-
My Favorite Holiday Movies and TV Specials (Even the Guilty Pleasures)
Holiday movies and television specials can be entertaining while evoking nostalgia or sharing a hopeful message. Honestly, I love holiday movies, and I have since I was a kid. My favorites are ones I could watch over and over again. I’m focusing on Halloween, Thanksgiving, and Christmas. Here are some of my favorites. Favorite Halloween movies and TV specials Hocus Pocus (1993) What’s not to love about three witches coming back 300 years after being executed during the 17th century? This Disney comedy is super fun to watch. Max and his little sister Dani are new in Salem. Max doesn’t put much stock in the Halloween story he hears at…
-
A Family Road Trip: The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly
Road trips are supposed to be fun, right? But often, they turn into a mixture of family togetherness and a series of disasters akin to National Lampoon’s Vacation. Here’s a recap of our recent family road trip—the good, the bad, and the ugly. Griswold Family GIFfrom Griswold GIFs Why we choose a road trip Initially, it was my husband’s idea. And, having just written a road trip games article for work, I was on board. Of course, Jonathan and I had different ideas of what a road trip was. My definition is driving to multiple places with a different route home to maximize stops at cool attractions. His idea was…
-
Summer 2025 Writing Update and Sixth Novel First Chapter Teaser
The first draft of novel number six is… Guess what? About a week ago, I finished the first draft of my sixth novel, tentatively titled Four Hearts. It’s been a long process since I took some time off for personal reasons during the summer of 2024. The draft is with my four amazing beta readers as I type this. What now? I’m taking a well-deserved break from novel writing and editing (personally). I write and edit every weekday for my day job. I need the break to get away from my story so I can edit it with fresher eyes. I’ll take notes from my betas and begin the editing…
