The McCarthy house went quiet for the first time on Wednesday morning after the ambulances had gone. L sat at the kitchen counter, feeling her mother’s cries linger in the walls. Felicity tiptoed down the stairs after checking if Greg and Isabella were still asleep, then took a chair at the kitchen table opposite Carson ...

Shortly after Christmas last year I heard a news story that has been on my mind since. My house was still decorated with all things Santa and Wise Men. We had plates full of Christmas treats that would last us a month. Like every other morning before, I woke up to the news on the TV. ...

Finding a gardener was more complicated than I expected. Elaina and Frank weren’t joking when they said Aunt Blaire ran off most of the professionals around. All the ones I called, she either fired, the grounds were too much for them, or they didn’t have any openings on their full-time client list. I was on ...

The concrete jungle wakes to rays of the sun. Panes of glass play with eastern light. Towers of brick, cement, and stucco rise above urban citrus trees to glimpse the stirring towns. Traffic pours in, traffic pours out, and cars line up like glistening ants. Vehicular networks like brain neurons branch outward and inward, a ...

Have you ever felt yourself emotionally go backwards? Lately, it seems like everything I have been trying to achieve has been put on pause. This being said I am actively working not to slip into my old version of survival mode. The new strategy is to not let myself say, “I’ll do it later.”  Later ...

It sat on a lot. On a concrete foundation poured years and years ago, mazes of cement like outlines for a future. Stakes of iron held it together, and puzzles of timber erected a roof. Windowpanes witnessed Christmas mornings, marine-layered springs, fairy summers, and crisp falls. This grand model wore stains from nail polish and ...

Sunlight radiates Cicadas hum in cadence Their song lures the moon.

One of the funniest aspects of my writing is I am a perfectionist. The ideal scenario is that a scene will pop into my head, and I can write it down and fix a few grammar errors. Usually, I have a few plot points to piece together, or I have to discover everything that happens ...

Crystalline currents pirouette feet from sand glossed with sea foam. Waves roll with eternal dedication, a lifetime commitment to shoreline glazing. In their deep mineral burrows, crabs dimple the sand with each swell of retreat. Porous cliffs stand tall against winds. Squalls. Time. They cast dawn shadows and bask in evening gold. Plants succulent with ...

You are looking to create a blog or you already have one established. Congrats! By this point, you have your ideas, and if you already have a blog, possibly a few followers. Great! Now the real question is, how are you going to get your clients to actually read it? In the blogging world, the ...