The Toilet Battles
A couple of weeks ago, I entered the bathroom to find something absolutely wonderful. It only took nineteen years of marriage, but I nearly did a happy dance right there before the porcelain throne: Without me around, my husband had…
Tips for Talking Texan
It’s Amaze-ing Words Wednesday again! It’s also conference season, and many writers are busy preparing for their trip, classes, pitches, or table-dancing performance. Since we’ll have some non-Texans attending the DFW Writers’ Conference, I thought it was a good time to…
Life's a Beach and #ROW80
This photo of me was taken on Friday, and yes, that is the beach in the background! My best friend and I have an annual tradition of taking one day in the school year, dropping off our kids, and heading to…
Why Grammar Matters in Your Book
I’ve been called a Grammar Nazi, a grammar geek, a grammar freak, a grammar nut, the grammar police, and a stickler. What they say behind my back, I don’t know. I’m not that bad. I don’t critique tweets, personal emails,…
Introducing Professor Punctuation
Welcome, Prof Punc! Today, we are welcoming a newcomer to Amaze-ing Words Wednesday. From our local college faculty, I now introduce Professor Punctuation. I’ll hand over the mic now. Thanks for coming, professor. I know, I know: I don’t look like…
The Perfect WiFi Spot and #ROW80
While I have a great writing nook in my house, there are days when the to-do list at home weighs too heavily on me or I need a little background noise or different lighting to have a productive day. Thankfully,…
Tagged Again & Cool Questions
Welcome to Deep-Fried Friday! Yum. I’ve been tagged again to answer some questions, this time by The Midnight Novelist, Karen Rought. I should warn people generally that I’m that girl who broke the chain in high school. You know, when…
Neologistically Speaking
Welcome to Amaze-ing Words Wednesday! Some time ago, I wondered if I could make up my own word. And then I did. New words are called neologisms (neo=new, logo=word). Neologisms are added to our language all the time. For instance,…
Marriage, Fishing Film, and Whooping: #ROW80
This month, my husband and I are celebrating our 19 years of marriage. Whenever we’re in a crowd, I still think my husband is the smartest, handsomest, and funniest guy in the room. These days, we have a few more…
Rules of the Undead
My husband and I watched the pilot of The Walking Dead a few months ago. During the course of the show, I kept asking things like, “How do you kill a zombie?” “Do they have to destroy the zombie’s brain?”…