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The Seasons of the Writer
I think I might have identified three seasons of the writer. The first is the season of inspiration. The problem with this season is that it can strike at any time and any…
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The Trevi Fountain
The Trevi Fountain in Rome makes 1.7 million dollars a year. But Nicole, you don’t pay to see the Trevi Fountain. But you do throw coins into the fountain. With your back to…
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The Keeper of the Keys…
I don’t remember much of my visit to the Vatican Museum, it’s a fuzzy memory. There are bits and pieces I recall, but the last time I was there was 2003, and this…
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Charles Dickens’ A Christmas Carol: A ghostly history
Here is more information than you ever asked to know about this little book and the man who wrote it. My family is a Dickens Christmas Carol family to the core. It all…
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Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas
I found an unexpected moment of quiet tonight. As the dusky sky, a yellowed pink hue, gave way to dark blues, I sat on my sofa in the glow of my Christmas tree.…
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Good coffee for Friday the 13th
In honor of Friday the 13th, here’s a quick blurb from my book, The Italian Holiday. The characters just happen to be discussing Friday the 13. Only they are in Florence, in the…
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Hope in the Time of 2020
My internal playlist continues to fluctuate between the song “Don’t Stop” by Fleetwood Mac and “It’s The End of the World” by REM. How bout you? Anyway, they say you come across what…
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By the book…
My friend Ariane sent me a text the other day with this question. “What is one book you wished everyone would read?” And I haven’t slept since. That’s not completely true, I haven’t…
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Lessons from the Medieval Times
This is the time of year I yearn to settle into fall quotes and long rambling sentences while I make fun of the abundance of pumpkin spice flavored items. But this year, the…
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Learning to Preserve…
“But when fall comes, kicking summer out on its treacherous ass as it always does one day sometime after the midpoint of September, it stays awhile like an old friend that you have…