Writing
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5 Plants That Repel Pests
Many of my ideas hide out in the garden. I’ve been most inspired to write a poem when watching a butterfly perch on a daisy; the birdsong up in the trees above me rhymes more than anything I’ve been told to study for literature class. For those of you who, like me, are gardeners as…
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Prologue
Let it be said of me,“She was open, like a book.”& like a book,Some people can’t get muchFurther than page 1.I am a poem-volumeAmidst documents of war;The thrill explorers felt asTheir schooners left the shore. One day I’ll be a Favorite BookRead ‘neath the setting sun.For now, I’ll stay true to myselfAnd whisper my page…
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5 Things My Garden Taught Me
I have spent the past three years gardening, confiding my secrets to the great outdoors. It taught me about far more than the different kinds of flowers and how to care from them. Through gardening, I realized humans are just complicated plants. I’ve learned so much truth from Mother Nature and her behavior as the…
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Peace in May
It is May, and with May comes hope in new life. I feared that I would not have a flower garden this year. When we finally returned from Peru, it was verging on too late to plant some of the flowers that I had considered my favorites last year. In the end, I had no…
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Creativity in Quarantine
I would love to say that I am #StayingAtHome, but I found this situation more complicated—and emotionally loaded. When we first arrived in Peru, we were staying in a hotel. This was where we were when, halfway into our trip, a quarantine and curfew were set; all of the stores closed. Any place that we…
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New Book – The Mermaid of Rose Hill – Out Soon!
Here is a photo of me with a case of lazy bed head, holding a proof copy of my new novel, which I plan to release this month. The Mermaid has been my project for the last two years or more. It began as an urban fantasy, but I decided to challenge myself and write…
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Mythology of the Butterfly
The butterfly is a flying flower, the flower a tethered butterfly. —Ecouchard le Brun Every spring we look into the flowerbeds, hoping to see their fluttering wings. They’re the daydream of the child, and the memory of the gardener. They inspire awe and wonder, and we create environments hoping to attract them. Butterflies have enchanted…
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Art is Magic
Art is something that comes alive and seeks to change us forever. Wonder at how, so many years later, the Mona Lisa still has lines after lines of people impatient to see her smile. Think of how certain quotes from certain novels echo down through generations, while most of our own whispers vanish into oblivion.…
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Castles Brick by Brick
I am excited to be near the final edits for a project close to my heart. The Mermaid of Rose Hill has been through several amazing beta readers; from each of these people I’ve received fantastic bits of advice, enough to polish it off. Enough, perhaps, to release it soon. As you might expect, it…
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Imagine Success
2020 is young, and sweet progress is being made. I’ve written 10,000 words towards my first novella of the year. I am hoping for four of them. As I wade through the tale of Isolde and Gareth, I can’t help reflecting on how my writing process has changed since I began. It’s more mature; for…
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What Excuses are you Making?
On my iPhone, I have an app that generates writing prompts. Yesterday’s prompt was “What excuses are you making?” When those words popped up, at once I pictured dozens of things I’d convinced myself were more important than my writing. The foremost was, “Reading isn’t wasting time! Writers read.” Reading is important, but when it…
Mariella Hunt & the Tearoom 