A place for my thoughts

Brandi Easterling Collins, independent author

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Essays, General Thoughts

And They Didn’t Even Buy Us Dinner First: Property Insurance Woes

Property insurance is necessary if you own a car or a home, especially if you have a loan or mortgage. But it’s also a flawed system that punishes you for…

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March 24, 2024
Artwork, General Thoughts, Novels (my writing updates)

How much truth is in my fiction?

Writing what I knew as a teenager I loved reading when I was a kid, and I began writing as a teenager. The results of my early efforts were 7…

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December 2, 2023
Essays, General Thoughts

Apologies and hurt feelings

If you’re reading this post, you’re a human being who’s been hurt before. It’s part of life. Also, it’s guaranteed that you’ve hurt someone else, whether intentionally or not. The…

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September 16, 2021
  • General Thoughts

    Living with Ulcerative Colitis

    May 19, 2018 /

    Today, May 19, is World IBD Day. For the first 20 years of my life, I lived blissfully unaware of the inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), ulcerative colitis (UC). Sure, I’d heard of stomach upset, suffered through childhood digestive woes and stomach viruses, but I didn’t know there was anything more than the ever-fleeting “nervous stomach” term I’d been assigned as a kid. Those first days of school tummy jitters, the clamminess before big tests or speaking in front of the class, the waves of nausea after making an ass of myself in front of my crush, etc. I took an acid-reducing medicine while in 11th grade and the occasional half-tablet…

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    2 Comments

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    March 24, 2024

    Unexpected Employment Changes

    July 25, 2021
  • General Thoughts,  Novels (my writing updates),  Pop Culture

    Music in Jordan’s Sister

    April 29, 2018 /

    While music is an important element in each of my novels, this is especially true for Jordan’s Sister. Taylor and Layne are singer-songwriters. Their entire lives are filled with music. I’m a writer who can barely carry a tune, and music is such an integral part of my life that I’d be lost without it. To me, music is a doorway straight to the soul, and lyrics are poetry expressed with more feeling than what can be conveyed by words merely spoken. There are 23 songs referenced in the novel. Four songs are featured in their entirety (because I wrote them) and the others are referenced by title only with or…

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    Bah! Humbug: What’s Christmas all about?

    December 17, 2016
    Woman apologizing

    Apologies and hurt feelings

    September 16, 2021
    Music studio control room and singer booth

    Top 15 Cover Songs I Like Better Than The Originals

    October 23, 2023
  • General Thoughts,  Novels (my writing updates)

    Best laid plans: Jordan’s Sister Update

    April 24, 2018 /

    ***UPDATE*** As of April 26, Jordan’s Sister is available in paperback format on Amazon. From April 24, 2018: Today was supposed to be the launch day for Jordan’s Sister, the first novel to be published under Luminesce Publishing. The launch date was a deadline I set myself, so not meeting it isn’t the end of the world. For now, I will have to settle for a partially-met goal. The eBook launched early, on April 21. You can purchase a copy on Amazon.com or read for free with your Kindle Unlimited subscription. There is a “Look inside” feature that allows you to read just past the opening of Chapter 4, which…

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    You May Also Like

    Day 1: Countdown of my favorite love songs (angry songs)

    February 5, 2018

    For the love of travel (for work): Seattle

    April 7, 2018

    2023 in book reviews

    December 31, 2023
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