Composing L’AUBE 2016 Admittedly, I wrote THE DAWN with the French sensibility, aspiring to one day translate it into French. It is...

This time of year is always an awakening of sorts for me, although I am often led to such awareness by previous realizations. And so it...

Christmas is a time for love. There are perhaps as many kinds of love as there are kinds of people, but love, in essence, is a...

A while back I watched a brief documentary about the modification or re-formatting of theater motion pictures for television viewing....

November 2015 Our beloved beagle, Bootsie, was a profound source of inspiration for me to complete THE DAWN. On a sunny, warm day in...

I suppose it was just a matter of time during this “eternal” recession (and the eternal “recovery”) before the free market became a...

At times I feel that the fairy tale must be rescued – not by me, of course, since I am, according to Dear Husband, not a rescuer but a...

It was with some hesitation if not trepidation that I approached writing an essay about Jane Austen. Not that I am unfamiliar with this writer. Indeed, I came to know her and her works only too well. In fact, I have read every single one of her six novels, though not by choice. Once upon a time I found myself in desperate need of a certain course in English to finally complete my degree. This Bachelor of Arts diploma was “the Debra Tanis degree,” a phrase coined by a haughty

To Be An American To be an American is to be proud of where you are. To be an American is to count every shooting star as the one that leads you forward to the dreams you only hoped could become reality: To be an American is to see liberty and to feel alive. To be an American is to fill up with pride whenever you see The Red, White, and Blue Because now Those colors belong to you. And every time you hear America your eyes fill with tears because you -- the American -- feel th

We live in a cynical age, though just how cynical is impossible for me to tell since I’ve only lived, at least consciously, in this age....

14 July 2015 François-Marie Arouet was the name of the French writer who, once fame came to him, invented his own anagram-nom de plume,...

I have a unique vantage point in California. Born in New Jersey and raised there during a time of the early decline of the Industrial...

To savour the day and follow the promptings of one’s heart: this bold deed means “to lead,” particularly by example. Discussions of leadership rarely take into account the emotional ramifications of this virtue. Too frequently it is deemed a cerebral activity, a formidable intellect that knows when to sound the call or when not to call at all. Leadership, however, is largely an instinctive act and it is not spoken: it is done. The history of mankind is replete with the quiet

It’s where modern woman finds herself today: she can’t cling to a child and she can’t cling to a career, but she certainly needs to hold...

Often I am asked how I come up with the ideas for my writing projects. The answer is not an easy one. Simply put, the idea comes to me. I...

On an almost daily basis, I stringently employ my 3-paragraph rule: if a book, magazine article, online article or online anything does...

I’ve been In The Home now for over 25 years. I am doing well. I’ve always done well in a circumstance of my choosing. Being shoehorned,...

Every year at Christmas, I purchase a special treat for myself, a gift that celebrates sentiment and practicality. This past year, I...

It is not easy for the children of this writer to permit her the private space that she demands for her creativity. They are granted glimpses into this special world that she builds for the purpose of her art, but the views are merely glimpses. They are not the embraces of her focused concentration that have belonged to each of them since birth. My adult son once remarked in utter amazement that I treat him and his sister “as equals.” Equal, yes. The same, no. They are indivi