Events & news
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“Details, Details” workshop
Join me at the Royal Oak Public Library on Wednesday, May 2 (7:00 – 8:30 PM) for an evening workshop focusing on how to identify and describe the colorful specifics that editors look for in personal essays, columns, and feature stories. Discover how to make your writing sparkle and stand out from dozens of other submissions. This free program is designed especially for new writers. Registration is required to reserve your space: 248-246-3715 or visit the Royal Oak Public Library web site for more information.
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Springtime surprises
It doesn’t happen as often as I’d like, but sometimes my work gets published in a magazine without much effort on my part. Late last year, for instance, I received an unexpected letter and a contract from an editor at Ideals magazine, requesting my permission to reprint an Easter essay from my book, Writing Home. This week, I received my advance copies of Ideals Springtime 2018. My essay in this issue is about a surprise gift (a box of ducklings) that I received one Easter when I was a kid. Ideals is a soft-cover anthology of stories and poems by a variety of nationally published authors. Owned by Guideposts and…
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Compatible weirdness and Halloween honeymoons
“We’re all a little weird. And life is a little weird. And when we find someone whose weirdness is compatible with ours, we join up with them and fall into mutually satisfying weirdness–and call it love–true love.” ~Robert Fulghum, True Love Decked out for Theatre Bizarre: The Greatest Masquerade on Earth Doug and I are celebrating our 37th anniversary today. We were married on October 24, 1980, and spent our two-week honeymoon driving around New England after the wedding. Not that I had any doubts, but I knew this marriage would last when Doug agreed to stop in Salem, Massachusetts, on Halloween. How many guys would want to tour the creepy…
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Spellbinding Halloween entertainment
“My darling girl, when are you going to realize that being normal is not necessarily a virtue? It rather denotes a lack of courage.” ~Alice Hoffman, Practical Magic Favorite Halloween reading / Cindy La Ferle Which do you like best — the book or the movie? When it comes to Alice Hoffman’s beloved Practical Magic, the debate has been going on since the film’s release in 1998. “Practical Magic” homage / Cindy La Ferle Along with rereading Ray Bradbury’s Something Wicked This Way Comes, revisiting Practical Magic is one of my favorite Halloween traditions. I love how the themes of being “different” and turning to a community of women for support are…
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Growing better as we age
“The afternoon knows what the morning never suspected.” ~Robert Frost In case you haven’t seen it yet, Prevention magazine’s October “Love Your Age” issue is a winner. The special edition includes more than 40 pages of pro-aging content, including a piece about four inspiring female athletes in their eighties, plus an in-depth report on the science and scams of anti-wrinkle products. In particular, I was fascinated by the results of Prevention‘s extensive national survey on various aging topics. Here are just a few highlights from the survey:*Despite the stereotype of the “crabby old woman,” many of us get happier and less stressed as we age:“Nearly half of the women in their…
