I happen to be watching Dr. Phil today and he had on Nick Carter from the Backstreet Boys. Now normally, when they feature some celebrity, I tend to turn off the show, but something made me keep watching and as a result I had an epiphany of sorts. Now I’ve never heard of Nick Carter, […]

Sometimes my daughters read my blog and they often tell me if I’ve crossed over any lines. It’s unfortunate that in written communication especially, it’s so easy to misconstrue tone and meaning to people’s words. I’ve stopped responding to people’s good news via email with a ‘Good for you’, because I figure it can so […]

Recently when I was invited overseas to do a tour and while in negotiations with the hosts, this phrase occurred to me, “it should hurt a little…”. It was in reference to the whole process of negotiation. Whenever you’re in the process of negotiation, there is ALWAYS give and take. When I was younger, omigosh, I […]

I’ve been burning the candle at both ends these days. First thing in the morning, I write my two pages of the new novel. Then when I’m done that, I’ve been coming down to my other computer and revising an old work of mine. Way back in 1999 I wrote my first novel Dahling if […]

At the risk of beating a dead horse, I’ve been thinking further about my reaction to Stonehenge and there’s one thing that I neglected to mention and that is the influence my son in laws and other immigrants have had on me. I think having grown up in such a white bread neighborhood and really […]

Well just reread my last post and I left off with a very brief description of Stonehenge. It was interesting. Farah and Edward had gone up to Oxford to meet some friends of theirs on Saturday, and when I got back, they asked me, quite tentatively, what did I think of Stonehenge. I told them […]

Ever since I got back into London, my internet access has been iffy. Had more than enough trouble trying to just download my emails and didn’t have time to blog. But now, finally, I have a moment–and more importantly internet access! The last few days have been amazing! Like I said, I have been astonished […]

Yesterday, after I had such a wonderful time in Bradford, I forgot to mention going to lunch with Marjorie Coughlan in Leeds! It was a bit of an adventure getting into Leeds. Normally the train from Bradford takes twenty minutes, but alhamdu lillah, I did get there, albeit about half an hour late. Marjorie lives […]

It’s been a little frustrating that now that I’m coming to the end of the week, and I only have about four more days in the U.K., only one of which is a school day (Monday the 28th), that some schools are suddenly scrambling to have me visit. I have some friends to thank for […]

I’m writing this from the train, on the way to Leeds and then Bradford. Hard to believe all the things that have happened over the last few days! Arrived on Sunday, it was dreary and foggy, and I wrote about how the cold seeped into my bones! Traveler beware. The temperature might claim it’s 7 […]