How to Get a Literary Agent
How do you get a literary agent? First, have a dear friend whose former college roommate just happens to be a literary agent. Ask that dear friend to make an introduction and wa la! You've landed an agent. But what if you don't have a dear friend whose college...
I’m ready to run my mask over with my car.
No kidding. I'm ready to run my face mask over with my car. I'm sick of wearing it. Why? Because it messes with everything. If you've gotten your hair cut lately, you know how disheartening it is when the stylist whips you around for the big "reveal" and you're like...
Swimming in Inspiration
I subscribe to a service called TED Recommends. Once a week I get a link to a TED talk that, based on my viewing history, they think I'll enjoy. It's a little Big Brother-ish, but I don't mind since they're almost always right. And this week's selection, well I didn't...
How Are You Staying Sane During the Pandemic?
I really want to know. How are you staying sane during the pandemic? I'm unsure I am sane, now or any time frankly, but since March I've found myself adding things to my day because, as I'm sure you'll agree, they've been very long days. Sure I'm busy with work (in...
Present Over Perfect? Hell Yeah!
Lately I'm on a mission to find books that support my "flaws are the new black" position. I find them, read them, and share them with a "Hey, you! Love yourself already for Pete's sake!" type attitude. Yes, I'm a little impatient. It's one of my "flaws." But, as any...
How I Learned to Love My Bubblegum Machine Mouth
Me: You’re going to wear that? Don’t you think it’s a little tight? My sweetheart: Really? But I thought… Oh wow. I love this suit. Dear God, I have no filter. Everything I think comes right out of my mouth like a piece of bubblegum shooting straight out of the...
Start with self-acceptance
I think a lot about flaws, and I talk to lots of people, mostly women, who are stuck on what they perceive as their flaws. Even yesterday, a very dear friend who's also a super successful businesswoman called me to go over a list (a list!) she'd made of things she...
Forget perfection
When I write, I start with all good intentions. I open a new Word document, stare at the empty whiteness, and flee immediately to the safety of the Lifestyle section on MSN.com. Of course, I need to read the “Top 25 Ways to Look Younger” before I write a word. I’m 58...
There’s a Bear by the Pool!
It’s half an hour until wine time on Saturday afternoon and I’m in the sun room curled up on one of our bright yellow recliners, desperate to finish the last few pages of Liane Moriarity’s The Hypnotist’s Love Story. I’ve been hypnotized by all its pages and now,...
Never in my life
Never in my life did I envision a day when I’d conference with my coworkers via video while looking professional from the waist up and homeless from the waist down, decide in March that the only Christmas gift worth discovering under the tree is toilet paper, or find...
Forget the news. Go for the funny stuff.
If you're looking for a break from the news, love to laugh, and have never read 500 Acres and No Place to Hide, More Confessions of a Counterfeit Farm Girl, this post is for you (and anyone you know who's never read it so please forward it). I've put the entire first...
How to procrastinate like a pro
As a professional procrastinator, I am uniquely qualified to guide you in putting off everything you should be doing but for whatever reason don't want to do. I'm not particularly proud of this but I am good at it, and that's something to be proud of. Right now, for...
Oh the injustice of the sinus lift!
I know things are finally getting back to semi normal when it involves my mouth. Not because I've been too direct, but because I'm headed directly to the dentist. I'm off today to have two molars extracted. We’ve been together at least 50 years and now they’ve gotta...
All I Need
You know how when you're giving up sugar the first few days and weeks are so hard you don't think you'll make it and then, suddenly, the cravings are gone? That's how I felt at first about being unable to caress the pillows in HomeGoods or have my hair done. I wasn't...
Have coffee or tea with me…
Have coffee or tea with me every day, (virtually, of course!), with this very cute Flaws Are The New Black mug. It's my free gift to you when you leave a Reader Review for both my books on Amazon! Simply click on the links below. Once you're on Amazon, you need to...
From TED Talk to Book
After my talk, Make Peace With Your Grief and Watch Where It Leads You, I received dozens of lovely notes from people who found it helpful and who said they were sharing the link with friends and family and co-workers and neighbors. I can't tell you how much that...
Be the Person You’d Want to Be Quarantined With
Snow days. Rainy days. Days so cold and blustery the only thing to do is light a fire, wrap yourself in a blanket and read a book. Those once-in-awhile breaks are welcome and peaceful. Being locked down in one’s house however, with the kids and your significant other...
No T.P. for Sue Z
Friends, how’s it going? I hope you're all hanging in there. I hope that you are stocked up and staying optimistic. And I truly hope that what's happened to us has not happened to you. Yes, this is all that remains of the last roll of toilet paper in our house. I’ve...