That Funny Feeling In The Pit of Your Stomach

It should come as no surprise that I'm a hopeless romantic. What can I say, I love love. And when I found the above picture of two lovers, I fell hard. They just lookou so smitten that I want to hug myself in glee. I want to write stories that make me (and you) feel like this picture makes me feel--absolutely giddy. It is just so inspiring. So if you write love stories too, you're welcome. If you love seeing happy couples too, you're welcome. If you love love, you're welcome. Now go find someone whose eyes you can gave into lovingly and cherish that inevitable funny feeling in the pit of your stomach.

Loving Aging?

I'm of the age where it is perfectly normal to have a midlife crisis. My fiftieth birthday is in the rearview mirror and I'm closer to sixty than I am to forty. For my fiftieth birthday I got my belly button re-pierced specifically because I wanted to do something that said 'I'm not old'. Now that another birthday is creeping up on me, I'm thinking of doing more things that say, 'I'm not old'. Like wearing my my nose ring to work (come on, everyone is doing it) or getting another tattoo. The one in this post has been calling to me. What do you think of it? I'm only getting older and I hope that as time passes I make changes to myself that I actually love and not just because I don't want to be old. I don't think I love aging, but I do love me, at any age.

Loving Me Some Oneida

Y'all know that Tyler Childers was the inspiration for my hero Ben in What She Wants For Christmas. What you might not know is that it was his song Oneida that was the specific inspiration. As Tyler said, the song is about "loving older ladies". Oneida has been officially released and it is lush and romantic and dreamy.Tyler looks pretty cute in the video too. If you've never listened to the song, check it out. And maybe grab your honey for some dancing and fall into this amazing song.

Reunions, Love Them Or Hate Them?

So, I've been thinking of reunions a lot lately. My latest work in progress is about a woman who goes to her reunion and finds love in the most unlikely place. My 30th college reunion will be next summer and I'm debating if I'm going or not. And a few of my college friends had a mini reunion during the Fourth of July weekend. While there were times that I wanted to throw my story in a fire and curse it, I'm at the point that I no longer hate it. Once I get feedback from beta readers and start to edit it, I'm sure I'll love the finished product. And for my 30th reunion, it will be nice to be back on campus and see my old stomping grounds. But the reunion I'm loving the most, is the mini-reunion I had with my friends. We literally spent two days just hanging out in a friends house eating, drinking and talking. And not just about the good ole days. Actually, there wasn't a whole lot of that. There was catching up on kids and parents, careers, life, politics and health. Most of us are peri-menopausal women, so lots of talk about health :) It was just a beautiful time to be with folks

I love but don't get to see in person very often. So, I'm on the side of loving reunions. Though I won't be caught dead at my next highschool reunion!

I Did It

I did it ladies and gents. Two minutes ago I submitted my novella for the beach reads anthology MVRAI will be publishing next summer. It's only a first draft, but I have to confess that it felt great hitting send. Of course, now the hard part begins, editing. My friends will read over Reunion (working title) tell me what's working and what needs to be fixed. And while there's a lot to be fixed, they'll be there to help me. This story will be my summer project and it will be a project. But the good news is that with time and lots of effort it's going to get better and better. And that excites me. Hopefully you'll be excited to read it when it comes out during the summer of 2026.

Love For Sinners

So the hot movie of the moment is Sinners starring Michael B. Jordan. I must say, I kind of loved it. It married the elements of history,love, paranormal and music. In fact one of the things I loved most about it was how it made the connection between Irish music to bluegrass and then bluegrass music to the blues and of course blues to modern black music. All in a movie about black folks striving to survive and be successful in the 1930's Jim Crow Mississippi. I won't give too much away but it is definitely worth watching. Heck, getting two Michael B. Jordans was worth the price of admission alone. But that's the only spoiler I'll give, go see for yourself.

Look At Us

Have you ever heard a song over and over again, but never really paid attention to the words or meaning? Well I was listening to the radio last week and Look At Us by Vince Gill came on. I love his voice, I truly think he has one of the most beautiful male voices in country music. But I hadn't truly listened to what he was saying until then. I fell in love with the story of true lasting love through the years. That sentiment along with Vince's voice is transcendent. Take my advice, find the one you love, and dance them around the floor to this tune.