continue reading Vintage Lit: Mary Roberts Rinehart & Her Maine Connection

Book Review: WENDIGO by Vaughn Hardacker

During a major west-coast heatwave, temps in the 90s, and energy conservation necessitating the turning off of the air conditioner after 4 pm, I plunged into Vaughn Hardacker’s frozen Maine landscape to follow the hunt for a supernatural creature–the Wendigo, an Algonquin manitou (god), monstrous and ravenous for human flesh. Hardacker’s prose sucked me in… Continue reading Book Review: WENDIGO by Vaughn Hardacker

Writing Life: Heading Over the Rainbow

Writer’s Brain I don’t know about other writers, but if I spend too much time researching, reading, recharging, or goofing off rather than tapping away at my keyboard doing actual writing, I get as agitated and depressed as a Kansas farm girl watching her balloon-ride home drift away into the heavens.  This is my state… Continue reading Writing Life: Heading Over the Rainbow

Short Story: Rainy Day Friends

Back in December, my flash fiction was published in San Diego Woman Magazine! I was thrilled because I’d actually pitched the idea of a fiction section in the magazine to the editor, and she gave it a try. THIS month, three more of my flashes are included in the latest edition–along with some other talented… Continue reading Short Story: Rainy Day Friends

Book Review: THE SECOND MOUNTAIN by David Brooks

Every so often I come across a book that not only speaks to the very concerns with which I am most engaged at the moment but also bounces me off in a completely unexpected direction. Read on to hear how David Brooks’s book, THE SECOND MOUNTAIN, left me feeling more committed to the idea of… Continue reading Book Review: THE SECOND MOUNTAIN by David Brooks

Writing Life: The Cozy Comfort of Knitting

When you find yourself distracted and upset by the outside world, sometimes there’s nothing better than picking up a couple of hefty needles and a skein of soft, bright, bulky yarn.  Read on to hear about how a simple knit stitch project like this comfort shawl can lift your spirits in crazy times.    March.… Continue reading Writing Life: The Cozy Comfort of Knitting