Social Impact Authors

October 12th, 2022 → 5:45 am

“My good will is great, though the gift is small.” — Pericles

I was recently honored as a Social Impact Author by Authority Magazine. It really touched me. All authors are motivated to write by some internal drive, the genesis of which varies per person, but for me one of the main drivers is to highlight and share diverse perspectives on the world. If, through storytelling, we can increase our understanding and awareness of alternative life experiences, how can this not help bind us together? How can it not help smooth the wrinkles, and mend the tears, in society’s common tapestry? But most importantly, Michelle Obama, if you’re reading this, lunch is on me!

Filed under: Literature/Theatre/Art & Other & Self/My Life

Gmar Tov

October 5th, 2022 → 6:59 am

“Happy are they that hear their detractions and can put them to mending.” — Much Ado About Nothing

Today is Yom Kippur and if you are Jewish and fasting, I wish you an easy fast. If you are not Jewish, nor fasting, happy Wednesday. If you are somewhere in the middle, like me – Jewish but not fasting, not Jewish but curious about the holiday – this post is for you. Yom Kippur is considered a time to look back over the past year and contemplate your decisions and actions – maybe ask for forgiveness from those you’ve harmed, or consider how to be a better person. It isn’t easy, looking back at one’s mistakes, even admitting to one’s mistakes (!), but it’s not a bad exercise. And if you can put your mistakes to mending, even more power to you! You are likely to have a productive upcoming year, not just a useful contemplation of the past. Gmar Tov.

Filed under: Blog & Other

Today is the Last Day!

September 24th, 2022 → 7:46 am

“The end crowns all.” — Troilus and Cressida

Today is the last day to enter the Goodreads Giveaway for a free e-copy of Seeking Forgiveness. 100 copies will be given out at 11:59p.m., so sign up and try and become one of the lucky winners!

Filed under: Blog & Other

Humility

September 23rd, 2022 → 5:43 am

“She is not yet so old
But she may learn.” — Merchant of Venice

I hope this is true of me today, of me in the past, and certainly of me in the future. In the latest chapter of Seeking Forgiveness that is out on the BFBF website this week, the main character confronts her own racism, and is “extremely embarrassed by it.” At least she is trying to learn. Acknowledging failures and making the effort to change them can be half the battle.

Filed under: Blog & Other

Queen Elizabeth II

September 9th, 2022 → 6:59 am

“All’s well that ends well; still the fine’s the crown.
Whate’er the course, the end is the renown.” — All’s Well That Ends Well

(Note: “the fine” here means “the ending” or the crowning achievement)

This quote is generally interpreted to mean that whatever happened in the course of an event, if the ending is good, all is good. Some interpret it in a Machiavellian way to mean the ends justify the means. I do not interpret it that way, at least not in this context. In the context of Queen Elizabeth II’s reign, as it draws to a close on this cool fall day, I interpret it to mean that while the queen may have had some ups and downs, some periods where she shone and others where she did not, considering the long arc of her seventy years on the throne, she had a solid reign. Rest in peace and God bless you Elizabeth R.

Filed under: Blog & Other

Momentary Grace

September 7th, 2022 → 7:03 am

“O momentary grace of mortal men,
Which we more hunt for than the grace of God!” — Richard III

The latest chapter of Seeking Forgiveness is out this week. In it, a normally cantankerous family member at last offers a bit of favor. God bless moments of grace that can come from out of the blue. I can only hope that I have been the source of some of them, for family, friends – and even strangers! – in my own life.

Filed under: Other

Goodreads Giveaway is Open!

August 26th, 2022 → 6:57 am

“Out of my lean and low ability
I’ll lend you something.” — Twelfth Night

The Goodreads Giveaway of Seeking Forgiveness has opened! Sign up before September 24 to win your free copy, available before publication even on October 18. I can’t wait to give copies of this book away and get feedback from early, excited readers!!

Filed under: Other

Friend, or Foe?

August 18th, 2022 → 6:32 am

“I’ll use you for my mirth, yea, for my laughter.” — Julius Caesar

Have you ever wondered if someone is laughing with you, or at you? In the chapter of Seeking Forgiveness released on the Before Ferguson Beyond Ferguson website this week, that is exactly the dilemma Miles faces. Does he call out the insults when his white classmates make fun of his “pokey” hair, or does he laugh along with them, pretending the microagressions are actually funny? At what point is it worth sticking up for yourself, versus letting things slide?

Filed under: Other

Rain and Flooding in St. Louis

July 29th, 2022 → 7:28 am

“The rain it raineth every day.” — King Lear

St. Louis has experienced record rains in recent days, breaking records over 100 years old. The flooding has been shocking. While my family and our home are alright, I have very close neighbors with washed out basements, washed out cars, ruined roofs. One person (in St. Louis alone) has died. I’ve long known climate change is upon us, of course, this just somehow makes it more real. More…directly on all our doorsteps.

Filed under: Other

The School System in America

July 25th, 2022 → 6:37 am

“Never was such a sudden scholar made.” — Henry V

Chapter 9 of Seeking Forgiveness is out, and it describes the experience of trying to find an elementary school where our interracial family fit in. Bottom line: it was not easy, and in the end, we were all schooled, not just my son. You can read more about it at the Before Ferguson Beyond Ferguson racial equity storytelling project.

Filed under: Blog & Other & Self/My Life