Like many writers I have two faces: nonfiction and fiction. I love writing both. Fiction is hard work and very satisfying. However, as most fiction writers will tell you, it doesn’t pay the bills. I have a lot fun writing nonfiction because usually I’m telling someone else’s “story”–it’s often a corporate story but in the [...]
Portland Photos
I’m working on sharpening my photography skills. What better way can I do that than by photographing all things Portland. I hope to have more “My Portland” posts throughout the year as I snap more shots. You can click on these photos for larger size viewing. Spring has sprung. Now if we could just some [...]
My First Published Book
Sometimes I wonder why I like to write. I still remember the first moment I understood symbols made words, words made sentences and sentences made stories. Learning to read left me feeling like I’d won the lottery. I felt as though I’d entered an amazing new world. I don’t have that kind of memory at [...]
Mary, Mary, Quite Contrary, How Does Your Garden Grow?
I was very excited this year to plant a veggie garden. For the last 6 years we didn’t have one. Now that we’ve moved to Portland, OR it’s possible for us to actually garden again. It’s been a horribly wet May–something like the third wettest–since they began keeping weather records. Still, my lettuce sure is [...]
Fiction Writers, Early Works, & Self-Publishing
I recently read a book from an author whose work I generally enjoy. I’m going to call the book I just read “Early Work” even though that’s not the real title. I was aware when I bought the book that it was one of this author’s older books–you know one from before the best-selling books [...]
Aspiring Authors, Social Media & My Two Cents
Fiction writers working towards publication often get this advice–create an online presence and author platform. This suggestion seems to pop-up everywhere and is usually in all those “top five” lists for aspiring writers. I’m going to break with tradition here and say that I strongly disagree with this advice. An online presence usually consists of [...]
Religion, Politics & Authors
Let’s be frank. A discussion of religion and/or politics between strangers, and even friends, can be a minefield. Unless of course everyone agrees on all the same issues–then feelings of validation abound. Everyone should have the right to publicly state their political and religious beliefs without any fear of reprisal. I believe this absolutely and [...]
Why We Like the Books We Like
A week ago I finished reading Book A. I blithely reported on twitter that I liked the book. To which a fellow twitterati replied something along the lines of, “Argh I couldn’t stand that book it made me crazy.” We then proceeded to go back and forth about the book. My fellow twitterer very efficiently outlined [...]
What’s Your Legacy?
There is something inside of me urging me to write this post. I’ve tried to back away from it a couple of times or figure out just the right way to say it. Instead, I’m just going to let what’s been on my mind spill out. It is by no means earth-shattering. I’ve been thinking [...]
Snapshot
I'm a communications and content specialist. That means first and foremost I'm a writer. It also means my skills go beyond writing and extend into content management for the web, social media, and PR. I'm a member of the Public Relations Society of America (PRSA) and am currently studying for my APR certification.
