Welcome to Sunday Poetry.   If this is your first visit you can read about the purpose and inspiration of my Sunday poetry blogs here.

Today’s poem, Her Head, by poet Joan Murray, celebrates the courage and strength of women.  Since I’m presently reading Cutting for Stone, set in Ethiopia, this had particular resonance for me. It’s a reminder that women throughout the world are performing small miracles to ensure the survival of their families.  That they should have to is worth universal consideration.

Remember there are no quizzes, no right ways to read or contemplate the poem we share.  Absolutely no dissecting allowed.  Just come along for the “read.”  What line, word or thought will you carry with you this week?  If you’d like to tell us where the poem took you?  We’ll listen.

I’m back from two weeks of searching for a new place to live.  We “think” we may have found the right spot, but so far, no house, so no announcement. Having the freedom to move anywhere we can afford is daunting and exhilarating at the same time. All those options!

Meantime, my wonderful friends are busily publishing books.  And many of them are giving away copies to lucky readers.  So for fun I thought I’d list a few giveaways to tantalize you.  What better way to find a new author to love? (more…)

Today as a special treat I’m delighted to introduce my friend Sandra Dallas.  Sandra and I met at the Houston International Quilt Show where both of us were signing books for a wonderful vendor, Linne Lindquist of Craftman’s Touch, who was always happy to have us back.  Sandra and I spent several Novembers chatting and signing together, and I still feel that meeting her and becoming friends was one of the best parts of that marvelous experience.

Although I’ve yet to read True Sisters, I am especially looking forward to this one since I’ve always particularly enjoyed Mormon history.  Besides, I just listened to and loved The Bride’s House, set in Georgetown, Colorado in a house Sandra has just–in real life–renovated.  The fascinating story of the renovation is here, and definitely worth reading, along with the book itself.  And after “hearing” The Bride’s House on Audible, I’m ready for another Sandra fix.

Without further introduction, here’s the interview Sandra graciously gave me for your enjoyment.  I ought to add that she also gave me something else very precious, a quote for my upcoming novel One Mountain Away.  You’ll find it on the back cover. (more…)

Sunday Poetry will be back next week. Meantime, let Emilie know if you have a poem you would like to see here. Or a favorite poet.

I’m sitting in someone else’s home looking out at a million dollar view and thinking about how many wonderful people there are in this world.  You’ve met them, too, but just in case you’ve forgotten?  There are angels all around us.

Let me tell you about the angels I’ve met in the past 24 hours

A month ago we scheduled a trip to Florida to look for a house.  A month ago I didn’t know I would mysteriously injure my knee and be unable to do anything but hobble with a crutch and a knee brace.  Since we have no other time available for this trip, we decided to go ahead.  And that’s when my angels began to appear

At the airline counter we explained to the agent that I’d banged up my knee and couldn’t get to the gate.  No problem.  They produced a wheelchair and someone to assist me.  He was the soul of kindness.  At the gate the agent scurried around to find me a better seat on an aisle so I could stretch my leg, then told us to board first.  Angel two. (more…)

Just popping on to say I’m in the middle of two weeks of back to back of trips.  I just returned from one (Asheville, NC and Roanoke, VA) where I hobbled through my agenda having injured my knee just before leaving.  Luckily a friend had crutches to loan me, and we had a knee brace ready and waiting.  So hobble I did, but I managed to do research galore, a photo shoot for a new PR photo, and quite possibly a video trailer for One Mountain Away.

Plus I ate fabulous Asheville food.  Asheville’s restaurants are just plain extraordinary.

After a morning greeting old friends in Roanoke, now I’m heading out again, this time hauling crutches on an airplane.  (Will that let me bring them on?  Stay tuned.)

I’ll try to blog on Friday, but if I don’t have internet access, please stop back next week where I’ll have lots to say, starting with a wonderful interview with Sandra Dallas on the 24th about her new book, True Sisters.

Welcome to Sunday Poetry.   If this is your first visit you can read about the purpose and inspiration of my Sunday poetry blogs here.

Today’s poem is 53 by E.E. cummings.  I love this one.  I love the way the poet plays with capitalization, with structure, with pronouns.  Those moments in the poem are stops along the way, places to tarry and reconsider.  And there’s much to reconsider here.

Remember there are no quizzes, no right ways to read or contemplate the poem we share.  Absolutely no dissecting allowed.  Just come along for the “read.”  What line, word or thought will you carry with you this week?  If you’d like to tell us where the poem took you?  We’ll listen.

I’ll make a confession.  I just slammed the cover on a novel by an author I have enjoyed in the past.  I read 150 pages or so of this, his third book, which was, under the circumstances, way above and beyond the call of duty for any reader.  There was some amazing writing on those pages, sentences I yearned to have written, descriptions that were so vivid I was sucked right into the scene.

At the same time, there were so many things I didn’t like, I finally realized I was torturing myself.

You’ve been there, right?  You’ve wanted to love a novel so much (perhaps even one of mine) that you’ve kept reading well beyond the point when you know the book just  isn’t for you.  And you probably know the reasons why the book didn’t work.  Sometimes, quite simply, there are things we just don’t want to read about. (more…)

It’s always such a pleasure to tell you about good books.  Today’s is no exception.  Cast of Characters, an anthology of stories written by twenty-eight of my esteemed colleagues, is now available.  Cast of Characters is the quintessential satisfying read because no matter how limited your reading time, you can pick it up, enjoy a joy ride into one talented author’s imagination, get a final jolt of satisfaction at the ending, then put the book down until your next free moment.

You may note that the trade paperback version is expensive.  That’s a reflection of the size.  Remember, twenty-eight authors! Luckily size isn’t important with e-books, so the e-version is more than reasonable.  In fact it’s a steal. (more…)

Welcome to Sunday Poetry.   If this is your first visit you can read about the purpose and inspiration of my Sunday poetry blogs here.

Today’s poem was written by Mary Oliver, one of my favorite poets and someone whose work has graced this blog several times since its inception. Recently she became seriously ill and cancelled all her upcoming appearances to focus on treatment.  Under the circumstances, this poem seems particularly appropriate, which may be why it appeared in my email from the Library of Congress Poetry 180 project this morning.

I know from your email and Facebook posts that many of you are grappling with serious illness or the illness of loved ones.   Today’s poem, Walking to Oak-Head Pond, and Thinking of the Ponds I Will Visit in the Next Days and Weeks isn’t about death so much as it is about our ability to place our faith in the future.  And since today is Easter, this seems particularly appropriate.

Like many others all over the world, I send prayers for Mary Oliver’s recovery.