A good friend of mine recently quit writing. She was a member of my critique group and I learned so much from her about the rules and techniques of the craft. I always looked forward to our meetings every week and enjoyed talking books with her.

What’s so tragic is that she’s incredibly talented. She’s written a thriller that, I thought, rivaled and even exceeded some of the brand-name authors you can pick up at your local bookstore. So what happened? There were several reasons why she came to her decision, but the last time she came to our group, she boiled it down to, “I haven’t written anything in weeks and I don’t really feel guilty about it.”

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Do you hear that sound of smacking lips? That’s me trying to get the bad taste of Austin out of my mouth.

That sounds really negative, doesn’t it? It wasn’t all bad. I’m just let down. In my previous post, I wrote with excitement about going to Austin to the Agents and Editors Conference. The trip really was worthwhile. I met some interesting (in a good way) writers and even made a couple of friends.
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As I type this, I have several things going through my mind. It’s hard to concentrate or come up with a good topic for this week’s entry. My distraction stems from two sources. First, I’m getting ready to go to the Writer’s League of Texas’s Agents and Editors conference in Austin and right after I get back from that, I’m going on vacation.

I’m excited about the conference. It’s always a great opportunity to meet and talk to other writers. I’m also a little nervous about it, too. I’ve worked on my pitch and have it memorized. The meeting with my first-pick agent is set. Now I just have to show boundless enthusiasm and sell it.
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A woman in politics can’t have things both ways. She can’t be tough, talk trash, eat opponents for breakfast and then try to go into “lady-mode” when her enemies strike back.

What brought this idea to mind is, recently, when he was interviewed by Norah O’Donnell on MSNBC, Obama campaign co-chair Dick Durbin (D-Illinois) made the hyperbolic statement, “The hottest ring in hell is reserved for those in politics who attack their opponent’s families.” He was addressing the speculation some political columnists have put forth that, with Hillary out of the way, the Republicans are now gunning for Michelle Obama.
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There are two parts of my life. As writer, I spend most of my time in front of my computer writing, wearing grubby clothes and no makeup. Many days don’t see, or visit with, anyone outside of my family. Instead of bemoaning those days, I consider it to be a good thing because it means I’m productive. I also read a lot of news and try to keep up on what’s going on in the world so I don’t write in a vacuum.

I also try to be an involved parent and as a freelancer, I’m blessed with having a flexible schedule which makes me available for school festivities. When I do venture out of my office and go to these activities, it sometimes puts me in contact with other moms and that’s when I get an education and realize just how isolated and out of step I am with normal moms. Continue Reading

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Now that Hillary Clinton’s defeat is a foregone conclusion, the media has taken it upon themselves to ask, “Is America too sexist to vote for a woman for president?”

To her credit, Hillary hasn’t been the one to bring this up—yet. However, news organizations have “discovered” that there have been occasions during this campaign that when Hillary’s name is mentioned, it’s often paired with the word that rhymes with witch. The media is the major culprit in doing this, but yet they have the audacity to ponder whether Americans can handle the idea of a female president.

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Right now the tops of my thighs feel like an immense bruise. My upper arms are so sore I can barely lift them to type this article. Have I been in a fight? A car accident? No. I’m getting into shape for summer!

When I was younger, I could eat Big Macs and chase them down with a doughnut and vats of soda, then I’d hop on my bike and ride for hours. Unlike most people, when I went to college I lost 15 pounds because I walked everywhere with a twenty pound bag on my back. When I graduated in my early twenties and got a desk job, I found out I wasn’t blessed with a fast metabolism and the weight came on. About thirty-five pounds. Continue Reading

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I’m gonna miss my friends this summer. My buddy Liz Lemon on 30 Rock found out she wasn’t pregnant after all. Pal of mine, Jim Halpert, didn’t end up proposing to Pam on The Office. That tramp Parvati won the million dollars over All-American Girl Amanda on Survivor. And by the time everyone reads this, I’ll know what happens to our hearty islanders on Lost (What is the deal with that funky cabin?) and the mombots on Desperate Housewives.

These are the only shows that I must record, that take up precious space on my DVR hard drive. The rest of TV I can take or leave. Continue Reading

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A good friend of mine (hi, Travis) coaches his son’s Pre-K soccer team. It fascinated me to find out that when it comes to keeping score at that young age, they don’t. Or at least they’re not supposed to. Without a score, there isn’t a winner or a loser. But try telling that to the kids. When one of my friend’s players asks him, “What’s the score?” he always tells them, “It’s tied, so you better play hard.” To which the kids will sometimes answer, “No it’s not. We have way more than they do.”

The youth soccer organization my friend coaches for probably put the rule there to protect the feelings of the children and deemphasize competition; to promote love of the game and defang rabid parents who live vicariously though their young children. Continue Reading

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My fellow Culture Feast blogger, Michael Callaway, has commented in this space on the many ways television celebrated “Green Week”. But television isn’t the only media that has sworn to raise your consciousness on what an evil polluter you are and how we’re all going to die from drowning in the melted ice caps. In honor of Earth Day (actually, month), several magazines have also launched green issues and as is often the case when it comes to the media and the environment, hypocrisy abounds.

It seems like every magazine must have a “green” or Earth Day issue these days. My favorite story on this subject is about the New York Times Magazine which just published its first “green issue”. It called itself a “low-carbon catalog” and dispersed bon mots for living an environmentally conscious life. The only thing is, according to foliomag.com, the magazine wasn’t printed on recycled paper. The magazine’s editor, Gerald Marzorati was quoted as saying, “Our printing is a very particular method, and these machines use a very old, not terribly good paper stock. It just wasn’t feasible…”   

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Man, kids are fat these days. This is the thought that flitted through my head as I dropped off my daughter at school the other day.

Now before you send me hate comments and tell me it’s all the fast-food industry’s fault for injecting saturated and deadly trans fats into their products, or that nutrition is just too murky and complex of a subject for common folks to wrap their minds around, let me explain.

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