To conclude with this month’s focus on Love At the Mayo, I wanted to provide notable events from 2018, the year my novel takes place. With the ongoing pandemic of 2020, 2018 feels like light years away. Since my novel starts May 2018, I’ll list some historic or notable events that occurred from that date to the end of that …
Today on a vlog, I collaborate with my husband, Robert Ward. He has played an important role in my work in progress, Love At the Mayo. He not only encouraged me to write this story, but he also intertwined our love story to the iconic Mayo Hotel. Check out the vlog to learn more!
Continuing on my introduction to my work-in-progress novel, Love At the Mayo, if you’re not from Tulsa, you might wonder, What is the Mayo, anyway? Why the Mayo? The Mayo Hotel is on the National Registry of Historic Places. Located in downtown Tulsa, the Mayo has endured a colorful, and at times, tumultuous history, starting in 1925 when it opened …
The very essence of romance is uncertainty. -Oscar Wilde Last week we dived into recovering from a broken heart and my character’s, Celine Monroe, healing journey. You can …
What would you do if you saw your significant other holding hands with someone else at a restaurant? Someone who isn’t family? That’s the dilemma my protagonist, Celine Monroe, faces in my work-in-progress novel, Love At the Mayo. Although Celine and her boyfriend’s relationship is on life support, she still feels betrayed, confused, and hurt. Here’s an excerpt: …
NOTE: Today’s guest post is from Judith Culpepper, a retired educator with over 40 years experience teaching grammar and literature to middle school students in classical schools. She wrote this article because her best friend asked her to and because it sounded more interesting than pulling weeds or wrangling cats, both of which are easier. And yes, she religiously keeps …
During Covid, ever feel like you’re in an apocalyptic movie? That was going through my mind this past spring, during the shelter-in-place order in March and April. As I drove through Tulsa, I felt this eerie chill as I went past empty parking lots of schools, churches, restaurants, and other businesses deemed non-essential. Hardly anyone was driving on the highways …
This past July, I got married at my childhood farm in Northern Michigan. This region of the country is riddled with one stoplight towns, thick woods, crystal clear fresh lakes, and rolling hills. Tourism is a major industry in my hometown and the surrounding areas. My husband and I tied the knot in the same field I ran through as …
NOTE: Today’s guest post is from fiction author, Kathleen Bailey. She’s guest posted here before, sharing about her historic novel, Westward Hope. Today, she’s instructing on how to effectively weave character and setting into your fictional work. I enjoyed this post since she uses a variety of literary works that appeal to different readers. Also, she is generously offering three …
A Guest Blog by Dee Selby, Professional Organizer Volunteering to write a travel blog during a pandemic might not have been my best move, but I knew I needed at least a weekend getaway and I needed it soon. After several starts, stops, and spurts along the way, four of us pulled off an inexpensive three-day weekend in Hot Springs, …
