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PB learns to ride the unicycle!
UPDATE: my unicycle hangs from a hook in our garage. Sometimes I tell it: I'll be back.January 1, 2025-
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Category Archives: Fiction
Discoveries (Balancing Edition)
The huge benefit of being thrown by a horse and not being able to exercise for over a week or lie down on the bed without screaming in pain or do anything in between carrying on as a mother except … Continue reading
Article At ‘Through The Tollbooth’!!!
My writing mentor, Kathryn Fitzmaurice, was interviewed by Catherine Linka (I’ve heard Catherine speak at SCBWI events–she is positively famous in our SCBWI Los Angeles circles) over at Through The Tollbooth. The interview is about Kathryn’s mentoring experience–er, of me! … Continue reading
Falling (Whinnying Edition)
Leapt down the vastly spaced steps to the stalls, rounded the corner, Indy saddled up and ready to go, I talked to him, rubbed his cheek as I led him to the ring, a man opened the gate for me, … Continue reading
Posted in Faction, Fiction, Me and Us, Poetry, Writing, WTF
Tagged 2014, Equitation, fiction writing, horses, Los Angeles, poetry, writing
4 Comments
The Women’s National Book Association
I was made aware of the WNBA/LA thanks to my middle grade writing mentor, Kathryn Fitzmaurice (ask me if I am lucky to have her as my mentor and you will hear amplified hell yeah’s). She gave one of this … Continue reading
Posted in books, Children's Books, Faction, Fiction, middle grade, Writing, Writing Progress, Writing Tips
Tagged 2014, children's literature, Destiny Rewritten, fiction, fiction writing, Kathryn Fitzmaurice, middle grade writing, ocean, poetry, SCBWI, SCBWI CA/North Central, Women's National Book Association/LA, writing
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Farewell February
Because it’s my birthday month, because it’s not only a pink month, or red for hearts, or purple for amethyst (birthstone), because I had a milestone birthday and went all crazy in the head and panicky in the days (who … Continue reading
Posted in books, Children's Books, Faction, Fiction, Writing
Tagged 2014, birthdays, blessings, chardonnay, fiction writing, life, Los Angeles, personal goals, poetry, Valentine, writing
2 Comments
Double Rainbow (Rainy Day Edition)
Not long ago a man left a nasty little comment in my comments section calling my blog piece sophomoric and trite and something else I can’t remember and why this person was so unevolved as to blog-roam and drop his … Continue reading
Posted in books, Children's Books, dog, Fiction, Poetry, poetry reading, Writer's Angst, Writing, Writing Progress, WTF
Tagged 2014, cats, children's literature, dog, double rainbow, fiction writing, Goodreads, life, Los Angeles, middle grade writing, poetry, Rhapsodomancy, writing
2 Comments
Notes From The Retreat #2: Critiques
Yes, I am going to go here. Out of the 10 copies of the first 25 pages of my novel returned to me, scribbled on by the writers in my core group at the SCBWI retreat, I kept 4. Those 4 … Continue reading
2013 Middle Grade
Oh, productive, on-the-button-always (not the panic button), well-informed you—you’re already aware of this list. I’m just getting to it. I think I’m most excited about Holly Black’s book. Quite creepy! The Goodreads Best Middle Grade & Children’s Any flagrant omissions from … Continue reading
Walking to Floats (SoCal Edition)
Rose Parade Floats Viewing, January 2nd: I walked my son several blocks down a typically—for Pasadena—vast and nicely swept boulevard to another major boulevard (wider than the Rio Grande and as sungleamy in our December heatwave) mobbed by people like us … Continue reading
Posted in Avoiding My Writing, books, Children's Books, Faction, Fiction, Writing, WTF
Tagged 2014, fiction, Los Angeles, Pasadena, poetry, Rose Parade floats, shaved ice, space aliens, writing
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As 2014 Looms (Looming Edition)
The minivan’s A/C died just in time for the Christmas heatwave of 85+ degrees. As I ferried us home from a visit to the ocean’s cool and calming vastness (all windows dooooown), I remembered my one and only Christmas poem, which includes … Continue reading
Posted in Children's Books, Faction, Fiction, Poetry, Writing
Tagged 2013, beach, California, Christmas, fiction writing, fresh batik, Los Angeles, palm trees, poetry, scotch, Venice Beach, writing
2 Comments
December Whinny
Sitting on the patio at Peddler’s Fork, alone out here as it’s a SoCal pre-Christmas bit of chilly, i.e., 60 degrees, way too cold for the cycling clan packing the tables indoors, brrr, but perfect for me as I’m the … Continue reading
Posted in books, Children's Books, Faction, Fiction, Poetry, Writing
Tagged 2013, children's literature, fiction, middle grade writing, Old Town Calabasas, Peddler's Fork, personal goals, writing
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Kickstarted (Coffee Blend Edition)
Back again—homing pigeon style—at Peddler’s Fork, I ordered a cup of the restaurant’s Kickstand Blend and a macadamia nut infused scone that tastes more like somebody’s gourmet birthday cake than scone, which is why I ordered it, and carted my … Continue reading
Posted in books, Fiction, Poetry, Writer's Angst, Writing
Tagged 2013, fiction writing, Kickstand Blend, Los Angeles, Mallard Ducks, Muses, Old Town Calabasas, Peddler's Fork, pigeons, poetry, writing
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Handy Resources
Brainpickings has compiled a nice list of 9 writing resources. Some are oh so familiar, perhaps all are to you. But I’m glad to be reminded of them. And quotes such as this one by Kurt Vonnegut, which you’ve probably … Continue reading
Posted in Fiction, Quotes, Writer quotes, Writer's Angst, Writing
Tagged 2013, books, fiction writing, Francine Prose, Kurt Vonnegut, Mary Pickford, poetry, quotes on writing, Ray Bradbury, St. Jerome, Stephen King, writer's angst, writing
5 Comments
Food Glorious Food
Speaking of bon bons, I think I’ll switch to madeleines. But stick with coffee, not tea. For now. Coffee served in a teacup? Even better. The Telegraph is featuring 10 Great Meals in Literature. A fun little slideshow. Especially the Dickens … Continue reading
Posted in Avoiding My Writing, Children's Books, Fiction, Writing
Tagged 2013, fiction writing, life, Los Angeles, madeleines, Marcel Proust, poetry, The Telegraph, writing
4 Comments
Gobbling Towards Vegetarianism
It became November. Day Two, I said: OMG THE TURKEY! Because this year, we’re hosting the beloved horde. I navigated to the Whole Foods website. During the Diestel ordering process I was asked to choose: Hen or Tom. My bedroom … Continue reading
Posted in books, Children's Books, Faction, Fiction, Writing, WTF
Tagged 2013, chaos, domestics, fiction writing, green bean casserole, poetry, San Fernando Valley, Thanksgiving, Tom Turkeys, writing
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The Truth Is…(Maintenance Edition)
The truth is, I’m way too busy to blog—sprawling on the couch eating bonbons takes up a lot of time. And let me make this extremely clear: NOT milk chocolate bonbons with cherries tucked inside them. If I was even … Continue reading
Posted in Children's Books, Fiction, middle grade, Pets, Poetry, To Explain, Writer's Angst, Writing, Writing Progress
Tagged 2013, cats, children's literature, chocolate, chocolate bon bons, dog, domestic bliss, fiction writing, life, Los Angeles, memories, middle grade writing, Reader, writer's angst, writing
8 Comments
3 Cubs & Dodgers
Father/Son Dodgers Game!, the elementary school flyer stated, producing an amendment a week later: Due to unprecedented interest in attendance by moms, grandmothers, grandfathers and 3rd cousins twice removed, Father/Son is expanded to Family Dodgers Game! So we all went to … Continue reading
Posted in Fiction, Me and Us, Writing, WTF
Tagged 2013, baseball, Chavez Ravine, Dodger Stadium, Dodgers, fiction writing, Kindergarten, Yasiel Puig
4 Comments
On Roald Dahl’s Birthday
Sometimes I let the agent I’m querying know who my literary heroes are. Only ‘sometimes’ as my query letters tend to change. Evolve? Products of endless, restless experimentation…On Roald Dahl’s birthday I was thinking: I always forget to put Roald … Continue reading
Posted in Children's Books, Faction, Fiction, Writing, WTF
Tagged 2013, children's literature, fiction writing, James and the Giant Peach, Kindergarten, middle grade writing, Reader, Roald Dahl, writing
5 Comments
Secret Equestrienne (Before Morning Coffee Edition)
$300 boots in the local saddlery. Gorgeous. And nothing a budget-minded, secret equestrienne would ride in. So the Amazon dot coms that arrived by mail shocked me. At $94+change, they looked way too regal for the price. I was expecting spray-painted cardboard. … Continue reading
Posted in books, Fiction, Poetry, Writing, Writing Progress
Tagged 2013, Amazon.com, Calabasas Old Town, Equistar Riding Boots, Homer Simpson, horses, International Velvet, Kindergarten, Tatum O'Neal, The Scream
3 Comments
Chirp
The colony of house finches thriving in the trees outside our bedroom windows begins the chirping frenzy around 530/6am and they never fail to wake me up—but I beat them to their cacophony this morning, fueled into consciousness by thoughts of Big … Continue reading
PB Rippey Writes 
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