nastran andersen
— in the end we only regret the changes we didn’t take —
It’s not you, Nonfiction, it’s me.
It’s not you, Nonfiction, it’s me. The first few times we met I had these butterflies in my stomach. You were so unlike any book I had read before. At first I loved your clever covers, your cool book jackets. You always look so great in glasses and with your backpack, and I read all…
Who is on your island?
It’s a question my husband and I have asked each other before, usually over a glass of wine and if we’re lucky, in front of a fire. We first broached this topic late last summer, one of those what-if topics like “What you would do if you won the lottery?” Or another fun question for…
The Dishwasher
Since becoming a writer, my daily world view has changed. I make a very conscious effort to pause at certain moments, regardless of where I am, to appreciate those with me and observe what is around me.
A summary
“What is your book about?” This is the first question everyone asks when I tell them I’m writing a novel. Strangely enough, it has been somewhat of a difficult question to answer, at least succinctly. For simplicity’s sake, my default response has been that it is an action/suspense novel, set in the Middle East.
sunrise
she cried, trying to shake it off but fear engulfed rationale i don’t want to be burned what color are ashes? can i choose, can you put my body in a chair? the wind blew a salty breeze across her face she couldn’t squeeze the tears back in they rolled down down her cheeks and…
Transition
Life has a way of throwing curveballs. You think you’re prepared, in a ready stance and watching for the fast pitches to come in on their regular cadence. And generally you hit those, sometimes even knock it out of the park. But a curve is different, it’s slower and it drops when you least expect…
Perseverance
It’s been seven months since I sat down to write a blog post, over two months since I’ve written a word of my novel and fifteen months since I decided to start this crazy project. My original goal in June of 2015 was to write a book in one year, a seemingly attainable objective for…
The Gift of Friendship
Friendship is a beautiful part of the human experience, an enrichment of our souls. The ability to connect and share your genuine self with another person is all at once vulnerable and immensely gratifying. As I’ve grown into an adult and grown up as a friend, my friendships are more important to me than ever,…
What I learned in November
Many friends and family have asked about my NaNoWriMo progress and if I was able to achieve my goal of writing 50,000 words in November. I didn’t.
NaNoWriMo
Today marks the beginning of my participation in National Novel Writing Month. I stumbled across this event and the NaNoWriMo organization as I was researching writing tools, and for some crazy reason I decided to sign myself up for this November adventure. For the next 30 days I will focus on writing 50,000 words (that’s…
What inspires me
I met a young woman on the plane ride home from Boston last Friday. We gave the cursory greetings as we settled into our seats and for most of the flight she read her book and I wrote a scene for my novel. But during the last 45 minutes we started chatting and dove deep…