Essays
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Taking Back the “Nerd” Label
I’ve been pondering this “nerd” topic for several months, trying to decide how to best express my thoughts. Having a son in middle school makes the topic relevant now more than ever. Elementary and middle school ages are tough for kids. Junior and Senior high school are tough for kids. That is—these stages are tough for some kids, the nerds.
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How I became a novelist in twelve (easy) steps
There are steps for everything these days, so I reverse-engineered what I did to become a novelist and put the process into 12 steps. The steps were easy sometimes, and other times, they caused some tears. The end result was worth all the effort. Step 1: I read a lot Without reading, what’s the point of writing? Reading everything I could get my hands on when I was a kid developed my love of reading and also made me think about some things I would like to read that were not available. I didn’t just read fiction. I read about the art of writing to learn everything I could, and…
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Talking about death
Most people don’t like to talk about death because it’s scary. Any time I bring it up to my husband, he’s quick to change the subject. I think he’s convinced he’ll go first. He’s said before that he never wants to lose me. I don’t want to lose him either, but I don’t think either one of us believes we’re truly immortal. (Please note that I’m not talking religion right now.) I’ve known about death for as long as I can remember, since I saw my first death at four years old, that of my father. A few months prior, my grandfather (Dad’s father) had died. Though I didn’t see…
