Like many writers, an idea comes to me first as a spark, a barely thought out concept that I contemplate and then mold into a story. [Read More]
Bards of a Feather
Soul-Searching with Civic Boosters
Once upon a rainy day Matt Love (author and publisher of Nestucca Spit Press) and Jack Harris (co-founder and co-owner of Fort George Brewery) had a conversation about gentrification in Astoria. [Read More]
Primal Friendships
In her book of essays “The Sound of Paper,” Julia Cameron associates creativity with child-like wonder and reminds us how essential to living are these primal friendships with the moment. [Read More]
‘Whose Move’ Premieres at Steidel’s Art Gallery
Shoes scraped, scruffed, and made the polished wooden floors of Steidel’s Art Gallery gently groan today as fans packed the small studio for the first peek of William Steidel’s new illustrated book, ‘Whose Move.’ [Read More]
Strawberry Fields: Seems Like Forever
I woke up this morning at 4:30 a.m., which is completely unlike me. I am not, in any way, nor have I ever been, a morning person. It’s a gawd-awful hour to be up. I don’t think that even Jesus has had his morning coffee by that hour. I don’t know why I woke so […]
Indie Strum at Jupiter’s
Indie authors exude do-it-yourself spunk. They’ve learned to sustain their creative work with internal drive and direct contact with readers.[Read More]
Myths and misunderstandings
A writer friend told me I was passed over for a recent book-signing because the organizer finds my book title “scary.” This wasn’t the first time I learned of such a reaction to Jesus Loves Women: A Memoir of Body and Spirit.[Read More]
In Search of Sacred Love: A Review of “Jesus Loves Women” by Tricia Gates Brown
With an honesty that’s redemptive rather than brutal, Ms. Brown recounts how she “awakened to the goodness of being a sensual, sexual creature…”, a painful journey for which most of us growing up in the United States—inheritors of the Puritan worldview as we are—receive little support. [Read More]
Adventures with author Charles de Lint
It has been almost three years since I read an article on the Upper Left Edge by Watt Childress. It was a review of Someplace to Be Flying by Charles de Lint. I had never heard of de Lint (in talking to friends I have since discovered that I was not the only one), but based on Watt’s review I gave Someplace to Be Flying a try. What a good decision. [Read More]