Blog by Laura

At the dawn of this new year, I was challenged by my friend and critique partner to participate in an #amreading2017 Instagram challenge. Part of that challenge was to list 17 of our must-read books (either new releases or established favorites) of 2017. Now that we’ve hit July and the […]

“There’s a wonderful old Italian joke about a poor man who goes to church every day and prays before the statue of a great saint, begging: “Dear saint. Please, please, please … give me the grace to win the lottery.” This lament goes on for months. Finally the exasperated statue […]

  Ever notice how life can be smooth sailing for weeks on end … and then, all of a sudden, it’s really really not? Or how things can be very quiet, writing assignments slow to come in, days are leisurely with lots of time for HGTV-watching and then — BAM! […]

It was my senior year of high school, and I was super nervous about starting a new job at Head Start. What did I know about working with Early Childhood kids? I wasn’t trained for this! Instead of panicking or running in the other direction, I took some calming breaths […]

There’s nothing like seeing your byline in print. Except, maybe, seeing your byline online. I love being a blogger for the Green Bay Area Moms Blog. It’s a super easy, fast and fun way to share my mom experiences with others in my community and keep me writing almost every […]

Last spring when I attended my first UW-Madison Writers’ Institute, I had absolutely no idea what I was doing. I’d only just completed my first novel. I didn’t have a pitch ready. I didn’t even really know how to talk about my book. By good luck and the grace of […]

It was one year ago this week I sat down at my laptop and started writing FINDING SETH. I didn’t know, then, that was what my first novel would be called. I didn’t know a lot of things. I didn’t know how competitive the book publishing industry was. I didn’t […]

It’s a snow day today. Well, I guess, technically it’s an ice day because we got a bunch of rain and sleet yesterday before the temperature plummeted overnight. Our cul-de-sac looks like a skating pond. Anyway, with no school, I’ve been cooped up in the house all day with two […]

The Instagram #iloveagoodstory2016 is proving to be more than a hashtag or a simple book challenge. It’s a gathering of devoted literary types who are so excited about the great books they’ve read this year that they can’t wait to share them with bookish friends. Talk about a win-win! I […]

When my writing critique partner Gretchen Anthony asked if I’d participate in a 14-day book challenge, I couldn’t say YES fast enough! Two weeks of Instagram posts where my amazingly talented writer friends share their favorite books? What could possibly be better! I’m admittedly brand new (and still tentatively navigating) Instagram, […]