• window
    Writing

    Speaking Up is Hard to Do

    Speaking Up Writing Prompt: A Time You Wish You Had Spoken Up At one point in my life, I worked in a famous department store. One day I was standing near the cash register with another saleswoman I’ll call Patty. On this day a woman and several children approached the register to ask us questions. A little boy said something that apparently his mother took exception to. Wham! Suddenly the boy was on the floor. It happened so fast and he was down before Patty and I realized what had happened. We were still trying to process this when the boy staggered to his feet and then again said something…

  • Joy
    Writing

    9 Things That Bring Me Joy

    9 Things That Bring Me Joy They may be numbered, but not exactly in the correct order. Reading – I can’t live without reading. Writing – this includes making lists. Taking photos of and writing about interesting places and things. Eating a really good dinner that I didn’t cook – I don’t like cooking. I love going out to eat. Having a totally clean home – is a big accomplishment for me because it’s such a rare occurrence. It’s a miracle! Visiting a nice place we haven’t been to before. It doesn’t have to be fancy; it just has to be different. Summer – especially in a really beautiful place…

  • lights
    Writing

    Leave A Light On For Me

    We Need Some Light The last several weeks have been difficult in the New Jersey and New York areas as we recover from the aftermath of Hurricane Sandy. After two major storms last year, Hurricane Irene and the weird Snowtober storm, I learned my lesson and made sure that I did not have too many perishables in the refrigerator. On the night of the storm, the lights stayed on for longer than we had hoped. But then the lights started flickering and finally around 9 p.m. the lights went off and we were plunged into total darkness. Since the lights did not come back until Friday, we mostly subsisted on…

  • book shop deal
    Writing

    If I Was Offered A Book Deal . . . I Would Be So Happy!

    You’ve been offered a book deal! What would you write about? Getting a book deal is a dream of mine! There are so many things that I want to write about! I would love to write a book of essays and also a novel. My husband and II would love to write and photograph a book about New Jersey. Of course, I’d like to go to Europe to photograph and write about it – England, Italy, France, Spain, and Germany. I’d also go to Australia, New Zealand, and Japan. It would be great if I had a publisher who’d pay for my travels, especially if I could bring my husband…