This spring, should it ever arrive, is going to be insanely busy for my household. First off, both of my girls are in rec soccer, which will keep us running four nights per week, and they are both taking piano lessons with a big recital coming up next month. Additionally, […]
Blog by Laura
‘Maybe this isn’t for me’
I had a moment of real weakness last week, when I wondered whether my desired career as a fiction writer was just a bit out of my grasp. I’ve been struggling as of late to put pen to paper (or, more literally, sit down with my manuscripts) and really delve […]
The best ships? Friendships
My husband and I were recently fortunate enough to go on a weeklong Caribbean cruise with a large group of “his” people. His friends are real estate friends — the type of people you want in your corner if you are negotiating a complex mortgage or tricky land contract. Also, […]
‘Book’ does not equal ‘baby’
Earlier this month, I finished the first draft of my second novel and posted this photo on social media. A friend commented that “THE END” are the sweetest words in the English language. Are they? When my husband and I were expecting our first daughter, I put a lot of […]
Where are all the Christmas letters?
My parents started writing and sending Christmas card letters back in the late 1970s. Coming up with a new, creative idea and selecting a photo of our family of six was only half of the annual challenge. The other half came when it was time to print, stuff, seal, address […]
Just a small-town editor
Working as a copy editor for a newspaper again feels a lot like reconnecting with an old friend. I’ve worked for dailies, big and small, and there were definitely some perks and attributes I loved about those jobs. Walking through an airport and seeing a front-page I’d edited or a […]
Copy editing: Back in STYLE!
Full disclaimer: I haven’t worked for a daily newspaper since 2003. But back in the day, I lived and dreamed in AP style. Spellcheck was a hindrance tool that only slowed me down. I knew which cities could stand alone in a dateline, and I knew the abbreviations for the […]
Just bring us all the authors!
I have to give a shout-out to the organizers of the Fox Cities Book Festival. You guys really know what you’re doing. A weeklong series of literary events? Book talks and presentations by actual, real-life authors? And it’s all FREE?!? (*picking jaw up from floor and grinning like a fool*) […]
Someday I’ll laugh…
Someday I will look back at these last 20 months with a fond chuckle. I’ll laugh at my daring self for finally FINALLY having the audacity and tenacity to sit down and pound out my first novel. I’ll laugh at the fact that I wrote it on my husband’s hand-me-down […]
Paddling on…
After a flurry of interest in my novel and many page requests from agents in June and July, August brought about nothing but a flurry of rejection letters. Sigh. I’m starting to think that writers are made from slightly different material than “normal” people. Why else would we subject ourselves […]