Prose

  • Fiction

    The Dinner Party Guests (fiction)

    It all started with a dinner party. Five young couples coming together for an evening of dinner, drinks, and maybe a seance. The host was Arthur Pearson, son of a prominent banker in the city, destined to fill his father’s shoes. Throwing such dinner parties was something of a sport for Arthur, who loved throwing his family money and influence around to get others to do what he wished. No one would refuse a dinner invite from a Pearson. Arthur was fascinated by the results of bringing different people together who would normally never find themselves in the same room. He also was fascinated by the trends of the Spiritualism…

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  • Fiction

    Rumblings (fiction write)

    We like to think that we have the whole world mapped and figured out. Battling governments having laid claim to every inch of free land that they can find. Point to any place on a map and people are likely to be able to offer some rudimentary knowledge or generalization about the area or people. We like to think that we know our neighbors, any surprises that exist must be far away from us. Humans like to believe that they know everything there is to know. There will always be those people who are eager to claim authority and expertise, to spout off as if they have all the answers.…

  • Nonfiction,  Personal

    Destination Imagination

    Ryan was excited when he handed me his Destination Imagination sign up form this morning. Destination Imagination is a really great afterschool program where teams of kids choose a challenge (the choices are generally STEM, Art, or Service Related) and work to build a solution to that challenge. In March, they present their solutions at regional tournaments where they are scored on their creativity, workmanship, and teamwork. It is a great opportunity for kids to take the lead, learn to work as a team, and let their creativity fly. Last year was Ryan’s first year participating in Destination Imagination. It is the perfect afterschool activity for him, but it wasn’t…

  • Nonfiction,  Personal,  Places,  Prose

    On Moving to the Mountains

    “The mountains are calling and I must go.” The popular John Muir quote really speaks to the pull of nature and mountains. Living where I do, I see the quote all the time on bumper stickers, decorative logos, and Instagram hashtags. Well, the mountains called, and I moved. Moving to my awesome little mountain town in New Hampshire’s White Mountains was easily the best move that I have ever made for my family. When Ryan was younger, we moved around quite a bit between the demands of college, graduate schools, and just finding the right spot for our family. While moving around wasn’t ideal, it did give us a chance…

  • Nonfiction,  Personal,  Prose

    All About Me – Blogtober

    This year, I am trying a new challenge called Blogtober. It is a challenge among bloggers to post a new blog post every day for the month of October. I only just found out about this challenge this year, and it reminds me a lot of NaNoWriMo in terms of being a great motivator to write daily. Last year, I tried NaNoWriMo and had a great experience. Unfortunately, I completely neglected my blog while I worked on my novel and have been struggling to get back into a blogging rhythm ever since. I am really hoping that Blogtober will help me rediscover my blogging groove. The suggested prompt for today…

  • Fiction,  Prose

    The Talisman

    The little white door blended in seamlessly with the wall around it, and Lucy probably wouldn’t have even noticed it if Connor didn’t point it out to her. It was small, the top of the door was level with the top of her head and it was maybe only a foot wide. In place of a doorknob, there were two latches – a tarnished old slide latch and a shiny and new-looking latch with a lock. Connor pulled a small key out of his pocket and started fumbling with the lock. Lucy looked at the door and wondered what could possibly be hiding behind it. It was much too small…

  • Fiction,  Prose

    The Picture Frame

    The girl searched through the dusty old boxes in the garage, looking for some treasures worth keeping.  Amid the crumbling papers and broken records, one item stood out – an empty picture frame with beautiful swirled edges. She didn’t know why she felt so drawn to this empty frame, but she quickly took it home and filled it with her artwork before hanging it on the wall. She soon realized that there was something special about this frame. She leaned closer, the artwork seemed to be moving ever so slightly. When she reached up to touch the picture, her finger just kept going until she found her whole self pulled…

  • Fiction,  Prose

    Fairy Judgment

    This post is a response to an assigned writing prompt for my local writing group. We had to respond to the question “In what way do you judge strangers before getting to know them?” through the eyes of characters in our writing. I answered this question using some of the characters from the novel that I have drafted and am currently working on editing. “Fairies are always so judgey,” the creature complained. “We are not ‘judgey’!” Maeve argued. “Judgey isn’t even a proper word. How would a groundling like you even know what fairies are really like? I can’t imagine that you have many fairies visiting you in this…place.” Maeve…

  • Nonfiction,  Personal,  Prose

    Unblocked

    It has been a crazy couple of months, and sadly I have completely lost my writing routine. I have a long and ever growing list of posts that I want to write for this blog, and yet every time I sit down in front of the computer, I feel completely blocked. I was in a great blogging rhythm right up until I took a break from my blog to participate in National Novel Writing Month in November. Clearly, I should have made more of an effort to to stay current on this blog, because I completely fell out of the habit of posting here – and I really love continually…