Too Long at the Fair (a short story)
What happens when a woman who has used her looks to navigate the world without ever finding herself grows older? Maggie smiled over the scrambled eggs, hoping her mascara hadn’t … Continue reading
My Real Grandma and Sugar Cookies
Grandma stands at the head of the kitchen table. “Go ahead and stir it up. I’ll do the cleaning.” “Oh, Gram.” A pause. I’m old enough to know better, but … Continue reading
The Yard Sale
I wish the following were fiction. It’s not. It’s an illustration of the kind of greed that pervades our society and the kind of honor that defies it. She … Continue reading
Breaking Out of a Sexual Prison
Have you ever been abruptly awakened from a deep sleep—except your body didn’t wake up? You were consciousness within a shell you didn’t command. I felt that experience only once. … Continue reading
What is it like to write a second novel? What is it like to write novels at all?
My second novel is venturing into the world. I can’t say I’m surprised to be in this spot, because I’ve held being a professional novelist as a goal since I … Continue reading
The Line Between Humans and Less-Thans
Thumbs? Religion? Poetry? What is it that makes us human? “What a piece of work is a man! how noble in reason! how infinite in faculty! in form, in moving, … Continue reading
Running Away or Peeking into a Fresh Perspective?
Yes, there are days when I simply want to run away to… someplace where people are empathetic and loving to one another and the air is clean and all the … Continue reading
The Courage to Write Your Truth
I think of myself as a writer—not with conviction and joy, but reluctantly, as one accepts a difficult assignment from which she knows she will walk away bruised and maybe … Continue reading
More Dopey Women? Not.
Recently my husband and I watched the film WHISKEY, TANGO, FOXTROT on DVD. We weren’t expecting much. The trailers had led us to anticipate a slapstick comedy about women gone … Continue reading
Clueless? Misrepresenting the Realities of Others
Film characters often match age-old stereotypes without revealing the complex, diverse nature of human personality. Attempts to remedy that oversight may miss their mark—especially if the screenwriters are writing about … Continue reading
