What is IWSG? IWSG stands for “Insecure Writers Support Group.” It’s a monthly check-in for writers of all stripes. Its creator, Alex J. Cavanaugh, describes ISWG like this: “Purpose of IWSG: To share and encourage. Writers can express doubts and concerns without fear of appearing foolish or weak. Those who have been through the fire can offer assistance and guidance. It’s a safe haven for insecure writers of all kinds!” – Alex J. Cavanaugh Stepping out of my DIY comfort zone: So IWSG peeps, here’s what’s up with me this month. My current insecurity is that I may have bitten…
Category: Blog Posts
2016 Writer in Residence I haven’t mentioned it in a while, but I was chosen to be the 2016 Writer in Residence for Tarleton State University’s Langdon Review Weekend – and it’s coming right up! (Click here to read a blog post about last year’s Langdon Review Weekend.) The Langdon Review Weekend is an amazing annual literary conference, and I am super thrilled and honored to be their resident writer! My residency starts on August 27th. I’ll be staying in the gorgeous historic town of Granbury, Texas for two whole weeks with the sole purpose of creating and reaching out to the community. Brainstorm I’ve been brainstorming recently about what…
Disney’s Beauty & the Beast If you have any little princesses or princes in your immediate family, you absolutely must head over to the AT&T Performing Arts Center before Disney’s Beauty & the Beast leaves town! This entertaining musical, based on the animated 1991 Disney movie, portrays the classic fairy tale in a lush and lively style that will keep viewers of all ages highly entertained. A Tale as Old as Time… Disney’s Beauty and the Beast tells the story of Belle, a young woman who lives in a small town where her love of reading makes her a nerdy oddball. Every other…
Beautiful: The Carole King Musical on Broadway When a major recording artist is featured in a jukebox musical, you can pretty much guess which songs will be recorded – or so I thought before attending Beautiful: The Carole King Musical. The national tour of this Tony Award winning show opened in Dallas, Texas last night to a packed house at the AT&T Performing Arts Center. Not just Carole King songs Beautiful includes plenty of Carole King songs, but what surprised me was how many other familiar tunes came along for the ride. For instance, I didn’t know Carole King and her…
Cabaret – surprisingly timely What could possibly be timely about a 50-year-old musical set in Berlin during Hitler’s rise to power? What, indeed. Had I seen Cabaret a year ago, I would have enjoyed it, but seeing it during the 2016 election cycle as we argue over transgender bathroom rights, immigration and religious freedom made this musical even more powerful, and rather unsettling! (In retrospect, I shouldn’t be surprised. John Kander and Fred Ebb, the same songwriting duo responsible for Chicago, another musical set in a different time period that also has uncanny modern day parallels, wrote the songs in Cabaret.) Set during the Weimar…
Join me for an A to Z Road Trip! I’m taking you on a road trip with me by sharing travel photos for this year’s A to Z Blog Challenge. So come along as we explore some of my favorite offbeat, overlooked and just plain interesting places in Texas… and beyond! Today is letter K: Knights of Elberta, Alabama’s Piney Woods Remember Elberta’s Dinosaurs? If you read my post for the letter D, then you may remember me mentioning the whimsical fiberglass artwork of sculptor Mark Cline. (If not, click here: Quirky Dinosaur Sculptures in Elberta, Alabama.) My husband, Larry, and…