Here you’ll find progress on current books, behind-the-scenes insight and story inspiration, as well peeks at my life on rural, (usually) rainy East Hawaii Island.
The Blog Menu Dropdown highlights three categories, Hawaii Life(pretty self-explanatory), Stories I Love (also pretty self-explanatory, but includes books, movies, and TV), and Magpie Moments (bits I snatched from real life and incorporated, magpie-like, into my fiction).
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Today, I could subject you to one of my Life in Hawaii posts, venting about several days of severe thunderstorms. But since I’ve committed to sharing something you might actually be interested in this week, the Cliff Notes: A tree fell across our driveway while my husband was picking up post-surgery Fritz, a confused Travis pooped in the house again, Fred hovered and vibrated a lot, and the humans had little to no internet. (The latter was the worst.) And I’ll leave you with a blurry image of Fred hiding under the bed. This was on Tstorm Day Three. Yes, Read more…
I may need an intervention. Remember how I mentioned going to a writers’ conference a couple of weeks ago? Ever since, I’ve had this slightly manic energy humming through my veins. Sleeping light, brain whizzing, tapping my fingers on whatever is handy when the remainder of my body is at rest. (I know, rude, but it’s only in my own home, and at least I have basic rhythm. Though The Infanta by The Decemberists does sometimes hang me up.) This energy has persisted despite unrelenting snotty weather, days so cool I’ve sat at my keyboard with my hood up like Read more…
Hey, guess what… It’s Friday. Blog post day. [Rushes to microphone because if Dragon doesn’t fritz too much, it’s faster than typing.] In my defense, I knew it was Friday a few hours ago, but then it slipped my mind beneath a cascade of urgent To Dos. And beneath the weight of lingering jet lag. I went to a writers’ conference in Austin over the weekend and returned Wednesday night. I’ll be honest—the travel part reminded me there’s a reason I don’t often leave “the rock.” I took a redeye flight to the mainland Saturday night, and one of my Read more…
It starts innocently enough. A little movement around the edge of the sink, maybe an impromptu gathering under your sponge? In a few hours, you go back and look. Hunh. Are you sure they were actually there? Maybe they’re just not active in the afternoon. Or perhaps you’re a little sleep-deprived thanks to a late-night allergy attack and have eyes full of floaters (you know, those little buggers that make you look back and forth, back and forth, and maybe swat if no one’s looking, trying to decide if you’re crazy or a bug-infested Pigpen). But the signs mount. You’re Read more…
I could really use a business manager. A bunch of other things too (a masseuse, a chef, a self-cleaning dog bed or three, etc.), but lately a business manager is near the top of list. Well, maybe not a business manager per se, just a businessey-type person who—unlike my husband—doesn’t have another job. Admin type things keep catching up with me and piling on, burying me like wet sand. For example, I have a writers conference coming up in less than a month. In theory, I’m excited about it, but I haven’t had time to devote single neuron to preparing. Read more…
