My Writing

I've Got Some Feelings...and a Giveaway

  A few weekends ago, we hosted a rock band for our town’s Porchfest. People occasionally request songs at these. The one I tossed out was “I've Got a Feeling” by the Beatles.  Everybody had a hard year Everybody had a good time Everybody had a wet dream Everybody saw the sunshine Everybody…


Between the Dark and Light

  I call it “the day”. It occurs without warning every year, sometime between Thanksgiving and Christmas.…


How to Dream in 2022

  Sandra A. Miller starts writing a novel in Tokyo, 1988 In 1988, one month before my 24th birthday, I eagerly…


20 Reasons to Love 2020

  I don’t think anyone will struggle to find reasons to put this year behind us. But this isn’t that…


Clue #7

Clue #7 in the Trove Armchair Treasure Hunt


Seven Jewels in Search of a Treasure

Bejeweled bracelet prize in the Trove Armchair Treasure Hunt. photo by Holloway McCandless When I decided to have my alchemist…


Some Love for the Bald Women Going Through Hell

Sisters share a pretzel and some love When I saw the subject line “Haircut” my lips and eyes did that thing when they tighten…


Star Stung: Lessons Learned from a Night with Sting

Hanging with Sting circa 2005 at the Hiro Ballroom “Congratulations. You’re one of our winners,” the young woman coolly announced in…


What To Do When You Can't Power Through

shell on sand “It’s supposed to be in the nineties today,” Mark warns, as he shoots off to work, leaving me alone at my desk with my fear of sweating to death…


Write Like You’re Giving Birth

“Write from your guts,” I told my creative nonfiction students on the last day of class. “Don’t ignore the pain. Don’t act like it isn’t there and try tiptoeing around it. You have to write your way through your own dark woods.” I recalled the excruciating experience of back labor when giving birth…