• Essays,  General Thoughts

    2021 in review: How the year played out and the best books I read

    Organization I’ve been trying to start this blog post for the past two days, but I keep getting caught up in one home organization project or another. I organized the clothing in my dresser and closet. Then, I sorted through all my jewelry and placed it into old pill boxes and various decorative storage containers to keep it straight, And this evening, I moved my sewing kit into one plastic lunch container so I could get rid of the old plastic drawer solution since the drawers never stayed closed. Of course, that doesn’t include the regular things I did such as loading and unloading the dishwasher, doing laundry, cooking dinner…

  • Essays,  General Thoughts,  Novels

    About my novels

    It’s been a while since I’ve written about my four published novels, so I thought I would share some information about them as well as some reviews from Amazon and Goodreads. Reviews are super important for authors, especially independent ones. Reviews help other readers take a chance on an unknown author.   The four novels below are available at Dog Ear Books in Russellville, Arkansas, and on Amazon.com.   About Caroline’s Lighthouse: What really happened at Bettencourt Estate? In the mid-1800s, Caroline Marshall was forced to accept the marriage proposal of an attorney from a neighboring town. However, Caroline was in love with Thomas Cooper, the caretaker of the Bettencourt…

  • Snoopy's Night Idea
    Essays,  General Thoughts,  Novels,  Poetry

    Finding Inspiration

    A question writers (and other types of artists) often get is “Where do you find your inspiration?” I honestly get mine from everywhere. My family. My friends. My coworkers. My surroundings. My travels. My experiences. My fears. My doubts. My successes. You get the picture? As far as inspiration goes, everything you consume is material. Movies you watch, novels you read, music you hear, conversations you overhear, the human emotions and actions you witness. You can create a story for the situations you encounter. Why is the man screaming at the store clerk? Well, maybe his father just died, and he’s having trouble dealing with it. Why is the woman…