Window Over The Sink

I'd been in a bit of writer quicksand. Several books that are works in progress got stuck in the messy middle. I needed a palette cleanser. What to do?

by Darlene Fredette   Some readers may remember Secret Recipe’s earlier incarnations: Nothing to Lose  and A Recipe for Forever . Both versions were heartfelt romances about a girl down on her luck, searching for love and a fresh start. I adored the core of that story, but something in my gut kept whispering that Jess deserved more. More depth. More secrets simmering beneath the surface. So, when I regained the rights to the book, I finally had the freedom to explore that ins

Because it's already Saturday morning and this page is still completely empty, I'm going to do what I did on another blog earlier this week--make a list. On that one, I listed some days in my life. On another one I dug up, I asked other writers what their favorite writing tools were. I've listed favorite books, favorite songs, and favorite movies. Since memory is such an issue for me--what was your name again?--today I'm listing memories that are still sharp in my mind. They

An interview with Author Karina Bartow 1.   What is your favorite thing about yourself? And your least favorite? My favorite thing is that I can usually have a genuine laugh once a day, at least, through thick and thin. It makes life a lot more pleasant to find humor in various matters. My least favorite thing is I don't have a poker face, which makes it difficult to—obviously—play poker, pull off a surprise, or handle conflict well. I’d much rather laugh, if the circumstance

Yesterday, I washed the towels, went to a doctor's appointment, stopped and bought a gallon of milk, dried, folded, and put away the towels, changed the sheets, took the ornaments off the Christmas tree, thought about taking the recycling to the school, fed the cats twice, fixed supper, and ran the dishwasher. If I add all of those things up, not including the hour and a half or so I spent going to the doctor and buying the milk, I probably have another two hours of actual do

by Debra Jo Myers Winter. Many people love the beauty of snow falling, while others dread it thinking about shoveling or driving in it. We’ve had measurable snow already this winter, I thought it was a good time to talk about the wonder of snowflakes. Snowflakes are intricate and unique displaying stunning geometric patterns creating delicate works of art. You can find them in a variety of shapes, depending on the temperature they encounter falling through the atmosphere. No

by Cathy Shouse Since it’s the day after Christmas, I thought it would be fun to talk about toys, both the ones we were given and those we have given. I got the idea from a blog post I read recently. It made me think about toys in a new way. My family always made Christmas morning fun, and toys were a huge part of the excitement. We got “Santa” toys that were not wrapped every year. I’m thinking now the sacrifices they might have made to do that for three kids. I researched

by M. J. Schiller Hi! Reading all the posts from Liz’s Christmas guests has made me nostalgic for my days of Christmas Past. Usually, the day after Thanksgiving I’d begin decorating the house. We had a party every year in the first or second week of December, so everything needed to be in its proper place. Next would come the baking. I could never decide on what cookies to bake, so I’d end up with anywhere from 10-15 different kinds. This year, without the kids at home, I’ve

by Debra Jo Myers Having just wrapped up a fabulous theater run at Ole Olsen Memorial Theatre portraying Sue in Heck the Dolls with Chardonnay , my own holiday memories have been on overload. For those who didn’t see the play, it centered around a character, Grandma Sue, sharing memories of holidays gone by with her granddaughter. Each one is portrayed in a flashback featuring a younger Sue. That’s the part I played. Reliving Sue’s memories sent me into my own holiday reminis

by Jan Scarbrough   Why do we run ourselves ragged before the Christmas holidays? Why do we shop until we drop? Decorate the house inside and out? Fret over new Elf on the Shelf locations? Because we have wonderful Christmas memories of our own childhood—family gatherings at grandmother’s house, toys from Santa under the tree, church pageants and choir concerts, and volunteers at red kettles ringing bells in the cold. My cousin recently posted an old home video on Facebook an

by Liz Flaherty This is from the first year of the Window Holidays Project. In a way, it was the easiest year, because friends were eager to come, more people liked to write and read blogs, and it was all positive. In 2022, we needed positive, didn't we? We still do. But even then, there were times when it didn't work out and a friend or I filled in the blank space. Even though I've changed it a little, I'm covering over the space today. Thank you for stopping in. I so love h

by Carol Light I live in South Florida in a semitropical climate more hospitable to flamingos than reindeer. Even so, the holiday season is alive and well here, although I wouldn’t bet on Santa arriving on a snowy roof with his bundle of presents. And what would he do on that roof other than suffer heat stroke in his red suit? After all, there’s a distinct lack of chimneys in this area. While some of my neighbors have fireplaces, most of us don’t. It’s been several years sinc

By Kristina Knight It’s been an odd couple of years. Maybe four. Mostly likely right at three-and-a-half. Years where I couldn’t find the words. Literally. Story ideas? Plenty of ‘em. Characters? All over the place. Twists and turns? Everywhere. But when I would sit down at my desk to write, nothing.  I thought I was done. That the stories in my head were just destined to just live in my head.  It was frustrating. Demoralizing. I felt like a failure. To some extent, I’d alway

by Meryl Brown Tobin Holidays are important for anyone. They get you away from everyday concerns and allow you to disconnect, unwind, relax and refresh. Unplugging and focusing on what you want to do––travelling, beachcombing, bushwalking or whatever––is good for your mental health, stops you feeling overwhelmed, improves sleep, as does increased physical activity. According to research, spending time in natural environments, as I do, is especially good for your brain.  As a

by Lori Matsourani December is here, ringing in the holiday season and, for me, the busiest time of year! Putting up decorations, scouting out gift ideas, planning holiday get-togethers, pulling out everyone’s favorite recipes, scouring Kroger and H-E-B for the ingredients I need for all the requested holiday dishes, and then baking a cornucopia of holiday treats. As I rifled through my holiday files (that makes me sound extremely organized; but don’t be fooled, I’m really no

by Joe DeRozier Joe DeRozier It is Thanksgiving week! Life can be hard at times, and it can be difficult to not focus solely on our troubles. This week is a good time to see the good that is shining through... Steve was the Chef du jour at his restaurant when he saw Kathy and me at a table under the painting of Frank Sinatra. "Joe! I'm glad you're here. I have something for you." ... My "bad day" had started a full four hours before the clock struck midnight the previous nigh

Quite honestly, I'm not sure when I wrote this, so if you've read it too recently to like reading it again, my apologies. The greatest gifts...the greatest reasons for Thanksgiving...are the people in our lives, and I'm so grateful for Aunt Nellie. She gave more richness to my life than I can ever explain. I'm posting today because tomorrow will start the annual Window Holidays Project, when I'll have a guest blogger every day I could get one between now and New Year's. I hop

Okay, this is where I admit I just wrote almost a whole blog about being popular. Or not. Had I been writing on paper, it wouldn't have been worth the surface I wrote it on, so instead I just copied and cut and voila, it was gone. It was several paragraphs of self-serving crap no one should have been subjected to. You're welcome. However, now I don't have anything to say. Facebook has been busy for me this week, due to my inability to keep my posting mouth shut and due to pol

I used the word passion lately in a manuscript. My daughter used it this week in conversation. Both references were to teachers. As a...

Because I have nothing this week and am a little embarrassed by how many reruns I've posted lately, I'm going to do what my friend Nan...