Currently browsing author

Val

Fantastic Friday: Humanity at the Checkout Line

I had another post planned for this week, but I procrastinated on my research. Good thing because something fantastic happened to me today I thought I’d write about. My toddler, online known as the CLK (Cute Little Kiddo), had an early morning. Teething woke her, and despite my attempts at …

Flash Fiction: Toddler Glory by Val Muller

Welcome to March! This month’s Spot Writers’ prompt is to use the following words in a story: builder, chance, trophy, glory, unexpected. This month’s post comes to us from Val Muller, author of the YA novel The Man with the Crystal Ankh, a story about the power of music to …

Fantastic Friday: Chocolate Hummus!

Chocolate. Hummus. Stay with me, here. I didn’t know this was a thing. I really wanted to write about the 75-degree weather for this week’s Fantastic Friday post. In fact, the reason I’m late (posting this on Sunday instead of Friday) is that I was out enjoying the unseasonable weather …

Book Review: The Complete Persepolis by Marjane Satrapi

Satrapi’s graphic novel is also a memoir. It’s presented as a comic strip detailing her childhood and adolescence in Tehran during the Islamic Revolution and her older adolescent years in Vienna. In the introduction to the novel, Satrapi summarizes the history of Iran, noting that the influence of foreign countries, …

Fantastic Friday: The Snowman

I’m a bit too far south and just missed the most recent snow, but several states enjoyed a snow day yesterday. If you’d read any of my snow-related posts (like The Great Snow Nightmare or several posts inspired by the blizzard birth of my daughter), you’ll know I’m not a …

Writer Wednesday with Joan Fallon

This week, I had the chance to meet Joan Fallon, author of literary and historical fiction, including her most recent work, The Thread That Binds Us. I admire the fact that she’s lived in various places around the globe–not to mention her background as a teacher, which we share. Tell …