Living and writing, learning and dreaming in Juneau, Alaska.
Filigrees of frost — then sun, between pleats of cloud, a softness that is somehow loud.
“A word is dead when it is said some say. I say it just begins to live that day.” Emily Dickinson ~some put up jars of jam, I stock up on words~ The first draft of a third novel is cooling, like a deep-dish pie on the window sill, and I take some time to… Read More
The pause before an exclamation and after. An unquantifiable insight. Walk outside and sit. Let the blue in, let the whistles and whirrings and guttural growlings in the sable of fallow soil enter your thoughts. The shudder of last leaves – so much beyond each of us, having nothing to do with the I (fragile… Read More
An overcast sky indented with crow wings and the sharp commas of crow talons. It is good to go outside. To look up. To let the wonder of all that is not us seep in. Early this morning, while scenery is more of a suggestion than substance, I marvel at the Writer Elkhound, who bounds… Read More
While working on page 174 of the first draft of my third novel. In this new terrain, I have to make some adjustments. The Pacific Northwest while sharing many similaritties is not the same as Alaska. Here, the crows are fat and numerous. They are the ones that populate parking lots and call raucously from… Read More
“The pages are still blank, but there is a miraculous feeling of the words being there, written in invisible ink and clamoring to become visible.” Vladimir Nabokov Words are breadcrumbs leading me into the heart of a new story. Returning from the PNWA writers conference index cards, notes in the margins of handouts and underlined… Read More
“When all is said and done, the weather and love are the two elements about which one can never be sure.” ― Alice Hoffman Mist drapes a barn roof, erases the base of a silo. The morning is darker than it should be, tinted in shades of wet slate and cooled charcoal. The lay of… Read More
Walking Through the Valley of the Shadow “To teach superstitions as truth is a most terrible thing.” Hypatia The Writer Elkhound trots by my side, then bounds forward to chase after a squirrel running across the fence top. Later she winds around my legs and nudges me as I pause. The weight of the world… Read More
“I’m selfish, impatient and a little insecure. I make mistakes, I am out of control and at times hard to handle. But if you can’t handle me at my worst, then you sure as hell don’t deserve me at my best.” ― Marilyn Monroe Two of the characters I am writing are falling in love.… Read More
BUCKLE-UP Wilderness whups ass. No one is exempt. Ice cracks. Frozen lakes overflow. Bears charge down steep slopes. An inflatable raft springs a leak. A critical box of supplies gets left behind. WTF: where are the matches? Predators large and small are afoot. As are swarms of the most bloodthirsty of all: mosquitoes and no-see-ems.… Read More
Ravens collect coils of vine, twists of ribbon, and shiny discarded baubles. They have been known to incorporate barbed wire into their nests. Corvus corax adapt and use whatever catches their eye to construct their sky-harbors. As I cull through old words, seek out new images and hunt for the unexpected turn of phrase –… Read More