Happy March! Man, that got here fast. It occurred to me that I’d forgotten to post in February when I was prepping for a March sale of my book: The Mark of the Artist will be on sale for .99 March 7-10, as part of the Spring Spectacular by Indie Visible Events!

So how about we catch up!

Is it Spring yet?

What signs of Spring do you look for? I look for several! California Poppies sprouting, butterflies, flowering trees, the first green leaf buds on the ash tree in my yard, birds checking out our hip bird house.

Soon I’ll be getting the veggie garden prepped for transplants. I used to try seeds, I really tried! But I haven’t got the luck for it. Even the “easy” plants never took.

Oh, and if you’re wondering: my winter garden was quite the feast—for the slugs! 😩 We left the fallen leaves as coverage this year, and guess the sluggos just moved right in. Lesson learned!

My Reading

What has this author been reading lately? On the Mom-front: Picking back up with the Land of Stories Series with my daughter. My son’s been enjoying the Kingdom of Wrenly books. We just checked out three more from the local library. He likes that they are focused on a boy who has adventures. Reviews coming soon!

For myself: I just finished the anthology Steampunk edited by Ann & Jeff VanderMeer. I’m working on a new story (very early stages) and plan to incorporate Steampunk elements/alternate history. As this was the go-to on many recommended reading lists for the genre, I figured I’d take a look. I’ve read other books along these lines, and really enjoyed the entire Newbury & Hobbes series by George Mann. But I’ll be honest: wasn’t a big fan of the anthology Steampunk. There were a couple of the stories that I enjoyed, such as one called “The Selene Gardening Society” by Molly Brown, but the rest were either a little too violent or too obscure. Not a total loss though. I realized that my preference when it comes to this genre are for more whimsical or fanciful, lighter, and less gruesome styles. Imaginative. To each their own, of course.

If you’re curious about other book reviews I’ve done, check out my Author page on Goodreads, or this previous post.

Mom Life = hard discussions

In our house we had a 2^nd grader working on a report on American Heroes (Not The Greatest American Hero, whoa that show did Not age well! 😋)

My daughter chose Rosa Parks for her report. We read a few kid-aged biographies on her, then we had to have some serious discussions on how the world works.

I was so happy when my daughter couldn’t comprehend how some people didn’t like others because of their skin color. The look on her face was like she was trying to make 2+2=7—it was just not possible! Sadly, I had to explain that it did/still does happen. She shook her head and looked at me like I was lying. It broke my heart.

Her beautiful response of, “well that’s just stupid,” made me smile though. “Yes. Yes it is stupid,” I agreed.

We talked about how learning history will (hopefully!) mean that the same awful mistakes don’t happen again, and if they do, not to accept them. It was a lot for a 2nd grader (and this parent). One of many tough discussions, I know.

Her report on the American Hero Rosa Parks was wonderful! The quote my daughter chose was this:

“You should never be fearful of doing something that is right.”

I hope everyone out there who happens across my blog takes that quote to heart, as my daughter has, and as I have. 🩷