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 →

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.

D is for Doodling

Do you doodle? Did you ever doodle? Boys’ name? Girls’ names?

Back in the days before stretchy, synthetic book covers, we covered our textbooks with brown paper bags. (I can still fold a fitted cover in minutes.) Those covers served as my doodling canvas. I’d doodle my name, hearts, cartoonish cats, bunnies, and other figures. On the inside page, where no one would see, is where I might doodle the name of my latest crush. Continue reading →