by Sue | May 22, 2023 | Books & Writers
Writers have pretty much dumped the adage, “write what you know,” in favor of honing their investigative skills. Yet there is nothing like fiction written by writers who have seen it, done it, been there. Meet BarbaraHelene Smith, PhD. and author of the Connie Murphy...
by Sue | May 1, 2023 | Body & Soul
I wasn’t thinking about the future when I thought the sunken great- room in my forever home was a great idea. Hint: looking for your golden years’ residence had better include mobility concerns. Fortunately, since they scheduled my surgery for...
by Sue | Apr 17, 2023 | Body & Soul
We’ve always had certain “rites of passage” in our culture. I have a photo of my father as a toddler in a dress. If you knew my father, you would laugh right now. Anyway, he soon passed into short pants, and from there to long pants. The first bra is a girl’s...
by Sue | Apr 10, 2023 | Faith
Lou Skalney’s father, in my novel The Divine Meddler, raised him to believe that a man takes care of business. That didn’t work out so well for Lou, but I can relate. I’m a bit like him with my Type A personality. I make “to-do” lists and conquer them (usually)...
by Sue | Apr 4, 2023 | Books & Writers
I’m not exaggerating when I tell you my extra room has walls of books, just like the photo above. It’s all for a good cause. I decided to release my inner masochist and totally renovate my home—repainting walls and new flooring in 5 rooms all at once—just before my...
by Sue | Mar 27, 2023 | Care Giving
Caregivers aren’t perfect. As a nurse, I didn’t find giving my husband personal care difficult. But it broke my heart to see my brilliant spouse move further into dementia. His wonderful brain was physically changing. Cells were dying and synapses weren’t firing. As I...
by Sue | Mar 20, 2023 | Body & Soul
As much as I promote and eat a plant based diet, I do occasionally eat chicken, beef, or seafood. Some wouldn’t touch animal products with a ten foot pole. Others are content eating the standard American diet – the “meat and potatoes” crowd. Each to his own....
by Sue | Mar 13, 2023 | Faith
One of my favorite Bible verses is Romans 8:28. “And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.” I like the purpose part because I believe we all need a purpose, a reason to get out of bed....
by Sue | Mar 6, 2023 | Books & Writers
Thomas Umstattd Jr., of Author Media fame (https://www.authormedia.com/ ) asks writers, “Who is your Timothy?” Umstattd, also an author, owns Author Media, which he established to help authors sell more books. Although we members are Christian authors, his principles...
by Sue | Feb 20, 2023 | Care Giving
Caregiving has changed over the last several decades. In the 60’s my grandmother was the sole caregiver for my grandfather, with as much help from my mom as she could give. It soon became clear that it was not enough, and he ended his days in a nursing home....
