Author’s Muse

Those are the words my daughter volleyed back when I asked if we might want to cut down on her theatre (yes, passive-aggressively) and what I learned prompted my latest article for Your Teen for Parents.  It was so reassuring to see the hearts, shares and  "Yes!"s on...

In honor of Mother's Day on Sunday, May 12th, I turn this week's post to novelist Janet Benton, author of Lilli de Jong, a work of historical fiction I recommend. I ran an interview with Janet for my series upholding women who carve brave paths that light the way for...

If you ask many a writing coach, they will usually steer scribblers far away from writing about their dreams in any final published form.  And, it's true that it can be dangerous to slip into a self-referential blur of abstract prose.  That said, there are some good...

A teacher of mine used to look over my shoulder while I was doing my homework and ask with a grin: “Working hard or hardly working?” Haha, I’d laugh (kinda sorta). But is working hard--alone--enough? For me, sometimes the fuel-key-ignition of idea and inspiration...

In continuing my coverage of Women's History month, my muse this week is a family picture. My great grandmother on my mother’s side, Frances Nelson Tillman (1880-1957), with whom I share my August birthday, was an ardent suffragette. And like me, she was a writer....

“Our archives are treasure troves - a testament to many lives lived and the complexity of the way we move forward. They contain clues to the real concerns of day-to-day life that bring the past alive.” ― Sara Sheridan I now think of my great grandmother every time I...

“I definitely have a thing for character development” whispered my 15-year old daughter, who has been performing on (or watching) various stages since she was five. We were both drying our eyes on a Sunday afternoon in a post-theatre trance where we didn’t want to...

This week my muse is a question. Will a woman ever be elected president in the U.S.? Is it true that the same assertiveness we applaud in men, we often cringe at in women as political journalist Maggie Astor suggested last week in “A Woman, Just Not That Woman”...

“I see the Sankofa Collaborative growing to be the “go to” resource for educators, museums, historic sites, historic societies, libraries and other institutions who not only want to improve awareness of African American history but to learn how to discuss difficult...

“Resolutions are simply cheques that men draw on a bank where they have no account.” - Oscar Wilde Call me cynical, but this snarky Wilde quote mocking the futility of resolutions did my heart good during this ride around the New Year’s merry go round. Maybe that is...