For the first time, I’m participating in the Blogging from A to Z April Challenge! The concept is simple: Each day in April I’ll be blogging on a topic  starting with the letter of the day, beginning with A and progressing to Z by the end of the month. Posts will be short and will relate to my chosen theme: my new coming of age story, Rightfully Ours, released April 1.

L is for Lentils

Yesterday I bypassed “kiss” for “karst,” despite the kisses in Rightfully Ours. Today, I’m going to skip the overly broad “love” for “lentils.” Yes, lentils. The legumes.

I don’t believe I ever tasted a lentil until I was in my twenties, and my husband encouraged me to make lentil soup. I found a recipe in one of his cookbooks and gave it a shot. In fact, it earned a regular spot in our menu and has a tiny place in Rightfully Ours when Rachel makes a pot for her family’s dinner. Continue reading →

For the first time, I’m participating in the Blogging from A to Z April Challenge! The concept is simple: Each day in April I’ll be blogging on a topic  starting with the letter of the day, beginning with A and progressing to Z by the end of the month. Posts will be short and will relate to my chosen theme: my new coming of age story, Rightfully Ours, released April 1.

K is for Karst

We’re almost halfway through the alphabet, and I’m feeling a little loopy. What is “karst” anyway? And why did I choose it over “kiss”?

In Rightfully Ours, between the fracking, a rainy spring, and some other geological factors, conditions are ripe for a phenomenon I’ve seen plenty of in south-central Pennsylvania – the sinkhole. No, karst isn’t precisely what I imagine going on underneath my fictional world, but it’s pretty close, what with limestone deposits being prevalent in these parts. Continue reading →

For the first time, I’m participating in the Blogging from A to Z April Challenge! The concept is simple: Each day in April I’ll be blogging on a topic  starting with the letter of the day, beginning with A and progressing to Z by the end of the month. Posts will be short and will relate to my chosen theme: my new coming of age story, Rightfully Ours, released April 1.

J is for Jekyll and Hyde

I have no business writing about Jekyll and Hyde. I have not read the book, and I’m embarrassed to admit I didn’t recall that Robert Louis Stevenson was the author until I looked it up. I’ve had an affection for Stevenson since I played the Authors Card Game with my family as a kid. His books were never assigned reading during my school years, but as an adult,  I read Treasure Island. Kidnapped is on my soon-to-be-read list, and now, The Strange Adventures of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde has been added to the list as well. But I digress. Continue reading →

For the first time, I’m participating in the Blogging from A to Z April Challenge! The concept is simple: Each day in April I’ll be blogging on a topic  starting with the letter of the day, beginning with A and progressing to Z by the end of the month. Posts will be short and will relate to my chosen theme: my new coming of age story, Rightfully Ours, released April 1.

I is for iPod Playlist

I didn’t listen to the radio much until I reached the middle school years. Until then, I listened to whatever my brothers played (The Beatles, Wings, Lynyrd Skynyrd, and more) or albums my parents owned. (I remember listening to a lot of Mitch Miller and On Top of Spaghetti.) When I developed my own interest in popular music, the only way to assemble a playlist was by creating the infamous mixtape, camped out in front of the radio with a cassette recorder. Continue reading →

For the first time, I’m participating in the Blogging from A to Z April Challenge! The concept is simple: Each day in April I’ll be blogging on a topic  starting with the letter of the day, beginning with A and progressing to Z by the end of the month. Posts will be short and will relate to my chosen theme: my new coming of age story, Rightfully Ours, released April 1.

H is for Hot Chocolate

Growing up, we didn’t have hot chocolate often. In fact, the only time I recall having it is when I’d come inside after playing in the snow. My mother was a great baker, but she never made hot chocolate. It was strictly Swiss Miss packets all the way. Occasionally, a bag of mini marshmallows could be found in the cupboard to top it off.

I had fun writing the “hot chocolate” scene in Rightfully Ours, with Paul and Rachel chasing each other around the table armed with a can of Reddi Wip with a plugged nozzle. Continue reading →

For the first time, I’m participating in the Blogging from A to Z April Challenge! The concept is simple: Each day in April I’ll be blogging on a topic  starting with the letter of the day, beginning with A and progressing to Z by the end of the month. Posts will be short and will relate to my chosen theme: my new coming of age story, Rightfully Ours, released April 1.

G is for Gold

While I tend to associate hunting for gold with the late 19th century American Northwest, the search for gold is still a thing, at least if shows such as Gold Rush are any indication. I haven’t seen the show, only a short trailer about the series, but it looks as if panning has gone high tech. In researching gold authentication for Rightfully Ours, I learned that ultrasounds are now used to detect whether a gold bar is fake or the real deal. Continue reading →

For the first time, I’m participating in the Blogging from A to Z April Challenge! The concept is simple: Each day in April I’ll be blogging on a topic  starting with the letter of the day, beginning with A and progressing to Z by the end of the month. Posts will be short and will relate to my chosen theme: my new coming of age story, Rightfully Ours, released April 1.

F is for Fracking

I’m not talking here about the Battlestar Galactica reboot’s use of the word “fracking.” (Excellent series though, and a clever way of allowing characters to curse without invoking network censorship.) Continue reading →

For the first time, I’m participating in the Blogging from A to Z April Challenge! The concept is simple: Each day in April I’ll be blogging on a topic  starting with the letter of the day, beginning with A and progressing to Z by the end of the month. Posts will be short and will relate to my chosen theme: my new coming of age story, Rightfully Ours, released April 1.

E is for Ectopic Pregnancy

I’m no stranger to pregnancy complication and loss, having experienced pre-eclampsia, intrahepatic cholestasis of pregnancy (ICP), and multiple miscarriages, but I’ve not experienced an ectopic pregnancy. In Rightfully Ours, one of the characters reveals that a loved one was lost due to this pregnancy complication. Continue reading →