My Scribbler’s Heart

Small Success Thursday

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Small Success Thursday

Why small success? Because that’s the only kind I know! Even the big ones come in small steps. Here’s my paltry offering for the week.

  1. Took the kids to the swimming pool. Doesn’t sound like much, but last year I was afraid to take them all swimming without another adult along. With only one adult for a one-year-old, a two-year-old, and a six-year-old who still needed a little supervision, I feared a drowning. It’s amazing what a year of maturity will do. Now the two oldest can play independently at the pool, and the two youngest are slightly less erratic and crazy.

    2. Continue reading →

Fiction From the Foothills: Interview with Leslie Lynch

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Leslie Lynch writes “novels of suspense and healing.” She is the author of The Appalachian Foothills Series (Hijacked, Unholy Bonds, Opal’s Jubilee, and Christmas Hope.) Not only is she a writer, but she is a pilot and a nurse, possessing enough technical knowledge to make this writer jealous.

I’m fascinated by Appalachia. Maybe it’s my hometown’s proximity to West Virginia. Maybe it’s my affection for the people of the Virginia mountains who were ejected to establish Shenandoah National Park. In any case, I was intrigued by Opal’s visit to her Appalachian home in Opal’s Jubilee. Can you tell me a little about the Foothills region and why you chose it as a setting for the series? What is Appalachia like today?

HijackedHi, Carolyn! First, I’d like to thank you for inviting me to your blog today. It’s an honor to visit with you and your readers!

My books (so far!) are set in Louisville, Kentucky, which is about a hundred miles from the foothills of the Appalachian range. A remote valley in that wilderness plays a large part in Hijacked, book 1 in the series; Opal McBride of Opal’s Jubilee (book 3), burst into my consciousness fully formed and from a small fictional town in western Kentucky on the edge of Appalachia. Mountain mists and hidden hollows spark my curiosity, and there’s a mystique about the folk art and culture that beguiles. Continue reading →

Seven Quick Takes Friday

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Seven Quick Takes Friday

Week in Pittsburgh Edition

I’m still adapting to re-entry following vacation, so before I forget where we went and what we did, I’ll recap. We spent our vacation in the city where my husband and I spent the first twenty-five or so years of our lives: Pittsburgh. We’re the only members of our immediate family who no longer live there, so our visits are harried as we try to spend time with as many family members and friends as possible. This year we took a whole week, built around my niece’s wedding, and did some things we hadn’t had an opportunity to do with the kids – or even ourselves. Continue reading →

Things Change, You Change, It’s Okay

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Some changes happen in the blink of an eye. (Think a lightning bolt strike.)

Some changes are such gradual transformations that the difference is nearly imperceptible except when glimpsed from afar. (Think the Grand Canyon’s creation.)

Changes may be monumental, calamitous, or inconsequential. The big changes are instantly recognizable, but the small, subtle shifts are often missed. Continue reading →

Top 10 Tuesday: 10 Ways Music Helps Me Write

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The title reads, “Top 10 Ways Music Helps Me Write,” but you could substitute the creative activity of your choice: painting, sculpting, or even more rote activities. I’ve written about the music related to the creation of  Stay With Me. Music has an uncanny way of altering mood and spirit. I’ve found that the right music can help me cope on the most trying days, elevating frustration and drudgery with lightness and good humor.

Piano Keyboard

I couldn’t resist this piano picture, mostly because it looks like every piano I’ve owned – missing a few ivories and , ahem, well-loved.

  1. Serves as background noise. Sometimes a little white noise cuts the distraction. The rhythm and hum of music can help you tune out the random noises, sounds, and dare I say, voices, that drive you to distraction. My mom couldn’t understand it, but I often did high school homework with music in the background. It improved my concentration. Continue reading →

Small Success Thursday

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Small Success Thursday

Why small success? Because that’s the only kind I know! Even the big ones come in small steps. Here’s my paltry offering for the week.

  1. Baked, baked, and baked some more. I killed my hand mixer, and my oven is liable to rebel from extreme overuse. It started with chocolate chip cookies and snickerdoodles for the junior high youth ministry. I suspected their energy levels might be depleted after zip lining and rolling around in an OGO ball.

    I moved on to blueberry muffins and gingerbread cake for an upcoming blog post featuring more recipes from Stay With Me. Next came banana bread (see #3). And finally, I baked six-dozen heart-shaped beauties for the cookie table at my niece’s wedding next week. What? You don’t know what a cookie table is? I dare you to Google “Pittsburgh wedding cookie tables,” look at the images, and not salivate. Continue reading →

Patient Much? The Mindset of Endurance

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In my Catholic grade school, we played what was known simply as “The Religion Game.” Short explanation: it involved a person guessing a religious terms using clues provided by teammates. One of the vocabulary terms committed to memory was ejaculation.

Ejaculation: a short prayer meant to be memorized and repeated throughout the day

In those pre-pubescent days, before its utterance would elicit a round of giggles and snickers, this five-syllable word had the potential to propel a team into the winner’s circle. In the ensuing years, the use of these little prayers fell by the wayside. Continue reading →