What I Saw on My Artist’s Date

by | Nov 7, 2017 | Living in Place

It was completely irresponsible to drive to Boston and spend the Monday of a packed week at the Museum of Fine Arts, but that’s just what I did yesterday.   My husband had the day off after a week of being on-call at the hospital, and at first I couched the...

Yesterday in the Woods

by | Nov 1, 2017 | Living in Place

I spent yesterday in the woods with Rob, a landowner not only willing to let me hunt on his land, but happy to show me around. Despite my resolve to spend more time outdoors and off-trail this past year, I haven’t been out as much as I’d hoped, for all the usual...
Deer in the Woods

Deer in the Woods

by | Oct 25, 2017 | Living in Place

I attended “Deer in the Woods,” a program about the synergy between the deer population and the forest in Windham County, sponsored by the Dummerston Conservation Committee. The program began with opening statements from the four panelists: George Weir, a consulting...

Advice From Famous Writers: Less is More

by | Oct 23, 2017 | Living in Place

I’ve just finished cutting 40,000 words from a 200,000-word novel that I’ve been working on for years – proving the following advice to be so true. “I have only made this letter longer because I have not had the time to make it shorter.”
— Blaise Pascal, mathematician...

Jane Austen Said #MeToo

by | Oct 19, 2017 | Living in Place

In a letter to her sister Cassandra dated January 25, 1801, when Jane Austen was twenty-six years old, she describes holding one Mr. Holder at bay. “Your unfortunate sister was betrayed last Thursday into a situation of the utmost cruelty. I arrived at Ashe Park...

Reply to Readers’ Comments

by | Oct 10, 2017 | Living in Place

I no longer remember which of my colleagues at Live to Write – Write to Live first advised me to reply to readers’ comments, but it’s been great advice, so I’m passing it on. Here’s why: It’s easy to send stories out into the world; it’s harder to know if they ever...