Posts by James

Never paint the front door of the house the day before you host an event for a hundred guests.   *note to self:  However tempted you may feel to spruce up your digs before company comes, resist, resist. A weathered door that opens beats one that is painted shut every time.   *maintenance tip:  Stand…

I tagged along with The Baron on a business trip to New York. The plan was for me to stay in the hotel room and work on my second novel while he attended a series of meetings at a bank conference. But as usual, not much goes as planned. My work area was just about…

The tag belongs inside and on the back. *Note to self: No matter how much of a hurry you’re in, always, always check yourself in a full-length mirror before leaving the house. *Practical fashion advice: There is never a good time to realize your clothes are on backwards and inside out. E.L. Chappel author of Risk…

My cell flashed the number of a dear friend who just returned from a trip out west. She’d been incommunicado for a week and I needed a girlfriend fix. I quickly answered her call. “So,” she said in the way she starts every conversation. “I’m buckled in the front of the cabin as the plane pushed…

I sat safely on the ground after an incredibly smooth, cool and on time flight. Since the thermometer heated to over one hundred seven degrees an upbeat flight attendant (yes, on Southwest) politely requested that any passenger seated next to a window help keep the 737 comfortable for the passengers going on to Houston. I…

Up in the Colorado mountains, my husband and I pedaled down Lucy’s Loop, a green (supposedly easy) bike path. As we downshifted, he took the lead and pumped like a locomotive as we climbed a steep, rocky, hill. (Well, with the terrain aside, he also pedaled like a ban-chi because his bike was a size…

Water line break in garage apartment           Midway through a catch-up phone call with a close friend, I mentioned I’d just returned from a four day stint in New York City, chased by a forty eight hour blur in Chicago. (yes a blur, I wanted to say sprint, but I had…

As a lot of you know, I attended the OWFI writer’s conference in Oklahoma City a little over a month ago. In case you aren’t familiar, authors attend writing conferences hoping to pique the interest of an agent or editor through one-on-one interview sessions. If successful, the agent/editor will enter a contract to represent the…

My, how time flies. Just a few short months ago (that’s right, not weeks, but months) I had every intention of posting a weekly update of my progress on the third complete rewrite of my action-packed suspense novel Risk. As many of you have reminded me, I fell way short of my goal. I’m tempted to…