Before baby Emily was born (she’s now 15 months old), we were shopping at a secondhand store when I laid eyes on a multi-colored stuffed llama, which I have since come to learn is a character from the video game Fortnite, although I was blissfully ignorant of that fact at the time. I snapped it […]
Gotcha! by Deb Kastner
It can be quite overwhelming when an author is facing a completely blank page at the beginning of a novel. I know who the characters are and have lived with them for awhile in my head. I’ve sketched out at least a modicum of what is going to happen in the story. But here I […]
Gotta Read ‘Em All by Deb Kastner
When it comes to streaming movies, I have a very strange habit, and it’s not your usual binge-every-season-of-a-show, although I occasionally do that, as well (SEALTeam, The Unit). For me, it’s all about the actors. When I find an actor whose work I particularly love, I will search out his/her filmography and watch every single […]
Reader to Writer
One of my very first and fondest memories of my introduction to the wonder of books is of curling up in an armchair on my father’s lap while he read me Pat the Bunny. (Point of clarification: For my entire childhood and a good part of my adulthood, I thought “Pat” referred to the bunny’s […]
At the Altar (and a giveaway)
I have weddings on my mind. Thirty-six years ago, as of March 21st, I walked down the aisle and into the waiting arms of my beloved. On that happy day, I couldn’t imagine how hard Joe and I would have to work for all those vows we made—for better, for worse, for richer, for poorer, […]
Riding the Waves
As with any full-time job, writing is exhausting work, and after awhile I find my creative well has been thoroughly drained. My go-to in order to fill up my creative well has always been live music concerts and musicals, as well as other types of live shows. I also love to travel, though I rarely […]
They’re Playing Our Song
I care for my seven-month-old granddaughter Emily every weekend, and one of her favorite things to do right now is to sing. We are a musical family. We’ll randomly break into song anytime we hear a Broadway lyric or a nursery rhyme. For many years I sang in church choir and have acted in musicals […]
This Christmas
This year Christmas is not what I’d envisioned it to be in any way. We had our floors done in laminate, replacing the most awful pink carpet we’d had since we moved in twenty-odd years ago. That, however, required basically boxing up our house as if to move. I needed to declutter, but my brilliant […]
What am I Thankful For?
“Give thanks to the Lord for He is good, His mercy endures forever!” ~Psalm 107:1 I am the first to admit that 2022 has nearly done me in, in a way even 2020 and COVID did not. I don’t like to talk about it, or even admit it, but rather grin and bear it. But as the American […]
Playing Dress-Up
With Halloween right around the corner, I have a confession to make. I love to dress up. Give me any excuse and I’m there, whether it’s handing out candy to the neighborhood kids or acting in local theater musicals. A couple of Saturdays ago I took part along with the rest of the HearthFire Keep […]
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