Category Archives: Writing

by | June 29, 2026 · 6:00 am

Review of Louisa, a Powerful Historical Novel about Being Born a Woman

My book review of Gwen Wilson‘s new novel Louisa. You might know Gwen as The Reluctant Retiree blogger. Her new novel is a great read!

After reading Australian writer Gwen Wilson’s memoir I Belong to No One, I was eager to read her new historical novel, Louisa, based upon the life of her great-grandmother. I certainly can see how Gwen inherited traits of a desire for independence, strength, and a fierce spirit from her ancestor.

Louisa was born in England in 1855 to a successful Anatomical Bootmaker and his wife. When her father passed away, Louisa was 17 years old. She was inspired by her mother’s insistence on running the family business herself, even though it was frowned upon for a gentlewoman to do so. Louisa herself had dreams of independence and turned down two marriage proposals before shocking her family by emigrating. The new land of Australia beckoned her.

All Louisa’s idealistic plans for herself to become a teacher with no need to marry come crashing down around her as circumstances and cultural norms constantly dictate her woman’s place in society. Her life is very difficult, and at times it seems that Louisa will never be happy because as a woman she has no legal rights.

This theme is brought home at the first job she takes. She signs on as a so-called governess in a remote outpost where she witnesses how powerless a married woman could be, living under the thumb of her husband. The tragedy that occurs foreshadows later events in Louisa’s life.

The book addresses marriage, love, romance, domestic abuse, hypocrisy, single mothers, “illegitimate” children, and the role of women—all under the umbrella of Victorian Australia and England. I found the book to be well-written and very engaging. I didn’t want to put the book down and eagerly looked forward to “what comes next.” I find myself still going back to the book, thinking about feisty Louisa and the other women in her life. You will not want to miss this book.

I understand we are going to get a sequel to Louisa, Florence & Lucy, based upon the lives of Louisa’s daughters and focusing on what it was like to be of illegitimate birth. Gwen Wilson is also promising a companion nonfiction work where we will learn where Wilson’s research of her family history intersects with the novels. I can’t wait to read them!

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After I read Gwen’s memoir years ago I knew we had stories that intersected. What I didn’t realize was that “illegitimate” births were a pattern in her family. My memoir Scrap: Salvaging a Family and Louisa might be different genres, different settings, and different stories, but they both center on the generational trauma of “illegitimate” birth.

CLICK THE BOOK COVER IMAGE ABOVE TO PURCHASE LOUISA!

 

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by | June 24, 2026 · 10:31 am

The Economy of a Poet

Like so many, I feel a real affinity for the poetry of Sylvia Plath. She’s my favorite poet as Shirley Jackson is my favorite prose writer and Remedios Varo is my favorite artist.

For my MFA explication I wrote about the Plath poem “Fever 103.” I still love that poem which so well captures that feeling of having a high fever without really talking about fever or being ill.

For my PhD dissertation, each chapter was focused on one female poet and one type of identity. For my Plath chapter I wrote about performing gender.

Later, when I began to write more poetry, I could feel the influence of Plath’s poetry on me.

Most inspirational for me was how candid and direct her poetry sounds. And under the surface, I suppose, was her search for who her father was and how he connected to her. These features really guided me in writing Scrap: Salvaging a Family. But they also helped in creating this collage for Raw Lit, Issue 9. The Making of a Daddy which relies upon the imagery from two poems Plath wrote about her father: “Daddy” and “The Colossus.”

***

“Spare, precise, and quietly devastating, this is the kind of memoir that stays in the body long after the reading is done.”

That’s what the editorial review at The Book Review calls my memoir.

The Book Revue – 5 Star Review

Here’s another favorite paragraph:

“Her prose has the economy of a poet who knows exactly which word is doing the work and which ones can be cut. She has a remarkable ability to locate enormous emotion inside small, specific objects and moments, a trait that is genuinely rare and that gives the book its distinctive texture.”

ORDER SCRAP IN EBOOK OR PAPERBACK

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by | June 18, 2026 · 6:00 am

This Song Socked It to the Hypocrites

When we  look back at our childhoods, there are so many important cultural touchstones of the era. For me, just entering 8th grade, nothing was more ubiquitous than Jeannie C. Riley’s hit “Harper Valley P.T.A.

Riley’s record, her debut, sold over six million copies as a single, and it made her the first woman to top both the Billboard Hot 100 and the U.S. Hot Country Singles charts with the same song.1

Top. That means #1. Nobody else did this until Dolly Parton in 1981 with 9 to 5.1

I’ve known for a long time that my favorite songwriter, Tom T. Hall, wrote the song. He was young, still thinking he was going to a writer, such as a journalist or a novelist.2

Gosh, I love his music–the storytelling, the heart and soul, his bluegrass roots (being from Kentucky y’all).

“Harper Valley P.T.A.” is not on this album. These are many of the songs Tom T Hall recorded.

Hall said that this song ended up being his novel.2

Think of that. He was an amazing observer, like many writers, and what he observed in America showed up in his songs. For instance, in his song “Who’s Gonna Feed Them Hogs,” he captures so well a man who is so tied to his profession (in this case, a hog farmer) and perhaps to denial as well that in the hospital he thinks more about “them hogs” than he does about the fact that doctors think he might not survive.*

Back to the Jeannie C.Riley hit song, written by Hall. Originally it was suggested he write a song reminiscent of the Bobbie Gentry 1967 hit “Ode to Billie Joe.” And that’s how the song sounded when Riley first heard it sung by a demo singer.3

The song became a big hit in part because of Tom T. Hall’s amazing song writing, but finally because Riley added the finishing touch that really moved the song up a level.

If you listen to the song you see that that final line that is repeated twice is what makes you want to jump off your feet, scream, and applaud. It wouldn’t mean anything without Hall’s songwriting, but without Riley’s ending it would have been a fun and thought-provoking song, but not a GINORMOUS international hit.

The song is told in 3rd person. The singer/narrator tells the story of a young single mother who is admonished by the PTA about how she is raising her daughter. “Mrs. Johnson” goes to the PTA meeting and calls the board out as hypocrites. She sums up with my second favorite line of the song: “Well, this is just a little Peyton Place and you’re all Harper Valley hypocrites!“

Side note: Peyton Place was very popular, starting as a novel by Grace Metalious, based on true events, focusing on all the covered up sins, crimes, and vices of a small town–as well as the gossip. Sadly, Metalious died of cirrhosis of the liver at age 39. Look up the Peyton Place “franchise” if you don’t know much about it.

Back to the ending of “Harper Valley P.T.A.,” repeated twice, that is written by Riley.

Originally, the song lyrics stayed in the 3rd person POV, calling Mrs. Johnson “that mama.”3

But Riley moved to the 1st person in that ending, thus surprising the listener with the idea that the teen daughter was the one proudly sharing her mama’s story. She also added a very popular up-to-date touch by using the term “socked it to,” made popular by the TV program Laugh-in. 3 Thus:

The day my mama socked it to the Harper Valley P.T.A.

The day my mama socked it to the Harper Valley P.T.A.

By repeating that last line, the listener has the chance to really absorb that this kid is so proud of her mom for standing up to the hypocrites.

With that ending and the mini skirt Hall wrote into a song based on his own childhood observation (he was born in 1936), the song became emblematic of MY 1960s childhood. This song is an anthem for my generation.

In this way, this song presented an inspiring role model. Can you dig it?

***

1 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harper_Valley_PTA

2 https://theboot.com/jeannie-c-riley-harper-valley-pta-lyrics/

3 https://americansongwriter.com/why-jeannie-c-riley-hated-her-1968-one-hit-wonder-and-how-she-was-finally-convinced-to-record-it/

*Bonus video: “Who’s Gonna Feed Them Hogs”

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by | June 1, 2026 · 6:00 am

Return and Renewal

After dumping that saddest post on you last time, I thought I would share something positive. I think Perry has sent me presents from beyond the rainbow bridge.

Before I leave you with these images of renewal, let me say that I lost my mind and ordered the fanciest cremation package, a cardstock photo of Perry from Shutterfly, and a copy of Curious George Goes to An Ice Cream Shop, the book I used to read Perry every day when he was at the rescue. I’ll clear off a shelf in the kitchen near my computer for these items, including his ashes.

The mamas and babies below remind me of the year that my father and my cat Mac died. My father died on May 14 and Mac on June 28. After my father died, a hummingbird returned to the nest where she had just raised a pair of twins and laid another two eggs. I got to video her teaching one of her chicks to fly. I re-published the lyric essay/flash nonfiction story I wrote about these events on Substack: Leaving, Changing, Returning

And now this year:

First there was the mama quail and her huge covey of chicks. Daddy not available at the time of this video.

Then the gardener showed me the hummingbird mama on her nest right outside our door. See how she’s built it on the underside of a lantern.

hummingbird mama on her nest

Later, the gardener told me where to find the mourning dove (how appropriate) nest on top of a patio speaker. Look closely to see two babies sitting in the nest. Sorry the video keeps moving too far down.

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by | May 27, 2026 · 6:00 am

Eden Robins: Isn’t it Time to Own Your Own Life?

Today I am handing over the keys to this blog to my dear IRL friend romance novelist Eden Robins who is sharing a guest post about something close to her heart. Feel free to share this blog post with anyone you think might want to own their own life!

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 Own Your Own Life

Every person gets to ask themselves this:
“Who am I, who do I want to be, and how do I choose to be in this moment?”

Own your own life.

That’s an underlying theme in the novels I write and it’s my mission in guiding others as a life coach.

I’ve been asked a number of times what I mean by the phrase, “own your own life”. My answer is what you might expect. It means you get to decide the kind of life you live today, tomorrow and for the rest of your days.

Okay, so now I’ve answered the question.

We’re done here, right?

Doesn’t everyone own their own life? After all, they’re the ones living it. Who else would own your life but you?

The answer may seem simple but, as I’ve learned over several decades on this earth, simple does not always mean easy.

Nevertheless, it’s important to understand exactly who’s running your life.

Why?

If who you believe you are is based on how others see you, or how you imagine they’re seeing you, then you’re not running your own life. You’re running on the hamster wheel of other people’s expectations, or your perception that they have those expectations.

Owning your own life starts with understanding who you are and what’s most important to you (aka your values). As a life coach, I help empower people to fully discover and embrace themselves and their values so they can take charge of and live their own best life. This empowerment can lead to a better job, healthier and happier relationships, an improved quality of life, smoother transitions and more confidence, courage, consistency and clarity in pursuing dreams and goals.

Life coaching isn’t about telling people what to do. Rather, it’s about guiding them to an understanding of what they already sense about themselves but haven’t fully settled into yet.

Sometimes, settling into the truth can be the hardest obstacle to overcome.

I know that because I’ve experienced it myself.

Well into my fifties, I decided to become a life coach. Yet, I couldn’t even bring myself to say, “I’m a life coach”. I’d use terms like “mentor”, “sponsor” or “guide”.

“Life coach” felt too expansive, too formal and way beyond how I saw myself. I was unable to reconcile who a life coach was with who I was. I was convinced I didn’t have what it took to do the job.

Even after I received my life coaching certification, those old, overused “you’re not enough” recordings played repeatedly in my head…

All that volunteer work didn’t make me a life coach. So what if I received a certification in life coaching? That didn’t mean anything. So what if I had over a decade of experience? That didn’t count because I hadn’t charged money for my services. You’re too old. It’s too late.

The negative chatter droned on incessantly for over two years after I received my certification. I realize now that this time in between was valuable because my beliefs began shifting and sharpening as my idea of what it meant to be a coach evolved and became clearer.

I hired other coaches to work with me. I also studied coaching by taking classes, attending workshops, and researching others in my field. All the while, I continued my volunteer coaching. I grasp now that I was progressing during that time because I had made the choice to be curious and stay open to change even when mired in self-doubt.

In other words, I decided to dig into and face the truth about myself in a way that eventually led to an important question.

What if I AM enough?

That simple, quiet question grew louder and louder in my mind until I could no longer ignore it and decided to answer it by asking another question.

What does it mean to be a life coach?

That question changed everything for a few reasons.

First, it cracked open my resistance to accepting the truth about myself, which became just enough of an opening to let my curiosity bloom. Second, I realized that those two years following my certification provided me with the opportunity to explore and learn the answer. And third, timing played a big part. I believe that if I hadn’t spent those years learning, staying curious, and questioning if, perhaps, I was enough, I might still be sitting on the fence rather than taking action.

My curiosity helped me know in my gut the answer to the question, “What does it mean to be a life coach?”

My answer was a knowing deep in my gut that declared, “I hold everything I need to be a life coach inside of me right now.”

That shift from resistance to curiosity led me to a new awareness of myself and helped me become ready to face the truth of who I was.

Every person gets to ask themselves this: “Who am I, who do I want to be, and how do I choose to be in this moment?”

Owning your own life is ultimately about realizing that you have power over the life you live because you get to choose who and how you want to be every second of living it. That power is always there, no matter your age, the people around you, or what’s happening in your world.

I’d like to leave you with this truth-filled reminder by the extraordinarily talented author, Alice Walker:
“The most common way people give up their power is by thinking they don’t have any.”

Through my novels and my coaching, my goal has been to remind you of this simple, but powerful truth. You do and always have had the choice to own your own life. And don’t worry. If you aren’t sure how to walk that path of self-awareness and empowerment, I’ve got your back.

I once lived a disempowered life, and I know without a doubt that I can help you, as I’ve helped others, rediscover the confidence, courage, clarity, and power you’ve had inside you all along.

Isn’t it time to own your own life?

Eden Robins is a certified life coach, best-selling author, and owner of her own life. When not writing edge of your seat adventures, Eden helps people take charge of their life by taking charge of their own thoughts. Want the latest tips and tools for creating a life you love? Sign up for Eden’s Own Your Own Life newsletter here.

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by | April 10, 2026 · 11:38 am

The “Cottage” in Scrap

This week, Ashley at Cozy Home Delight reviewed Scrap: Salvaging a Family. 

[The book] brings up that complicated space where grief, resentment, anger, love, and even forgiveness all exist at the same time. The book does not try to simplify those feelings or resolve them neatly. It allows them to exist together, which felt very honest.

I thought I’d share a photo related to my memoir. I write about the cottage my father bought for us to reburbish. This is what it looked like near the beginning, although you really can’t see some of the details I describe in the book. But it gives you what I saw when we first pulled up outside it.

This cottage came with a dirt floor which had been applied over the old linoleum. And yet somehow my father supposedly found a pair of pristine white ice skates with red pompoms in my size in the dirt crawl space (Michigan cellar) underneath.

Tour Schedule:

March 21: Joy Neal Kidney (review)

March 23: Liz Gauffreau, (review)

March 24: Marie Ann Bailey, (review)

March 25: John W. Howell, (excerpt)

March 30: Miriam Hurdle, (companion story)

March 31: Review Tales (review)

April 2: the bookworm (review)

April 9: Ashley’s Books, Cozy Home Delight (review)

April 13: What’s That Book About (guest post)

April 15: Tabi’s Thoughts (review)

April 23: Lavender Orchids (review)

April 27: The Reading Bud (review)

May 4: Chelsea’s Books (review)

Mary 4: Smorgasbord (excerpt)

May 7: The Reading Bud (interview)

May 14: True Book Addict (guest post)

May 19: True Book Addict (review)

May 21: The Book Connection (review)

Follow the tour with the hashtag #ScrapSalvagingFamily

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by | April 6, 2026 · 6:00 am

Poetry Mentions

Happy National Poetry Month!

While I think of my new memoir Scrap as being hybrid (a mix of genres, such as flash, poetry, playscript, essay) with flash the predominant genre, I thought I’d look at references to poetry in the book.

I mention how much I loved Edna St. Vincent Millay poetry when I was young. This poem, which she wrote when she was nineteen years old, I listened to over and over again on an LP album.

“Renascence” is a dramatic poem, perfect for reading aloud, much different from the short and pithy Emily Dickinson poems I also read in my late teens. Here is one I remember reading in high school lying on my bed:

If I can stop one heart from breaking,
I shall not live in vain;
If I can ease one life the aching,
Or cool one pain,
Or help one fainting robin
Unto his nest again,
I shall not live in vain.

I also mention Omar Khayyam, not for his poetry, which I didn’t know at that age, but because I knew of him and his Rubaiyat and ate dinner at a restaurant named after the poet. Khayyam was a Persian poet who lived one thousand years ago.

sample from THE RUBAIYAT

Most significantly in Scrap is a reference to Anne Sexton and “The Starry Night.” Here is the poem:

The Starry Night

“That does not keep me from having a terrible need of—shall I say the word—religion. Then I go out at night to paint the stars.” Vincent Van Gogh in a letter to his brother

The town does not exist
except where one black-haired tree slips
up like a drowned woman into the hot sky.
The town is silent. The night boils with eleven stars.
Oh starry starry night! This is how
I want to die.
It moves. They are all alive.
Even the moon bulges in its orange irons
to push children, like a god, from its eye.
The old unseen serpent swallows up the stars.
Oh starry starry night! This is how
I want to die:
into that rushing beast of the night,
sucked up by that great dragon, to split
from my life with no flag,
no belly,
no cry.
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That poem is depressing with its dark sky and its dark theme, but remember what the official 2026 National Poetry Month poster tells us: “Even if the darkness preceds and follows us, we have a chance, briefly, to shine.” You can read about Arthur Sze, the poet responsible for that quote in his poem “The Chance,” here: Arthur Sze. The poem here: THE CHANCE
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by | March 2, 2026 · 10:26 am

What’s in the Collage on the Cover of Scrap?

I’m very annoyed with Substack. On Substack in addition to writing posts like on WordPress, you can post quick little notes which have a different feel than a post. But this morning after I posted a note I discovered that I couldn’t comment on other people’s posts and notes. So annoying. I tried a couple of fixes, but I have had so many things interfering with my time lately that I’m at the screw-it stage of social media repairs.

My mom’s financial and medical affairs continue to take up a lot of time, but also both the Gardener and I have had some health stuff going on. And, really, every day something new in the house needs fixing. I can see why my dad always wanted to move to a brand new house after we had been in a home for a few years.

Meesker’s ashes and pawprint came home to us last week. I also ordered a pawprint for my son because Meesker had been his cat to begin with. I still feel some PTSD about Meesker dying at home although I wasn’t here when it happened. Maybe that’s been even worse for me. Not being here with him.

Perry is also hanging out with us more than usual. I think he probably discovered Meesker passed away on the bathroom floor before our pet sitter did. A couple of days after we got home, the gardener and I went out for a few hours and when we got back Perry ran up to us excitedly than looked disappointed when he saw Meesker was not with us.

Here’s what I posted today over at Substack. It has to do with SCRAP that will be officially released on March 20, 18 days from now :).

The collage on the cover of my forthcoming memoir-in-flash, Scrap (ELJ Editions), is by Lorette Luzajic. Every item on the cover shows up in Scrap: Salvaging a Family.

Take a look at that red tomato pincushion, for instance. You’ve probably seen one just like it, especially if anybody in your household has ever sewn. Why are so many pincushions in the shape of tomatoes? Here’s an article that explains.

The Mystery of the Tomato Pincushion has been Solved

(And if your pincushion has a little strawberry attached to the tomato it’s filled with emery so you can sharpen your pins and needles). I had to look up emery. It’s “a dark granular mineral that consists of corundum with iron oxide impurities (such as magnetite) and is used as an abrasive” (merriam-webster.com)

You can still pre-order the book at the publisher’s site (and it might be a couple bucks cheaper than it will be on Amazon):

PRE-ORDER SCRAP

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by | February 20, 2026 · 5:23 pm

Infectious Joy

This winter has been so stressful. But watching Alysa Liu’s GOLD skate really cheered me up.

WOWSA.

WATCH ON YOUTUBE

MILAN, ITALY – 19 FEBRUARY 2026: Gold medalist Alysa LIU of Team United States poses for a photo during the medal ceremony for the Women’s Single Skating Free Skating at the Olympic Winter Games Milano Cortina 2026 Milano Ice Skating Arena on February 19, 2026 in Milan, Italy Photo by YantsImages – Own work, CC BY-SA 4.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=184544074

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by | December 19, 2025 · 8:47 pm

Christmas Magic

Looking for a happy holiday romance? Check out Eden Dow Robins’s new Christmas release available in paperback and kindle versions. And inside find a little Easter egg in the form of my book Rooted and Winged!

https://www.amazon.com/Frost-Happily-Forever-After-Holiday/dp/B0G64ZSWC7

There’s more, too, but I don’t want to share it before you have read Frost!

Summary

“A small town, two frozen hearts, and a little Christmas magic…

Esme Gerard decided spending the holidays at her favorite place on earth was just what she needed. Once known as the most wicked wild west town in America, Jericho Ridge had been her asylum for more than a decade and was the perfect respite when her heart couldn’t risk taking one more hit.

Until Jack.

Their first encounter left her craving more. Something about him drew her closer. No matter how much she tried to tell herself she wasn’t ready, her heart told a different story.

Jack De Vine had priorities. As a single dad, his daughter was at the top of the list. Second was a secret legacy he had a sworn duty to protect. Third was the winery he and his family ran. Dating was at the very bottom. Ever since his ex-wife left him and their child years ago without a backward glance, he’d kept his heart stored in ice.

Until Esme.

From the first moment he saw her, he was drawn to her. That sent alarm bells off in his head. He knew he should steer clear of her, yet he kept looking for excuses to get closer.”

I hope your holidays are joyful!

 

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