The autumnal equinox slipped by with very little notice in the Alvarez household.The change of seasons is something I’ve always loved to watch, the subtle shifts in the weather especially pleasant. It’s always a great feeling when you encounter the first cool autumn days after a particularly long summer, or… Read the rest...

“What’s that?”He didn’t seem interested in the thick black binder until I opened it, even though it had been in his hands just a moment before.Saturday evening was particularly pleasant, the weather just cool enough to make it worth spending a few minutes outside. My husband was working on cutting… Read the rest...

I didn’t want a dog.I’ve never really liked them much, my dislike only intensifying through the years. So when my husband announced that he wanted a puppy, my heart sank to the pit of my stomach.We’d had a puppy, shortly after moving into our cozy 3-bedroom starter home. To say… Read the rest...

There are some clichés that I don’t mind in my fiction. Depending on the writer, sometimes they can carry it off without it being detrimental to the story or their integrity as a writer. After encountering this one in each of the three books I’ve picked up in the past… Read the rest...

I grew up in a family of gifted musicians.I remember my mother’s delight when we obtained a lovely old upright piano, the ivory plates missing from some of the keys. It didn’t matter, it didn’t keep her from drawing the most beautiful music from it.My father has always been a… Read the rest...

The other day, a friend asked me a very specific question about writing, and I’ve been turning it over in my head since then.How do you stop writing?How do you keep your story from dragging on and on? The ending is a vital part to any story, and really, this… Read the rest...