May the Fourth is More than a Movie Meme

I was a high school senior in Westerville, Ohio, weeks away from graduation, when Kent State became national news for all the wrong reasons. Kent State University, a mere two hours away, was one of the few places of higher education on my list of colleges to consider. That tragic part of history etched itself… Continue reading May the Fourth is More than a Movie Meme

Progress Is Progress, No Matter How Small

Measuring progress as a writer is tricky. You can count words or time or pages. When revising a novel those measurements get trickier. Word counts are deceptive when you delete as many words as you add. So do you count pages? What about when you  have to go back 80 pages because of a plot… Continue reading Progress Is Progress, No Matter How Small

The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly of Genetic Chimera

In Greek mythology there was a fire-breathing, three-headed she-monster with the body and head of a lion, a goat’s head coming from the lion’s back, and a serpent for a tail. Called KHIMAIRA (Chimera), the Greek hero, Bellerophon killed her. Today the chimera is no longer a myth but a reality. Here is the good,… Continue reading The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly of Genetic Chimera

Feed Your Passion What it Needs And Watch It Grow

You’ve discovered you are passionate about writing romances or creating music or making the best gosh-durn peach pie in the county. When you create based on your passion, you are in your happy place. Whatever your passion is, it needs a certain amount of feeding. Overtime, you may think you’ve “outgrown” that passion. For any… Continue reading Feed Your Passion What it Needs And Watch It Grow

Would You Take the Rugged Road Trip This Young Woman Did?

Born into one of the wealthiest families in Kentucky, Susan Shelby Magoffin journaled her trip. She and her new husband followed the Santa Fe Trail from 1846 to 1847. Would you take the rugged road trip this young woman did? Early Life Susan Shelby was born on the family plantation near Danville, Kentucky, on July… Continue reading Would You Take the Rugged Road Trip This Young Woman Did?