I just finished my 3rd novel and sent it to my editor. I’m totally in love with the story and having a hard time making myself stop writing. It’s called Get Lucky and it’s the story of a woman who offers to have a baby for her sister. Then hilarity and, of course, heartbreak ensue. […]
Houston folks, get ready! It’s almost time for the Children’s Museum of Houston’s Parents and Families luncheon! Monday, February 23 at the Hilton Post Oak. Buy a table! Bring all your friends! Come support one of the greatest places for kids in H-town–and hear me talk about my new book, how to help kids write […]
I love this sweet hat from the Purl Bee. If I knew how to knit, and if I had just a bit more free time, and if I were a person who wore knit caps, I’d make one.
I love this poster, which was originally printed–though not really used–in Britain as a morale booster during WWII. (Here is the story of the poster.) Since its rediscovery many years after the end of the war, facsimiles of the poster have been selling like hotcakes, and if you browse design websites, which I do, you’ll […]
A totally fascinating look at the evolutionary origins of good (social, empathetic, kind, joyful, warm, selfless) human behavior–as well as the psychology of facial expressions and non-verbal communication. Get your pen out for underlining! Here’s a random smattering of interesting info from the book: Women laugh more than men. Laughter and talking happen in different […]
When I got a message from Kristijana at the Mommy Blog saying that she’d really loved Everyone Is Beautiful and that she’d be posting a review soon, I made some assumptions. I know she has a toddler and a baby, and when my kids were that age, I was lucky if I wasn’t wearing my […]
Kirkus Reviews just gave Everyone Is Beautiful a great review!! The full text includes many plot points and several spoilers, so in an effort to protect the story’s surprises, I’ll just give you the best line: “In less deft hands, the horrors of the out-of-control Coates toddlers would resemble bad reality television, but Center’s breezy […]
Mieka Smiles, writer for the British paper The Journal, just gave the UK edition of Bright Side a terrific review! She writes: “Another chick lit book? Well, the answer is yes and no. The Bright Side of Disaster certainly nestles very well into that genre. But but rather than being just another one of a plethora […]
Katie in Florida gives Everyone is Beautiful a great review! She writes: “I loved this book. (Maybe even better than her first book, The Bright Side of Disaster, which I reviewed here.) I felt like I was there with Lanie, watching her just move through each day until she found her own passion again. Then it was […]
I was just messing around online, waiting for my kids to fall asleep, and I stumbled on these charming little letterpress books at the crafty website of Jaime Rugh. They are tiny (3 X 4 1/2) with letterpress quotes and sayings inside. I cannot resist letterpress, or tiny little books, and I want them all.
Kristjana, at the the Mommy Blog, just posted the sweetest blog entry about Everyone Is Beautiful. After writing about how she’s not posting as much since her new baby (look at that handome face!) came last summer, she said this: Fortunately, inspiration comes in unlikely packages. Though I have begged off the most recent slew […]
I had many thoughts at the movie theater last night as my sister and I wept our way through the end of Marley & Me–thoughts about devotion and loyalty, about family and marriage, about pets I have loved and lost, about how much I love stories that validate my own life choices. But one of […]
It always makes me kind of sad to see them go. If it were up to me, I’d leave them up all year–along with the blow-up snowman. But I’ve been informed that’s too eccentric. Maybe 2009 will be so awesome I won’t even miss them.
Mike Putnam is a friend of my sweet husband’s from college. When I hear about Mike from back in the day, it’s usually stories about diving off trestle bridges and other crazy things college boys do. So how amazed was I to find out that he is, in addition to being a veterinarian and former […]
This print is from an Etsy shop called Sure As Blue. They have lots of pretty things.