Today is Christmas and tonight is the last night of Hanukkah. I like to think that the holidays coming in this convergence represents the hope for greater amity for the coming year, but I know there is no magic in the calendar. Instead, we are the source of kindness and goodness. My prayer for you…
Category: Holidays
Holiday Reading: WMG Holiday Spectacular
Every year Kris Rusch and WMG publish a short story a day for those who subscribe to their WMG Holiday Spectacular, which starts on Black Friday and continues through New Years Day. For the last several years and friend and I have been getting it and reading the stories together. It’s a fun way to…
Happy Rosh Hashanah!
The Jewish New Year begins in just a few days and I’m blessed with a newly renovated house and special visitors for the holiday. Because I want my visitors to experience the renovation fresh, I won’t be posting photos until after they’ve seen it. But I also didn’t want to leave you without my warmest…
Golden Dreidels, Stolen Kisses, and Miriam
Great news! My romantic suspense short story, ”Stolen Kisses” has been published in the Holiday Spectacular. (Get a subscription to read all the holiday stories). The editor, Kristine Kathryn Rusch, liked the story so much that she’s made it the story of the week. What does that mean? It means, dear friend, that you can…
New Year Contemplations
I’ve been in Denver with family for the high holidays this week and it’s been a good experience, packed with things to do and people to see. One of the great things about having adjusted to Albuquerque is that I do not feel altitude sickness in Denver when arriving. So it’s been a great time…
Passover Greetings
Happy Passover! I have a story in the current JewishFiction.net inspired by our family Zoom seder last year. “What Elijah Brought” is an unusual love story with a guaranteed Happy Ever After ending. It’s free to read right now. Kris Rusch told me that it made her tear up and urged me to send it…
Happy New Year!
Happy New Year! I am so pleased that you survived 2020 along with me. And let me add an additional note of thanks that both my husband and my mother survived this plague year. I wasn’t sure that would be the case in much of this year. Thanks to both of you for being careful….
Social Transitions
A friend of mine told me that her daughter is socially transitioning to be her son, which set me thinking about identity. We all try on identities in our teens. It’s a natural part of growing up. I tried on religions, sexual identities, and many other ways of thinking of myself as a social being…
Happy Holidays
I’ve managed to miss Hanukkah and probably other winter holidays while staying away from social media this year. I considered trying to go back in time to wish my family and everyone who celebrates it a good Hanukkah, but the idea of spending extra time in 2020 seemed questionable. So I’ve taken a time machine…
Editing and Yom Kippur
I mentioned that Yom Kippur is the day of atonement in Judaism, a deeply spiritual day for Jews around the world. But at the same time it has a core of pragmatism to it because we Jews are deeply pragmatic people. When we atone, we are not just trying to “get right with God” as…