Do you have the courage? Do you have the courage to bring forth this work? The treasures that are hidden inside you are hoping you will say yes.~Jack Gilbert (From Big Magic, Creative Living Beyond Fear by Elizabeth Gilbert)

This morning I opened the window blinds in my study. I could not refrain from allowing the saffron-colored leaves to inhabit my writing space. I stood at the window for several moments pondering the creative journey with writing. I didn't intend to take this route. Didn't really believe I had the courage to write. I realized it merely took saying "Yes. I'll see what may be hidden inside me." In 2005, managing a long-distance relationship with my husband, I decided to write about our love story. The project filled my weekends when we couldn't be together, and I found that writing became a companion. When I showed up at the page, I found an  alchemy of healing, joy and company in the process. I wasn't lonely. The first steps down the road led to a book, then another, then another. And soon to be another. I suppose I got so far down the pathway, I could not abandon my curiosity to see what I might discover around the next bend.

At times along the path, I've had the opportunity to share some of my work. I am pleased that I'll have that chance once again next Sunday, December 1, at Main Street Reads Main Street Reads in Summerville, SC from 12-2 pm. If you're local, I'd love to see you there.

I asked the owner, Shari J. Stauch, what motivated her to open the shop in this age of the Amazon monopoly. She replied, "I opened Main Street Reads because it was needed in the community. With five high schools in the area and the nearest bookstore half an hour from here, it seemed a travesty not to have a local bookstore. I work with authors in my other business, Where Writers Win Where Writers Win. I put authors on tour at stores around the country and what I've discovered is that indie bookstores are actually thriving. People want a place of community where they can actually talk about books!"

I'll be signing...

An Ocean Away--This memoir honors how love can transcend decades, and how a woman not only finds love again, but also discovers her own personal power. 

Missing God--This novel carries a theme that echoes across our country--a woman struggling with opiate use disorder who finds the courage to face the disease, alongside a company of supportive characters. An excerpt from this book was selected as an honorable mention by Glimmertrain, a renowned Literary Magazine

On A Clear Blue Day--I am humbled to say this book won an Enduring Light Medal in the Illumination Book Awards in 2017. The book is a compilation of essays that takes an individual through a year of inspirational reading and thought-provoking questions.

My study is now lit with the late morning sun, and it is difficult to take my eyes from the autumn scene outside my window. I breathe a prayer to God. "Through the page you assuage my fears, comfort me and provide the courage to keep saying "yes." Grace to it.