At last night’s writing group, this was our prompt: Write a story about someone who can’t get a song out of their head… Here’s my unedited response to May’s ten minute exercise. I lie awake at night with country music playing in my head. Over and over. And over. The weirdest part is that I only […]
Author: Julie Gardner
A Gift for Graduates
Looking for a unique idea for a graduation gift? Well, I’ve got one for you! The inspiration for my first novel, LETTERS FOR SCARLET, came from an assignment I used to do with my senior English classes. Each year on the last day of school, I asked my students to write letters to themselves dated five years […]
The Cold Sweat
Spoiler alert: I prefer control over chaos. If you know me in real life, this won’t come as a surprise. Neither will the fact that merely typing the word surprise makes me break into a cold sweat. No, spontaneity is not my jam. My jam is predictability. Or—probably definitely—blueberry, spread on a bagel toasted […]
I Try Anyway
I spent this past weekend at the University of Oregon visiting my kids. Yes, they were just home for spring break. Yes, I wrote about that pit in my stomach I get each time they leave. A week later, I went to them. Even though they’d just been home with me. I did this because […]
Dear Kids Who Came Home for Spring Break,
It was a great week—ten-ish days—and I’m not complaining. Much. But when you returned to college, you left behind a few things. In your bedrooms: two twisted-up comforters and fresh dents on your pillows. If I laid my head there, I would probably smell your shampoo, so I won’t make your beds. Not yet. In […]
A Paperback by Any Other Name
PEOPLE! I HAVE BIG NEWS! In fact I might be dancing in my living room! Why? I’m glad you asked. LILY BY ANY OTHER NAME is in print, and I’m beyond happy about it! This is my writing group being happy with me. Want to be happy, too? Of course you do. Head to Amazon or […]
More Flagrante, Less Delicto
Like many of you fine people, I appreciate a good dose of irony. In literature. In life. In Alanis Morissette lyrics. (Hey. Let’s not get nit-picky.) Still, there’s something a little bit ironic I can’t support when it comes to parenting. And that irony is this: The very act responsible for creating a baby becomes […]
What Happens in Writing Group Stays in Writing Group Except When it Doesn’t
*Below is my response to a ten-minute writing exercise from our February meeting. The prompt: Describe “That Moment.” My friend Charlene shared hers first. She inspired me to share mine, too. — We were at brunch, just the three of us, a special treat, for sure. I probably had an omelet with a bagel and cream […]
A Hill to Live On
My home sits near the top of a hill. A big hill. Half a mile up, and pretty steep. We moved here in 2001 after I stumbled upon the house on Mother’s Day. Our kids were not quite two and four, and I’d been getting them ready for brunch with my parents. When Bill noticed […]
Notes from the Library Monitor
If you follow me on any social media platform, you know I got a job working for the city of Thousand Oaks in its two library branches. (If you don’t follow me, YOU SHOULD FOLLOW ME! Up on the right, click those icons below Keep up to date… Now you follow me!) After almost a decade […]