Tag Archives: 2016

SCBWI

Posted on December 11, 2016 by PB Rippey

Have you registered for the (Los Angeles chapter) SCBWI Writers & Illustrators Day 2017? It’s happening February 25th at the Skirball Cultural Center, a venue I once frequented in order to exercise my former toddler in the intriguingly lit Noah’s Ark … Continue reading →

On Rejection

Posted on December 9, 2016 by PB Rippey

Recently I was lucky enough to have a conversation with someone I deeply respect and I was moaning a little about rejections I’ve received lately. The person suggested I stop calling them ‘rejections’ and refer to them instead as ‘No … Continue reading →

Posted in Children's Books, Fiction, Writer's Angst, Writing, Writing Progress, Writing Tips | Tagged 2016, Critique, life, life advice, Literature, rejection, writing | Leave a comment

Brief Reverie (w/Iron)

Posted on December 6, 2016 by PB Rippey

As I was ironing my husband’s dress shirts last night: channeled a story about 3 lifelong friends who unfriend each other on Facebook due to arguments over whether certain basic inalienable rights should be basic and inalienable at all (buying … Continue reading →

Posted in Faction, Fiction, Writing | Tagged 2016, climate science, dictator, dystopian fiction, Facebook, Mother Teresa, NRDC, snowmen, women's fiction | Leave a comment

Flurry

Posted on December 4, 2016 by PB Rippey

Newsflash: It’s December, 2016. I know because the seasonal falling snow plugin is up and running on WordPress. Tonight, we welcomed in December’s Holiday craziness with snowman carousing and a bit of tubing on Leo Politi’s old property in Elysian Park. … Continue reading →

Posted in Writing | Tagged 2016, Christmas season, Leo Politi, Los Angeles, snow tubing, snowball fights, Snowmen at night | 1 Comment

Turkey Day Craze

Posted on November 26, 2016 by PB Rippey

I may as well have woken up in a luxurious spa-hotel, expecting breakfast in bed, or morning tea on an ocean-view patio, sipping from real china in a froofy dressing gown, in any case a stress-free morning despite it being Thanksgiving and I … Continue reading →

Posted in Writing | Tagged 2016, Albertsons, Badminton, chardonnay, Family, Holidays, life, Los Angeles, Luxury, Porter Ranch, Ralphs, Thanks, Thanksgiving, Thanksgiving turkey recipe, Vons | Leave a comment

Dug Out

Posted on November 21, 2016 by PB Rippey

Eons ago my wisdom teeth came out far easier than this morning’s Tooth #4, which my dentist described as having a curved root, meaning: curve-ball for what should have been a pretty quick procedure. ‘See?’ my dentist said. He twisted my liberated tooth … Continue reading →

Posted in Adult writing, Faction, Fiction, Writing | Tagged 2016, Alien, books, Dental implants, email, Family, Gerald Durrell, life, Literature, Metaphor, movies, Sigourney Weaver, writing | Leave a comment

For The Boids

Posted on November 15, 2016 by PB Rippey

Election night: 2 friends offended. By me. Thought I was being funny with my online responses. Hah! Now? Rampant Victors assure me Trump won’t REALLY do all he assured us he will absolutely do if elected. Trump voters in post-election denial. I say: The high … Continue reading →

Posted in To Explain, Writing | Tagged 2016, birdsong, Election night, Free Speech, Homophobia, Racism, Sexism, Xenophobia | Leave a comment

Island Infusion

Posted on October 24, 2016 by PB Rippey

Recently a boat deposited me on Santa Rosa Island for a few days, one of a handful of remote scapes comprising the Channel Islands National Park . I traveled with a geologist, an art dealer and two canvas artists who … Continue reading →

Posted in books, Faction, Fiction, Poetry, Santa Barbara, Writing | Tagged 2016, Bear Mountain, books, California, California orogeny, camping, Channel Islands National Park, Earth, Eowyn Ivey, history, humanity, John McPhee, John Muir, life, Literature, novels, Pacific Ocean, Plein Air, Sant Rosa Island, Teddy Roosevelt, Thanks, Whiskey, Wow, writing | 1 Comment

Boo On Drugs

Posted on October 6, 2016 by PB Rippey

I wrote in a frenzy from 10 a.m. to 1:00p.m., then lay down for a nap before zooming to fetch my 3rd grader from school, but my iPhone was on mute, so I didn’t hear the alarm, but I did hear, … Continue reading →

Posted in books, Fiction, Poetry, Writing | Tagged 2016, art, books, Emily Dickinson, Family, Halloween, hope, humanity, life, Literature, Los Angeles, Muses, Sexy Mama, Ventura Blvd., Zen | Leave a comment

Louise Penny

Posted on October 3, 2016 by PB Rippey

Where has Louise Penny been all my life? I was completely not swept up, but vacuumed into A Great Reckoning and have since been binge reading the Chief Inspector Gamache novels–but I have to say, so far the other books … Continue reading →

Posted in Adult writing, books, Fiction, Poetry, Writing | Tagged 2016, art, books, Canada, Chief Inspector Gamache, Dogs, Literature, Louise Penny, Murder mysteries, Muses, Three Pines, writing | 2 Comments

Fres-yes? (Wild Kratts Edition)

Posted on September 28, 2016 by PB Rippey

The Wild Kratts are based in Canada. In addition to their TV shows, which are broadcast all over the world, they occasionally venture over the border–mostly into eastern states and the mid-west–to entertain select child-filled crowds with their live show. The energetic brothers have … Continue reading →

Posted in Writing | Tagged 2016, Adventure, animals, children's literature, Fresno, Happy Meal, life, Los Angeles, McDonald's, pangolin, Travelocity, VIP, Wild Kratts, writer's angst, writing | Leave a comment

Ann Patchett’s COMMONWEALTH (In Percentages)

Posted on September 15, 2016 by PB Rippey

Because Maria Semple stated (in an article I read a few days ago) that she is planning to read Ann Patchett’s new novel, ‘Commonwealth’, I (who had no idea Ann Patchett had a new novel coming out, ‘Bel Canto’ still on my … Continue reading →

Posted in Fiction, Writer quotes, Writing, WTF | Tagged 1970's, 2016, Ann Patchett, Commonwealth, Divorce, fiction writing, Maria Semple, novels, State of Wonder, writing | Leave a comment

RIP Poem

Posted on September 13, 2016 by PB Rippey

Because my father resides in me I am what others expect to see– though not as or not ever without less this or that & always 1 count behind or is it ahead of much worse: that 70’s divorce, old split/split … Continue reading →

Posted in Adult writing, books, Poetry, Writing, Writing Progress | Tagged 2016, fathers, Los Angeles, poetry, writer's angst | Leave a comment

Valley Chapbook

Posted on August 6, 2016 by PB Rippey

Part of our summer my son and I spent with family in my Ye Olde Hometown. We ate organic foods. Socialized con gusto. And my soon-to-be-3rd-grader attended a local summer camp. His hands were slobbered by the purple tongues of … Continue reading →

Posted in books, Poetry, Writing | Tagged 2016, 5K Run, beach, domestics, Finishing Line Press, Funk Zone, heatwave, Los Angeles, Nite Moves, personal goals, poetry, Poetry Chapbook, Santa Barbara, shark warnings, West San Fernando Valley, writer, writing | 4 Comments

O Summer!

Posted on August 5, 2016 by PB Rippey

I’ve been quiet since May, after a brief, powerful writer’s retreat. I’ve been busy this summer with what the retreat inspired: Writing. Revising. Writing. Revising a new short story, one screaming for edits of late. It’s almost ready for submission. Compiling … Continue reading →

Posted in Writing | Tagged 2016, beach, fiction, Kauai, life, Los Angeles, middle grade writing, ocean, personal goals, poetry, writer, writer's angst, writing | 2 Comments

Remember the Bunnies

Posted on May 5, 2016 by PB Rippey

WRITER’S RETREAT! Oh, that’s long over now. ‘Tis a distant dream. T’was 2 1/4-ish days of nothing-but-revising, surrounded by foliage, sculpture/fountains and wild bunnies with super white tails. Sequestered in a simple room of my own with a nun’s bed, I … Continue reading →

Posted in Writing | Tagged 2016, bunnies, children's literature, Dogs, fiction writing, life, Los Angeles, writing, writing retreat | 3 Comments

Chapbook Publication

Posted on January 15, 2016 by PB Rippey

Finishing Line Press is releasing my chapbook of poetry, Valley Meditation (with Palomino), March 23rd, 2016. Yes, that’s right: This March, the one right around the corner from El Nino–except that EN isn’t really hitting my portion of summer-deflated valley. … Continue reading →

Posted in Poetry, Steps In Promotion, Writing, Writing Progress | Tagged 2016, chapbook, Finishing Line Press, Los Angeles, poetry, San Fernando Valley, writer, writing | 7 Comments

Psychic

Posted on January 5, 2016 by PB Rippey

Somehow I now live in a neighborhood where the man next door is perfectly okay with hanging a sign from his rented eaves. PSYCHIC SERVICES, the sign declares–bold white on not-so-bold, pretty or eye-catching puce–followed by a phone number. When … Continue reading →

Posted in Adult writing, books, Faction, Fiction, Writing, WTF | Tagged 2016, chaos, fiction writing, gypsy curses, kittens, personal goals, psychics, writing | 2 Comments