‘Alice down the rabbit hole’ days

Alice in Wonderland, by Lewis Carroll, was one of my late dad’s favourite books. As a result, many ‘Alice’ expressions became part of our family’s life. I’ve thought of my dear dad even more than usual recently, as the past two weeks have had a decidedly...

Happy Birthday…to my blog!

A child’s first birthday is a special milestone. A whole year of ‘firsts’ culminates in one special day for family and friends to celebrate. I have that birthday feeling because 28 March is this blog’s first birthday. Every two weeks since March...

The vanishing art of letter writing

When did you last write a letter? Or, a word I learned from Dictionary.com, when did you last epistolize? I’m not talking about sending an email, tapping out a text or posting on Facebook. When did you last put pen to paper and write a letter to a friend or family...

Words to live by

Words are my business. Finding the right words to express emotion, and to show conflict and character development, are fundamental to my work as a writer. I also delight in learning new words through reading, and the word of the day from Dictionary.com In 2014,...

Senses of Christmas

There’s a sticky note on the wall facing my desk. On it I’ve written the five senses–smell, taste, see, hear and feel–as a reminder to include sensory details in the scenes I write. Christmas is perhaps the most sensory of Christian festivals. So in the spirit of the...