A Musing On Truth and Lies
Can you remember the first lie you ever told? I can't. What I do remember is the flush accompanying the misrepresentation, the internal conflict when the admonitions of parents and priests collided with the need to shift blame, to deny [...]
A World Turned Upside Down
Note: I drafted the following essay before our country erupted in chaos in protest of the police brutality and murder of George Floyd. I felt a need to add an uplifting look at the pandemic-infused world. Now, our nation is [...]
How To Survive and Thrive With Uncertainty
If there's one thing we all know, here in May of 2020, it is that the future is more uncertain than ever. A funny little virus with spikes on its belly has infected the world, overwhelmed our hospitals, and thumbed [...]
Toward An Invincible Spring
“In the midst of winter, I found there was, within me, an invincible summer. And that makes me happy. For it says that no matter how hard the world pushes against me, within me, there’s something stronger – something better, [...]
One Writer’s Marching Orders
Last month the number of events and activities in which I participate increased. I'm not complaining, simply recounting. I set a goal for myself in 2020 -- to increase my networking and presentation commitments. However, the introvert in me prefers [...]
Leaping Into Space
Here we go, knitting up our imperfect skein of days with the addition of an extra twenty-four hours. Leap Year conjures up the image of a mysterious space hiding in time, a special day to be unfolded like a Valentine, [...]
2020 July Author of the Month: DAWN PAUL
This middle-of-summer, 2020, demands a bit of whimsy, and who better to supply it than my featured author, Dawn Paul, whose tales of gnomes invite us to the world of magic and wonder. Dawn, a member of my local writing community, lives in suburban Ohio with her family. Multifaceted and widely educated, she holds degrees and diplomas in Humanities, English Literature, Business Management, Travel, and Children’s Literature. She is an artist, poet, and writer who loves her family, gnomes, yarn, books, and God. She sees the world through rose-colored glasses and sometimes, with a luminescent glow. In these unsettling times, a ray of optimism seems like the perfect antidote to all the frightful events.
Janet Irvin: Hi, Dawn! Welcome to the author’s couch. I guess my first question is an obvious one. What prompted you to write about […]
Previous Months’ Authors
2020 June Author of the Month: KATE CARLISLE
I must admit to a fascination with Kate Carlisle, our June author, especially her Bibliophile mysteries. After I read the first one, I was hooked, probably because protagonist Brooklyn Wainwright, […]
2020 May Author of the Month: LEE MARTIN
It is with great pleasure that I welcome an amazing writer, Lee Martin, to the site this month. Martin teaches in the MFA program at The Ohio State University, where […]
2020 March Author of the Month: MEGAN HART
Our March feature is a NYT Best-selling author with a slew of books to her name. When she moved to our Dayton, she joined our community of talented writers working […]
2020 February Author of the Month: DAVID LEE GARRISON
2020 arrives as a leap year, gracing us with an extra day in February. It’s always nice to have more time to read and write and speak with authors. This […]
2020 January Author of the Month: TIM SMITH
A brand new year means a brand new look at authors from the area and beyond. This month I welcome a writer who makes it his business to tell romance […]
2019 December Author of the Month: CATHRYN ESSINGER
In this holiday time when we carve out a span of weeks to remind ourselves of myths and miracles, of solstice lights and winter sights, I offer this […]