Monthly Archives: May 2013
I knew when I composed the last word of my book that it needed something more—some special touch–to tell my story. Happily the answer to this quandary was instantaneous. I had literally taken thousands of photos during my three visits to Egypt, and some of them were quite picturesque and noteworthy—even unique. Thus, I immediately started scrutinizing the many albums I had created for Facebook from 2011 thru 2012 and rummaged through my old photo album from 1996. I…..
All of us have favorite authors, favorite genres, and favorite subjects we enjoy reading. One thing that determines or influences our tastes is the writer’s style of writing. This includes his choice of words, his sentence structures, his type of organization, his motivation or purpose, and of course, his personality which plays an important role, too.
During my many years of teaching, I taught many kinds of writing—creative writing, such as poetry and short stories; letter writing;…..
One of the really exhilarating things for me as an author was the creation of my book covers. 
Some authors may choose to assign this task to the book publisher, but I envisioned the exact front book cover that I wanted for my book about Egypt. My problem is I am not an artist—at least not yet, (but the thought…..
Every writer knows the power that words can have on its readers. Thus, words are selected with great wisdom and care in order to express the precise thing that the writer wants to express, to appeal to the specific emotions the writer wants the reader to feel, and hopefully to impact the reader in some way—to entertain, to change opinions, to share a message or insight, or to educate. Today I will share a poem I wrote…..
As a high school Language Arts and English teacher for thirty-seven years in American public schools, I have taught many courses in all types of writing—short stories, dramas, poems, research papers, essays, and other expository forms. I have evaluated thousands of student compositions and written projects, but I never really had the time to sit down and write myself until after my retirement in May 2008. At first, I only wrote a few personal essays about my life for my…..
One of my many passions is traveling. As a child, I daydreamed of visiting faraway, exotic places. When I became an adult and a teacher, my husband Bill and I made our first trip to Europe. I carefully planned the itinerary, and we rented a car and spent twenty-one days touring as many countries as we could. That first summer we visited countries like France, Germany, Netherlands, Belgium, both East and West Germany (at this time), Switzerland, Italy, and Monaco. …..
Living in any foreign country even during a peaceful time can be problematic, but living in one during a major revolutionary period creates an enormously challenging experience with a unique set of obstacles to overcome. I experienced this not once but three times now country of Egypt.
My first exposure to Egypt’s protests was in May 2011. I spent twenty-one days there. The first revolution had just ended a few months before this with the overthrow of…..