My (kinda, sorta) Rocky moment … in Guayaquil

Well, this Rocky moment certainly didn’t occur in a bout of heavyweight boxing. But I did feel like a (rather distant) cousin of Rocky Balboa each morning in Guayaquil when I went jogging up the steps to the lighthouse to enjoy the views over Ecuador’s largest city. Do you remember the original movie’s opening scene…

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Second week of the NaNo writing marathon underway

I wouldn’t usually label myself as a Couch Potato, but when it comes to assessing my level of writing commitment during the crazed marathon month of November, I suppose it would be pretty apt. As NaNoers diligently tear through 50,000 words of their first draft of their novels, I’m enthusiastically waving them on. Tucked under…

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Are you NaNoing?

It’s that time of year again – when all you crazy writing marathoners take up the challenge to write a fifty-thousand word novel in just 30 days as part of the National Novel Writing Month challenge. Then there are the people like me, who stand on the side lines and cheer you on as you…

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After the hiatus

Hiatus – a break or gap. Since I returned from summer holidays, I have not been keeping up my blog. The return to work and kids’ school and daily life kept things more hectic than I anticipated, and then my trusty home laptop died … and I was super slow about replacing it. But I…

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Hiking the Celano Canyon in Abruzzo, Italy

Earlier this summer, during a particularly steamy Roman week, I found myself daydreaming constantly about a weekend escape to Abruzzo. I often get out for weekend to the town of Ovindoli, about 1 1/2 hour drive from Rome. Since the town at 1400 meters from sea level it is much, much cooler than Rome ……

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Writers, stop making excuses …

“A writer who waits for ideal conditions under which to work will die without putting a word on paper.” —E. B. White In the always brilliant words of author E.B. White – stop slacking off, and get writing! Not much to add to these perfect words of advice. I am certainly guilty of waiting for…

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