Literary Citizenship

Posted January 15, 2026

Filed under Writing

Last Saturday I attended the Inaugural Laguna Beach Literary Festival, and I’m so glad I did, because the whole experience strengthened my resolve to be a better Literary Citizen. Simply put, that’s a person who reads. Like me. Like you, as you are reading this. Of course I also happen to be a person who writes, but that’s a side note to my conviction to read widely, to buy books, to pop into my local bookstore and ask for their favorites, basically to consider the rich nuances of humanity through novels and non-fiction alike. Reading to view our present dilemmas against the atrocities of the past. To acknowledge flaws in beliefs that were once so solid. Reading to better understand those who I can’t and reading to find solidarity. Reading generates questions like why is it that authoritarian regimes burn books? Why is educational funding cut before anything else? Why is everyone ingesting their information and imagination via visuals like TikTok and YouTube? Whose interest is being served by this shift away from print? Why is maintaining literary citizenship a threat to governments who don’t respect your ideas, your past, your rights, your very existence? By reading you know exactly why.

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The Creative Space

Posted January 8, 2026

Filed under Life

In these last weeks dominated by the Wood Snake I want so badly to shed the old useless notions but am overwhelmed by what I can’t control which is seemingly controlling me. It is exhausting fighting and doing nothing at the same time. So today, instead of writing about my rage and impotence to enact change, I will repost from years ago, when I considered the power of the creative spark, the one that drives our hearts and souls and minds straight into our most powerful emotion: love. Just as important now, don’t you agree. Before we venture on the Fire Horse of 2026 and realize your next bold adventure into being, let’s prepare. Be mindful. Get some rest. Dream boldly. That enormous imaginative space is just waiting for us to enter, together, to build back our beautiful collective vision with all the collective love we can muster.

Creative Sparks

Stuff I’ll Keep in 2026

Posted January 1, 2026

Filed under Life

I know, believe me, I know. It’s time to shed the old, discard the crap, defuse the judgement and forgive the trespassers. In fact, for every snake metaphor you can muster, today is the day to say goodbye to all of it. But there is a pile of stuff I plan to keep. Like treasured memories and my wonderful network of people along with hopes and dreams and aspirations and grit and imagination and a ton of love. But me too. Starting with my wild side. She’s been my main gal from forever. She doesn’t mind screaming with a zany recklessness. She’s impractical and unrealistic. She’s a stargazer. She’s at the top of my invite list headed into 2026. Sometimes she makes a mess, has a breakdown, gets absolutely sidetracked or even off track. But she’s never given up. She’s made this life the stunning vision it is, and I’m fairly certain, she’s going to keep charging forward through whatever comes next. So, here’s to being unabashedly every bit of me in the near and far future, while embracing the mountain of marvels and challenges ahead.