• General Thoughts

    All I know about my dad

    My dad, Douglas Wayne Easterling, was born on January 23, 1953, the youngest of four children and the third boy for Howard and Pearl Easterling of Glen Rose, Arkansas. He would have been 64 this month (in 2017). I am writing this post strictly from my own recollection of events and stories I’ve been told. Because of this, everything contained in this post may not be entirely accurate. (Note: I have worked on this post on and off for the past four weeks in preparation for posting today because I knew it would be emotionally draining and would take some time to write.) Dad died of brain cancer on July…

  • Artwork,  Essays,  General Thoughts

    My biggest fear

    Fear. It can be crippling. It can also change as we age. What’s your biggest fear right now at this moment? Will you have the same answer tomorrow? Abandonment When I was little, my biggest fear was abandonment. After my father passed away, my mother remarried the man who would end up raising me and shaping my life in ways I didn’t know were possible at the time. I was only four, which is how old my daughter is now. I didn’t understand everything that had happened. I just had a fuzzy memory of my mother holding me over the side of my father’s hospital bed and telling me to…

  • General Thoughts,  Pop Culture

    Music and what my favorite songs mean to me

    I am currently rewriting a novel called Jordan’s Sister, which isĀ about a singer/songwriter named Taylor who is trying to break free from her past and step out of the shadow of her sister’s fame while getting to know a former child singer, Layne (male). I have been thinking a lot about music and songs in general while I have been writing my draft for this story. Layne’s song was fun to write. If only I could sing, I could let you all know what it sounds like in my head. I think of my character Taylor as a singer who sounds like strong female singers like Avril Lavigne and Christina…