Waiting for the muse to descend so you can write is, sadly, a tragic fallacy. “Writing is 99 percent perspiration, and one percent inspiration,” a wise person once said. Writing is work, and like any job, it requires commitment and sustained focus. I recently taught a...
Readers of my memoir, Swimming with Maya, often approach and say something like, “After reading your story, I feel as if I know you as an intimate friend. Wasn’t it hard to be so open about your life?” I readily admit that yes, it was hard – the striptease of writing...
I used to joke about how coloring my hair was akin to keeping my portrait in the attic the way the fictional Dorian Grey did – one day, I’d have to face reality. The day has come! I’ve decided to let the gray grow in. In The Picture of Dorian Grey by Oscar Wilde, a...
They aren’t big or flashy. They are about the size of a bread-box. But they are eye-catching. I’m talking about the signs I noticed in my neighborhood: the first one, a hopeful sighting, the second, an affirmation, and the third, a trend. I was on a Sunday evening...
The Oakland Woman’s March, 60,000 strong, snaked around Lake Merritt and through the streets of the city on a windswept, mostly dry, Saturday. The mood was celebratory – and defiant – following the inauguration of Donald J. Trump the day before. Pink, rose, and...
When I began the Travels with Mohammed blog, I called it a "blovy," a combination blog and love story. As our journey began, we were over the moon with excitement, our itinerary a list of beautiful adventures free of the constraints of reality. If you...
Work has always been a refuge for me. It signified perhaps more than it should have - that I was valued, worthwhile, accomplished. Like many Baby Boomer women, when I first began working in the early 1970s it was still unusual for women to have careers outside of...
by September Vaudrey My guest on "That's the Way Life Lives," September Vaudrey, is a warm, engaging writer. We first met through social media and this blog. After several years of "virtual friendship," I met September last May while doing a reading in Chicago. Our...
My daughter died 24 years ago on April 6,1992. While more than two decades have passed, the impact of Maya's short life continues. Grieving for Maya invited me to mature spiritually and emotionally, and to reach a new understanding of the meaning of love. Love, in my...
Many writers are excited about publishing and promoting their work online. So many options, so little time. It can seem overwhelming. So when fellow Dream of Things author Madeline Sharples asked me to join her on a panel at the Greater Los Angeles Writers Conference,...