Yesterday I managed once again to be on the receiving end of a wound of unknown origin. Random injuries are a daily thing for me. If I haven’t successfully hurt myself, broken something, or stained a piece of clothing, I haven’t gotten out of bed yet. I am...
Oh, dear. You’ve really done it, haven’t you? You just fell prey to one of consumerism’s biggest myths — the resealable bag — and now you’re staring at your new purchase, wondering how to get the thing open. What was it? Cheese? Cereal? Doggie treats? Come on, you can...
Blogging memes are like recommendation letters: I’m flattered when someone asks me to write one, but the execution of said assignment is usually more difficult — and often more tedious — than it at first seems. Which is why I never do them. Memes, at...
For the past week our neighborhood watch program has included a cluster of eight to ten turkey vultures in mid-migration. They hunch in the topmost branches of nearby cottonwood trees, surveying the streets and, I assume, tallying all the cats and small dogs in the...
Well, we are now nearly three full months into 2008, and guess which one of the following I still have not done? Go on, circle one: a) Licked an envelope and received a paper cut on my tongue. b) Roasted Peeps over an open campfire. c) Started my diet yet again. d)...
We’re leaving for the weekend in an hour, and I’m in that post-packed, pre-leave limbo. My laptop’s open, and I have three options: touring the blogosphere, surfing the internet, and writing. Although blogs are tempting and mindless surfing has its...
Sometimes it seems as if everybody wants to be a novelist. I’m sitting in my local coffee shop, where I retreated in order to — what else? — work on my own novel. The place is not crowded, but I count three others hiding behind their laptop screens....
Dear driver of the Honda Accord from Ohio: The orange barrels are lovely to behold, that is true. They glisten in the sunlight as they line either side of the lane down which you meander. Our town is known for its natural beauty, but nothing can compare with the...
We have a guest today on The Book Lady. Young adult author Melissa Walker stopped by to discuss her newest book, Violet by Design, the sequel to Violet on the Runway, which came out last fall. Hi, Melissa. Thanks for coming to talk to us. Could you please tell us a...
Well, it’s official. Despite all my vows to the contrary, yesterday afternoon I was forced to send a Dear John letter to my current work in progress. With the flourish of my imaginary pen, the manuscript I had promised to see through until the end became my...
