I've been thinking a lot about work lately. Specifically, how work affects quality of life. Last year was one of change for me. I shifted to writing fiction full time. Before that, I practiced law full time, and before that, I worked in various office jobs and later as a paralegal, always writing on the side.The Willis Tower, one setting for my urban horror.As an attorney, I've never, ever, been bored. I learn new things every day—about my clients’ businesses, changes in the law, new courtroom t...
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Missed Communications And The Rise Of The Emojis
I had another topic in mind for this week’s blog post, but I started reading comments from beta readers (first readers who critique a writer’s manuscript) for The Conflagration, Book 3 in my supernatural thriller series, and it got me thinking about how people communicate, and fail to communicate, in today’s world. The readers of this draft of The Conflagration raised questions about plot points and characters that I had thought I’d written clearly. One bit of crucial information about who is se...
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What’s Next: Goals, But No Resolutions
I've never been much for New Year's resolutions. If in the first month I miss a few days of exercise or skip practicing piano, it’s too easy to chuck the whole thing. Also, if something truly matters to me, I’m usually already doing it. I've always loved to write. Happy or sad, depressed or excited, employed or unemployed, sick or well, I've written something, whether it’s novels, poetry, short stories, or journal entries, so I've never needed to set a resolution to write more. Likewise, if I re...
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When The Holidays Are Not So Happy
Usually I love the winter holidays. I have great memories from when I was little and my brothers created present treasure hunts for me and from when my nieces and nephews were kids and presented their own original holiday plays. I find the Chicago holiday lights cheerful and a great antidote to the sometimes dreary weather. But bright lights and parties and unrelenting good cheer, in my experience, can also make a person feel that much worse if the holiday occurs after a serious loss, during a d...
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The Beauty of Being Fifty
This month I am celebrating my 50th birthday, and, so far, I'm finding it to be a wonderful time of life. Below are 10 reasons I feel that way:On a trip to Maui, relaxing after finishing latest revisionsto The Conflagration.Happiness:When I was in my late 30s, I read a book, How We Choose to Be Happy, that compiles studies on happiness. I don't remember the details, but the gist of it was that the happiest people are those who figure out for themselves what brings them joy and follow their own p...
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When The (Holiday) World Revolves Around You
In early November I attended a cocktail party. A business acquaintance mentioned she was exhausted from traveling constantly for her work, which is international. I asked if she’d be able to be home for Thanksgiving, and she said yes. I then said I hoped she could be home for Christmas, too. She said, "So I'm Jewish--" and someone interrupted before we could finish the conversation. She didn't seem offended, but I was embarrassed that by default I’d asked about the holiday I grew up celebrating....
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Five Wonderful Things About Millennials
When I created the main character for my Awakening series, I wasn't thinking about generational issues. I wanted Tara Spencer to be young enough that it was believable she’d never had sex, I wanted her to have a strong reason other than a religious one for choosing to remain a virgin, and I wanted her to discover she was nonetheless pregnant when it would most disrupt her life. So I made her a pre-med student and the oldest of five children, so she understood exactly how much responsibility bein...
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Five Somewhat Unexpected Things To Be Thankful For
I had a few different ideas about what to write this week, but then I looked at my calendar and saw this post would go live the day before Thanksgiving. So in the spirit of the holiday, and in no particular order, I'll share what I'm especially grateful for.- Grandparents who emigrated from Poland: I said no particular order and then realized I needed to start with my grandparents. If they had not come to this country, I wouldn't be here. My grandfather came before World War I, and my grandmothe...
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Book Fairs, Fun Fairs, and Ice Cream
When I was in grade school, my three favorite events during the school year were the Fun Fair, the Ice Cream Social, and when the Scholastic book catalog came out. (I know, I was really wild kid, right?) The Fun Fair was held in the gymnasium. It was a giant space, or at least it seem that way at the time. There were rows and rows of carnival-like games. The one I loved most had plastic ducklings floating in long narrow troughs. You handed over your tickets and chose a duckling to lift out of th...
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The Workplace, Veterans, PTSD, & The Mockingjay
Over the last week, I rewatched the Hunger Games movies. (CAUTION: Some spoilers ahead.) In the beginning of Mockingjay Part One, hero Katniss Everdeen, survivor of two battles to the death, hides in a narrow corridor, rocking and whispering the few facts she remembers, desperate to reorient herself. The scene reminded me of a question a friend asked me after I saw the film at the theater. She hadn't seen it yet, but she'd heard other moviegoers say they did not like it as much as the previous t...
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