You’re Invited to The Alliance Launch Party!
Afternoon, dear ones! A few months ago, I had an idea to collaborate with my entrepreneur mama friends to launch my third novel, The Alliance. We are all working from home; we are all trying to juggle laundry, child-rearing, cooking, and
Interview with Pamela King Cable, author of The Sanctum
I think it was back in 2009 when I met Pamela King Cable for the first time. She was giving a speech on her novel, Televenge, at the Southern Festival of Books, and I was utterly transported by her words and
The Alliance Book Trailer
A few weeks ago, my friend, Jessica, came over to our farm. Jessica and I met last summer when I stopped to buy sweet corn at her adorable roadside stand. I soon discovered that Jessica is a creative soul with
Hope Springs Eternal
Hope springs eternal in the human breast; Man never is, but always to be blessed: The soul, uneasy and confined from home, Rests and expatiates in a life to come. – Alexander Pope, An Essay on Man My parents flew in from Tennessee on Friday. After I tucked my girls in bed, I pushed open the door to step out on the porch when I heard my mom say into her
Balancing Motherhood & Artistry
This Wednesday, while hiding in the bathroom, I tried to call local libraries and bookstores to line up book events for The Alliance, but my girls (four years old and nineteen months) couldn’t stand being separated from me. So, they pounded on the door and twisted on the handle until I had to open it and usher them inside. The three of us stood in front of the sink, looking at each other in the mirror, as I continued to wait on hold. A few hours later, I received an extortion letter that required me to sit on the floor while a stranger told me how much I (allegedly) owe. Needless to say, Wednesday was not my favorite and had my husband praying before dinner, “Thank you for this . . . day.” And then he opened his eyes and grinned at me across the table because, in that pause, he'd purposefully omitted the word “good.” But then, as my husband and I were tucking our eldest into bed, she looked at me and said, "Did your book camed out?" I titled my head. "My book?" She nodded in the dark. "The one with the plane. Did it camed out?" I touched her chin. "No, not yet." "But your other ones camed out?" I smiled at her, my throat tight. "Yes. two." My husband and I looked at each other across her pink comforter, and the stress from the entire day just melted off me. I could tell by my his smile that it had melted off him too. Sometimes, if I’m just honest with you (and what's the point of all this if I'm not?), I wonder if I’m making the right choice by pursuing an author career while my children are so young. I wonder if, otherwise, I’d do more macaroni crafts, read more books, be more patient, bake complicated, raw-food cookies that my children actually like. What if--once my
The Secret to Writing a Novel
My dear friend (and former neighbor) emailed this week to ask my secret to writing a novel. Flattered, I smiled as I read her questions and promptly responded, promising that I would divulge my “wisdom” this weekend in a blog
The Grace of Germination
Our tiny greenhouse is filled with trays of seeds that are not bearing fruit. A few have pushed up through the dirt of the small, biodegradable pots made from a material like coffee filters. But the majority have remained burrowed down
The Maker & The Clay
On Tuesday, my friend, Marissa, birthed her stillborn son. Afterward, when I received her text, I furiously swept the floor with my eyes burning and jaw tight. I wanted to cry. I even went out to the chicken coop to
He Is Alive
Yesterday, I found myself sitting in a chair along the wall of a turquoise room in a birthing house, though I myself am not pregnant. On the adjacent wall, a yellow curtain with a sateen sheen fluttered from the air
“Open the door of my heart. Quick!”
Nudging my husband’s side in panic, I said, “Honey! Somebody’s at the door!” To many of you, hearing a knock at 9:35 at night probably wouldn’t incite such a breathless response. But my husband and I live in an apartment adjacent to