A page from my reading journal featuring poetry by Mary Oliver and Kafka on the Shore. I’m currently knee-deep into the fifth draft of my current #WIP, but I also don’t want to abandon my streak of blogging once a week since March 2025. This week, I wanted to do a (late-ish) round-up of my … Continue reading Five Favorite Reads from 2025 (The Books That Stayed With Me)
Reading
How To Create a Personal Curriculum: A Step-by-Step Guide
Happy New Year everyone! Since this is my first post of the new year, I thought I’d share a wonderful tool that has really made a difference in how I approach my personal learning. Last summer, I began watching some personal curriculum videos on YouTube. As a long-time teacher and academic, I think these videos … Continue reading How To Create a Personal Curriculum: A Step-by-Step Guide
Introducing “Dreams and Departures”: A New Loving Husband Short
Hello Friends: With Christmas right around the corner, I wanted to share a holiday gift with all of you. Next year, 2026, will be the 15th anniversary of the publication of Her Dear & Loving Husband. Even as I write those words, I can hardly believe it. To celebrate, I've been writing short stories set … Continue reading Introducing “Dreams and Departures”: A New Loving Husband Short
Books To Curl Up With This Winter
Since I’ve been in a Victorian mood lately, with working on my literary scholarship about Dickens and researching the Victorian era in general, I wanted to focus on winter books with some of the same themes you’ll find in Christmas at Hembry Castle, stories about love and loss, memory and redemption, the pull of history … Continue reading Books To Curl Up With This Winter
My Bookshelf Aesthetic: Why I Keep Murakami, Morrison, and Thoreau Next to My Penguin Classics
Explore the bookshelf where Haruki Murakami meets Toni Morrison, Thoreau, and Penguin Black Classics. Discover the aesthetic and philosophy behind mixing surreal fiction with literary tradition.
Embrace the Cozy: My Ultimate Autumn Reading List
I've made no secret of the fact that autumn is my favorite time of year. After a rough summer of 100+ degree heat, the cooler weather and pretty-colored trees in my neighborhood are a welcome relief. While we're not quite in autumn yet in Southern Nevada, even 89 degrees Fahrenheit feels cooler after such hot days. … Continue reading Embrace the Cozy: My Ultimate Autumn Reading List
Top Summer Reads of 2025: My 5 Favorite Picks
The Joy of Summer Reading It goes without saying that I read a lot during the summer, especially these days when I’m hardly leaving the house because it’s so hot outside. I know you’re thinking but you live in the desert…of course it’s hot! True, but the heat hit us sooner this year and we’ve … Continue reading Top Summer Reads of 2025: My 5 Favorite Picks
Annotating Books for Research and Enjoyment: My Personal Methods
The Joy of Annotating Books I’ve been a bookworm all my life. I started reading at a young age, which my mother attributes to my watching Sesame Street. Ernie and Bert and ABC songs aside, books were my first and best friends. I lived in books. In books I saw that there were other worlds, … Continue reading Annotating Books for Research and Enjoyment: My Personal Methods