Author Archives: Sallyhp

The Beast of configuration loomed overhead, admonishing all to practice the rituals of obedience and structure. It screamed. It demanded. It threatened all with its insanity, terrifying the populace and causing many to drop their tools and run. Chaos lurked … Continue reading →

New York. 2 a.m. I awake from a restless sleep with a start, stressed by my upcoming doctoral comprehensives. Dreaming of failure, lost research, arriving naked — all the exam nightmares — sleep is clearly futile. Surrendering to the demon … Continue reading →

BOSSY ONE:  “Shall we go?” WEAK ONE:  “I don’t know.” STUPID ONE:  “Where are we supposed to go?” BOSSY:  “Unbelievable. We’ve been planning this for weeks, and now you don’t even know where we’re going or if you want to go. What’s the matter … Continue reading →

“Hanukkah: To Dedicate.” Hanukkah is a Jewish festival commemorating the recovery of Jerusalem and the subsequent re-dedication of a sacred synagogue.  Also known as The Festival of Lights, Hanukkah is marked by an eight-night display of dancing flames atop candles held … Continue reading →

I attended (online) an Author Talk with Amor Towles. I found his description of his writing process so fascinatingly thoughtful, I immediately realized I had to share it with my dedicated writing friends. Here’s the link: https://libraryc.org/lanepl/31896/544015

This is not my writing. It is a Washington Post Opinion piece by Rick Reilly that I simply must share, based on today’s discussion of pickleball. I found his argument persuasive… ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ “I’m 65 now, which means that, according to … Continue reading →

The Green Beans of Doom The time had come for Arthur to meet the mother-in-law, Edna. Though I was only five at the time, I knew even then that the meeting of this small, hairy, bespectacled Jewish lawyer from New … Continue reading →

David was a genius, a musician, and a prankster. His genius was confirmed when he was skipped past both the eighth and ninth grades at the same time. Even after that, however, he was still bored by the curriculum. And thus … Continue reading →

I attended an author talk with Simon Winchester (author of The Professor & The Madman, among many other books) that was sponsored by my Ohio library a few weeks ago. I didn’t think I’d like the guy, but was mildly … Continue reading →

Here is the link to that Opinion piece I read on Thursday, 10/13: https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2022/10/12/editing-writing-word-choice-avoid-very/

This little snippet doesn’t fit in any prompt, but I’m sharing it anyway. The back story: Back in early 2019, I was invited to write a (different and longer) story about Cool Papa Bell for a collection of baseball stories. … Continue reading →

Swimming up to the surface. So far away… Too far away… Back into the deep. ~~~ Trying again. Up. I have to go up. Or out. Or… something. Where am I? What is beeping? Tired. So tired. Drifting back to … Continue reading →

Captain Carter reluctantly agreed to be the first man to reach Mars. He suspected they were all just guessing that it would be a successful trip.   He knew it was all about the fuel. Fuel was the calculation that had … Continue reading →

A reporter called to ask me: “You’re four weeks past the second dose. How are you feeling? What are your plans going forward?” I immediately thought of bananas. I realized that, though I haven’t changed my behavior much at all … Continue reading →

I’ve never been a fan of Christmas. I don’t know any of the movies or songs. I generally just try to hide this time of year, which was a lot easier to do in 2020. But I finally felt compelled … Continue reading →

My sister’s take on a Pandemic Christmas, published in the Los Angeles Times: https://www.latimes.com/opinion/story/2020-12-24/christmas-coronavirus-pandemic-home-alone

Marigold Shoemaker hated her name. She had always hated her name. Some say that our name, beyond its objective purpose, encompasses what and who each of us is. Its essence is at the very heart of our existence. Names are … Continue reading →

We were a band of five in high school – each an artist in a different media. We regularly skipped school together to assist in someone’s project. Often, it was to serve as models in one of Anna Lou’s crazy … Continue reading →

“Please, Dyunnion, I’d really like to have a telephone. All the ladies are getting one. It would be good to have one, with us being so far out of town and all.” My grandfather, Dyunnion Minta Davis, was a taciturn, … Continue reading →

Born on the wrong side of the tracks, he was the ninth child of an abusive alcoholic father and a distracted mother who would soon be committed. They named him Marquis de Lafayette Harrison, but pronounced it “Markwis.” Markwis was … Continue reading →

Next week (Jan 23), we will experiment with free writing to music. I will select songs from a variety of genres and play each for 1-2 minutes. There will be a wide variety in the playlist, mostly unfamiliar enough to … Continue reading →

“Get out! Get out get out get out get OUT! “What?” “Get. Out.” “Who’s there? Who’s talking to me?” “Get lost. Go. Begone.” “Who is this?” “Just go. You wouldn’t believe me if I told you. Just scram. You don’t … Continue reading →

For anyone curious about the links between music & writing, I like the website/blog below in which this guy tracks down authors, many of them famous, and asks them to provide a “playlist” for their book. They usually respond by … Continue reading →

“It’s time to leave this ivy-covered castle,” it said. “But… tenure…” she whispered. “The Ogre of Winter will soon be upon us. You must be gone!” it boomed. Her loyal elves helped her pack and carry her treasured texts and … Continue reading →