The Glorious Muddle
glimpses of grace in the messiness of life

November 11, 2024

Introduction to the World

I’m proud to introduce to the world, (drum roll, please) . . . my newest book and the final installment of A Cold War Trilogy: Three Colors of Courage!

It’s been nine years since I wrote the first chapter of the first novel for my graduate fiction writing class in 2015. Five years since I signed the contract for One Degree of Freedom to be published. Since then, I’ve had three books come out, including a little detour from the series with the prisoner’s memoir that I wrote. This is the last book in the series (young adult historical fiction set in Cold War Romania), and I think it’s the most important and the timeliest one of all.

No Comments

July 16, 2024

Cutting the Parts People Skip

July is half over and I’m not yet half finished with my one huge task for the month: revision. Thinking of this causes me stress. I am revising my third and final novel, Three Colors of Courage. It’s an action-packed conclusion to the series, and it’s so good–really good!–that I can’t wait to get it out into the world. I’ve put a lot of pressure on myself to launch the novel before Christmas. More stress.

No Comments

December 23, 2023

A Quiet Christmas

I wanted to be snowed in this Christmas. To be tucked away at home, all cozy and wrapped up in blankets, reading books in front of the fireplace, my husband and I with cups of hot chocolate in our hands. Exactly the way I love for the week between Christmas and New Year’s to be: quiet and unplanned. But this year I wanted to be snowbound on Christmas Day itself.

6 Comments

November 28, 2023

Empty Seats, Empty Tables

Photo by Jack Brown on Unsplash

Our number has been cut in half this year. With the loss of both my parents, my father last year and my mother three months ago, we’ve gone from four to two. Any season of grief is hard enough, but the holidays magnify the sense of loss and sadness exponentially. We all expect to be surrounded by family, by smiling happy family, and when we’re not, we’re disappointed.

This is our holiday season of firsts. First one without any parent. First one with just my husband and me. To not only survive the holidays, but to make them special and meaningful, we have to be intentional.

6 Comments

September 16, 2023

Learning How to Grieve and Mourn

I am fresh into a new grief that started three weeks ago and I’m still living in the wake of one that began many years ago. Everyone faces grief at some point; it’s part of being human. I’ve learned a few things about grief and mourning that I hope may help you.

Did you know there’s a difference between grieving and mourning? Grief is the feeling of great sorrow, the profound sadness. Mourning is the expression of that feeling. It’s the lament. Grief is inward and personal. Mourning is outward and can be done in community.

7 Comments