Musings
-
Well, it’s been quite a while since I’ve made a post. That’s not laziness on my part, not intentional neglect, but a consequence of the chaos I’m currently navigating. 2026 stormed in roaring, and life got a swipe with its massive paw. After almost 20 years living in the Sacramento area, we’re leaving California and…
-
Greetings, friends! 2025 was a tough one for a lot of us, and I expect there aren’t many who are sad to see its back. I hope, though, that the year left gently for you and your holiday has been full of joy, peace and love. Our Christmas was quiet and content, but we got…
-
I generally love the holidays and dive head-first into all the happy chores of making the season magical—decorating, cooking and baking, gift shopping and wrapping, the whole sparkly ball of fun. When our sons were kids, I worked hard—and eagerly—to make the holiday as special as I could, even in my single-mom days, when the…
-
Thoughts on the (Dreaded) Miscommunication Trope Several weeks ago, I got a message from a reader challenging me (nicely) about what she argued was a misalignment between my stated aversion to the miscommunication trope and the occurrence of miscommunication in several of my stories. In responding to that reader’s message, I ended up thinking pretty…
-
In virtually my entire life, I have never enjoyed sports in any way. As a participant? HAHAHAHAHA. Though I work out regularly and have for years, I am possibly the least athletic person on the planet. I have virtually no spatial awareness. I’m clumsy. I’m slow. I’d rather be in a comfy chair beside the…
-
This coming Monday is the 105th anniversary of the ratification of the 19th Amendment, which finally enfranchised women of the United States with the power of the vote. Progress in this country has always traveled a stuttering, circuitous path, making promises and reneging, picking and choosing who gets rights and when they get them or…
-
Every summer, the readers in the Susan’s FANetties FB group have a Q&A in which they submit questions to me, and I, usually quite reserved throughout the year, hold forth at length in my answers. This year, the 11th, had a particularly great collection of questions that really made me think. One of them got…
-
… and a little preview! Hey, everyone! I hope you’re keeping cool and getting some happy times in your summer! I’ve got some good news, I think. Last week, I finished a manuscript—the first novel I’ve finished in a whole year. I’m starting to actually believe my violent bout with writer’s block is finally over,…
-
I’ve been thinking a lot lately about how dearly I love my adopted home state of California. I’m a native Midwesterner, born in St. Louis and mostly raised there (we lived in Milwaukee for a few years when I was in grade school). A lot of my adult life was also lived in Missouri and…
