Oct 01
I’ve been working from the cosy bright nook of my kitchen since August, when my youngest son’s friend moved in with us for a few months to complete a co-op work-term required as part of his University degree. The location change plants me directly in the hub of household activity. It’s not ideal. And I’m …
Permanent link to this article: https://www.deborahsmall.com/paralysis-and-gratitude/
May 01
I married young. Some—okay, my mom—would say, too young. I was twenty. By the time I was twenty-six, I was a single mother of two, possessed of a far greater appreciation for the silver linings discovered when the tarnished brass aftermath of disintegrated dreams, is swept away. My youngest is now twenty. And marriage is …
Permanent link to this article: https://www.deborahsmall.com/shards-and-silver/
Mar 21
If you clicked on the title expecting something about college basketball, I apologize. As much as I love basketball (three of my four kids played competitively in high school) I don’t follow the March playdowns. My March Madness stems from insight gained at a recent writer’s meeting seminar. Almost every month, the writer’s group I …
Permanent link to this article: https://www.deborahsmall.com/march-madness/
Mar 07
In my last book review, I mentioned how I ended up angry, tossing and turning, instead of sleeping, after finishing the book. I want to expand on my reaction. As I mention in the review, I was drawn to the book initially by its cover. As a warm-blooded, heterosexual female, with an affinity for all …
Permanent link to this article: https://www.deborahsmall.com/what-a-girl-wants-in-a-cover/
Mar 01
March break was second only to summer break when I was a kid, and only because it was a good six-weeks shorter in duration. And a whole lot colder. Especially on the Ranch. March didn’t just signal a break from school for me; it heralded a trip to BC’s interior to visit my aunt and …
Permanent link to this article: https://www.deborahsmall.com/march-is-calving-season/
Feb 07
Have you read The Secret? I did. Years ago. And it resonated with me; the whole idea of creating the world you want through vision and belief. How else can you do it? When I sit down to write a one-hundred-thousand (plus?) word novel, I do so without certainty of what words I’ll use. Or …
Permanent link to this article: https://www.deborahsmall.com/keep-going/
Jan 04
There are grandmas. And then there are grandmas. My maternal grandmother was of the latter variety. Soft in all the right places, gentle, quiet, she was the rock of the family. I loved her dearly. To me, she was Mum-mum, my name for her from the time I was toddler and she used to look …
Permanent link to this article: https://www.deborahsmall.com/and-then-there-are-grandmas/
Jul 26
My plan today was to tidy the house and dive into WIP edits; after a full weekend helping husband with roof-related project following a couple of days caring for my nieces, I was eager to catch up on writing-related work. Then hubs needed help with morning errands. We made it home shortly before noon. Still …
Permanent link to this article: https://www.deborahsmall.com/best-laid-plans/
