Author Archive: Nancy
Blame
An old friend from work is in a very messy situation. She’s a wreck. Her family is a wreck. And there is no way to get around it – she brought it on herself. I’m sure you know someone like Maggie. If there are two choices, she will pick the worse one every time. It’s …
‘Not Quite Old’ Is Now Quite Old
Another birthday. A big one. I’m 70. Dear God – could that even be true? Seventy. I’m not sure what 70 is supposed to feel like. But I didn’t expect it to feel like this. Like … Nice. I just received a card in the mail from a sweet cousin. It made me laugh out …
ABECEDARIAN
Recently a friend directed me to a story on Medium.com. (I publish there once in a while too.) My friend’s friend had posted a little writing exercise that I just adored. An ABECEDARIAN is a 26 sentence story, with each sentence beginning with each sequential letter of the alphabet. It’s a fun exercise that really …
Facing Reality
My latest novel, SISTERS, SECRETS, AND THE JUNIOR PROM, is set in high school in 1969, which, by sheer coincidence, is where I happened to be in 1969. The book is fiction. Untrue. Made up. Has no basis in reality. Except, of course, like all fiction, pieces of my life weave in and out of …
Near Miss
I am a daydreamer. I come from a family of daydreamers. We’ve been quite happy being daydreamers. I remember many years ago when my brother was in elementary school, my mother attended a parent-teacher meeting, and the teacher told my mother, “Tommy is a daydreamer.” My mother replied, “Yes, we’re really proud of him.” Because …
Lifting Up
There is a Facebook page that I follow for its kindness and optimism. I am not alone. More than 5 million people have liked this page. There is never any criticism in its posts. There is just support, understanding, and acceptance. For example: Recently, they posted this: More than 9,000 people responded. I read the …
My Acapulco Admirer
Ages and ages ago, when I was about twenty, I went on a bargain vacation to Mexico. A high school friend was attending college there, and she found a cheap hotel and I found a cheap airfare, and I met her over Christmas break for a week in Acapulco. I had never traveled alone before …
Some Nostalgia – and a good deal
A Thanksgiving special. Amazon is offering the Kindle version of my new novel – SISTERS, SECRETS, AND THE JUNIOR PROM – for just 99 cents. Offer ends Thursday night. The novel, set in a suburban high school in 1969, is a nostalgic trip for those of us of a certain age. And it’s fun for …
Losing Control
This week the carpenter came to do some repairs. The dogs did their typical thing. Theo was all over the carpenter, insisting on attention and constant petting. Henry stood four feet behind the guy, barking his silly protective head off. Which one was annoying? Both, of course. Too much love gets in the way of …