"Give a Piece a Chance." — Books. Blog. Pie Classes. And a Pinch of Activism.
Seven years after baking my way around the world, my memoir about the journey is going to be published. The Kindle version is now available for pre-order; the paperback can be purchased on SEPTEMBER 21—International Day of Peace (also World Gratitude Day). People are already saying glowing things about the book “A book about pie? Yes, but … Read more
It’s my baptismal font, my hole in the ground that gets me a few feet closer to the earth’s core. It’s in these waters, the color of meat broth, where I immerse myself to calm my anxieties, soothe my aches—of the heart and otherwise—and to make me feel closer to nature, which to me is … Read more
Sometimes you come across exactly the right book at exactly the right time. A year ago, when I was in a funk and had lost my way, along with my sense of purpose, I read Elizabeth Gilbert’s book “Big Magic.” In it, she poses the question: “What is it you love doing so much that … Read more
I want to get back to being a writer, to writing the book I started in early December, or to scrapping that and starting a new one, even just to blogging, but I’m too restless. Like most people, I am sitting in a prickly pear cactus field of fear and anxiety. With the world as … Read more
Check this out! It’s a #1 New Release!! It’s here! Hausfrau Honeymoon: Love, Language, and Other Misadventures is now out and released into the world. It’s been a bittersweet launch for several reasons: the first is that the book is (once again) centered around Marcus. I wrote it while we were living in Germany and … Read more
In June, after logging several months of marathon hours at my computer, I finished my manuscript for my American Gothic House memoir. (It really was like running a marathon!) I submitted it to a big-five publisher who had asked to see it, which in itself was a kind of thrill. Once I hit the send … Read more
Today has been surreal. I woke up to discover that the story I wrote for the New York Times about living in the American Gothic House was placed on the front page of the Arts section. Early this morning, a friend sent me a picture of the print version of the newspaper —since we don’t … Read more
As you can see, I am really focused on promoting peace, love and understanding these days. It’s a reaction to all the political maneuvering going on, a lot of policies being changed that are resulting in putting lives at risk, all because some people (too many) live in fear of what they don’t know, what … Read more
There is ALWAYS hope, Bea. He wrote this—with the word always in all caps—above a newspaper article he had circled in black ink. He left the paper on the kitchen table knowing I would be down for my morning coffee well after he had left the house to feed hay to his cows, check on … Read more
The photo to the left (it’s a Bitmoji) is me. It’s me and it sums up everything I am feeling right now about writing my American Gothic House memoir. I am trying to get my story down — my whole story — about my four years of misadventures living in a rural Iowa tourist attraction. … Read more