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New Orleans and Spring in the Garden
Good morning! Happy Saturday! I’m still trying to clear the fog after a whirlwind 3 days in New Orleans for my first in-person work conference since the before times. It was wonderful! It was exhausting! And, me being me, I ate my weight in beignets, because: And: But before we get to my New Orleans gluttony travel photos, welcome to the Weekend Coffee Share, hosted by Natalie the Explorer! Grab a drink, pull up a seat, and let’s visit the Big Easy.
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How to receive feedback on your writing without letting it crush your soul
Letting people read and comment on my work is terrifying. It’s like I’m offering another human a piece of my soul to critique. (Jeez, overdramatic much?) But if we want to become better writers, we have to put our work out there and ask for feedback–and not let that feedback crush us. It’s IWSG Day! But before we get into that: Happy IWSG Day! In case you’re new here, I participate in the monthly IWSG (a/k/a Insecure Writers Support Group) Blog Hop, which happens on the first Wednesday of each month. We offer words of encouragement to our fellow writers and share our doubts, fears, struggles, and triumphs. Some of…
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Tucson Botanical Gardens + April review + a fresh batch of memes
Good morning and happy Saturday! It’s the last day of April, a good time to look back at the month that was. Also on tap: art and blooms from Tucson Botanical Gardens, memes, and various bits of personal news. But first: welcome to the Weekend Coffee Share, hosted by Natalie the Explorer! Pull up a seat, grab a drink, and let’s chat.
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Website woes, garden pics and books
Good evening! I’m a couple of days late getting this post up, because Friday morning my website decided to stop loading. I finally made time to contact tech support this morning–after verifying that no, the site still wouldn’t load. The support analyst said it loaded for him. I tested again, and of course it worked perfectly. I remember when I used to do tech support in libraries, and staff would ask me to stand next to their computer so it would start working again. Apparently I’ve either lost my tech support devil magic, or it doesn’t work with cloud-hosted websites. Dammit. Update: right after I typed that paragraph, the site…
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Sweetwater Trail, flower pics, and a fresh batch of memes (Weekend Coffee Share #34)
Good morning and happy Friday! It’s an abso-freakin-lutely gorgeous morning down here in Satan’s Anus–54 and sunny, heading for a high of 88. But it looks like Weather Bragging Season is just about over–we’re supposed to hit 96 on Monday. *sigh* I’ve had a pretty routine week so nothing exciting to share, just the usual: desert pics, garden pics, and a steaming hot pile of memes. But before we get to all that: Welcome to the Weekend Coffee Share, hosted by Natalie the Explorer. She has flower pix this week too, and they are *gorgeous*! Grab a drink, pull up a seat, and let’s get to it.
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Spring has sprung! (Weekend Coffee Share #33)
Good morning, happy Friday, and welcome to the Weekend Coffee Share, hosted by Natalie the Explorer! It’s 59F and sunny right now, so let’s chat in the garden. Garden pictures Spring is in full swing out there, so I snapped a few pics before the inevitable hot weather wilts everything. The garden is a work in progress–and looks like it. This area was entirely covered in gravel when we bought the house in fall 2020. As you can see, we’re still constructing and planting, but at least it contains some green things: Some of those green things are actually blooming. The rose covered in flowers is Camille Pissarro. I’ve showed…
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My story became an audio drama (#IWSG)
It’s the first Wednesday of the month, also known as IWSG Day. For those of you who are new to my warped corner of the interwebs, IWSG=Insecure Writers Support Group, a wonderful online community of, well, insecure writers. Once a month we organize our insecure selves into a blog hop, where we (you guessed it) share our insecurities. Or in my case, some of them. If I were to share all my insecurities, I’d fill a warehouse the size of that one at the end of Raiders of the Lost Ark: If you’re as impatient as I am, skip to about 1:10 in the video above to see the warehouse…
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“A Christmas Duet” is published in Harmony Magazine
My short creative nonfiction piece about my mother’s last Christmas, “A Christmas Duet,” was just published in Harmony Magazine! I wrote the first draft right after visiting my mother on Christmas Day 2018. After a little revision and a lot of tears, I’m thrilled that this story has found a home. Harmony Magazine is a visual arts and literary journal published annually by the Medical Humanities department of the University of Arizona College of Medicine. Issues are available free online. You can find my story in the 2022 issue beginning on page 12. Note that it’s written under my real name, so now y’all know my not-so-secret identity. What’s “A…
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Flagstaff, Writing Classes, and the last of the 2020 COVID memes (Weekend Coffee Share #32)
Good morning, and welcome to the Weekend Coffee Share, hosted by Natalie the Explorer! Grab a drink, pull up a seat, and let’s get to it. Video of the Week I’ve spent the last several weeks inflicting 2020 COVID memes on y’all (see here, here, and here). We aren’t quite done yet, but before we get to the last batch, I have a treat for you. Trent McDonald, a fellow Weekend Coffee Sharer, created an excellent parody of “Yesterday” at the beginning of the pandemic. Thanks, Trent, for giving me permission to share your work here–I love it! Crisis truly inspires creativity. Writing News
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Maurice Utrillo rose in my Tucson garden (#FOTD)
It’s been awhile since I’ve participated in Cee’s Flower of the Day photo challenge. I need to get back to taking pictures of my garden now that spring is here. We just planted this Maurice Utrillo rose last weekend. It’s part of the Painters Collection of striped roses inspired by the French impressionists. We collect striped roses, at least as much as our small city garden allows. See more of our roses, most of them striped.
Janet Alcorn
Suspense | Horror | Romance
