Yesterday someone posted a comment on Facebook about my book, Sister of Silence. They know my family and inadvertently used my ex-husband’s name. It was an honest mistake—but one that upset my children, nonetheless. There is a reason writers of memoir and even some nonfiction writers change names and hide Read more
It finally happened. I learned last night that libraries are placing orders for my book, Sister of Silence. How cool is that, really? I’m thrilled, of course, because it means exposure. Readers who meander through the bookshelf aisles will come across it, pick it up and then read it. Hopefully. Read more
As a journalist, I was outraged when I learned of Lara Logan’s sexual assault. As a woman—even more so. With only two days to go until the release of a book about my own 13-year ordeal as a survivor of rape, I found it incredulous not only that Logan was Read more
I’ve always hated finding a misspelled word or reading my published work and seeing I’ve used the wrong verb tense. With today’s electronic publishing world beckoning us to publish, post and publicly ponder what other people say, a second after they’ve said it, it’s so easy to make such mistakes Read more
Domestic violence is a term that has been replaced, to some extent, with the phrase “intimate partner violence.” That’s because such violence doesn’t just happen inside the home, and it isn’t only confined to spouses. IPV encompasses all types of intimate violence, in a variety of settings, and between people Read more
As a teen mother, the doors of one of the top universities in the world would never have been open to me. Because, when you become pregnant while a teenager, you’re automatically catapulted into the adult world—and the adults in YOUR world (usually your parents) expect YOU to pull your Read more
I don’t know, but I think I’m about to learn! For the past twenty-three years, I’ve lived with a project that was, more or less, like one of my children. Every artist, writer or composer who sweats blood and tears over a painting, a book or a composition eventually feels Read more
This is my life from twenty-six years ago. These are also the opening words from my book, Sister of Silence. My only son suggested I post them here, to share with other people who may be able to learn from them. I’m rather hesitant–after all, there is some distance between Read more
If anything proves that “the best-laid plans of mice and men often go awry,” it’s a lapse of 17 days since my last post. How on earth do bloggers do it, anyway? Or Tweeters, for that matter? Aside from figuring out the lingo needed to tweet, how do they find Read more
This site was designed to promote my writing, and interact with my readers, much like I did when my Vintage Berry Wine columns appeared each week in the Preston County Journal/News. Sadly, I’ve largely ignored it, only writing something here or there. That’s due to several reasons but, among them Read more