Interview with the Local Paper

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If you’ve found my site through the Lowell Ledger, welcome, and thanks for stopping by! I hope you’ll stick around and enjoy a few stories. Here are some recent favorites:

In Your Gift is Worthy, I encourage you that whatever your talent or skill is, it’s worth getting out there and using it, even if you feel inadequate compared to others! In For the unsure mothers, I tell the story of feeling unfit and uncertain about  becoming a mother. In Growing Story Lovers, I share an activity the kids and I are doing this summer to grow their writing skills and how I hope to help them fall in love with telling their own stories. In Change of Location and Change of Perspective I share a couple stories about getting out of my comfort zone and doing something spontaneous to help a friend.

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Last week, a reporter from our local paper contacted me for an interview regarding my piece in Chicken Soup for the Soul: Here Comes the Bride: 101 Stories of Love, Laughter, and Family. We chatted for an hour about writing and family and our great little town. She took pictures of me while I was talking, and I tried to act normal – as if it’s every day that someone starts taking photos of you while sitting at the local coffee shop. *cough*

The interview released in today’s paper. The kids and I apparently made a mini-scene in our grocery store, as we hunched over the stack of papers skimming the article. The checkout lane supervisor came over and asked, “So do we know someone in the paper today?” Little Miss squealed, “My Mom!!”

But the best part of the whole thing was when Little Miss started reading the article at home (since when is she old enough to read a newspaper!?!). I was getting lunch ready when I heard, “T-REX!! OUR NAMES ARE IN THE PAPER!! That’s MY name!! And yours too!! See?!” They hunched over the paper together, their little fingers tracing their names. Then they asked, “Can we each have our own copy?” Little Miss screeched, “I have to take this in for show and tell when school starts!!!”

Seeing their excitement was…well…it left me speechless. They each took a paper to their bedroom for quiet time.

They are a big reason I write. My kids see it all. They see the hard work, they hear about the rejection, they witness all the big “firsts.” I want them to grow up in a house where they see that dreams can be achieved by discipline, perseverance and focus. I want them to know that things aren’t just handed to you, but that you have to work for them. And that as you work towards your dreams you’ll hit roadblocks, but those challenges help you grow and learn. And I want them to see and experience the thrill of victory.

Here’s a link to the article online. (The only correction I have is that my upcoming book isn’t a coffee table book. It’s a book themed around coffee…easy mistake to make. The reporter did a great job!)

Interview with the Lowell Ledger