Love, life, & Living
I Hugged Until I Couldn’t Anymore
I Hugged Until I Couldn’t Anymore. I’m a hugger. I like to hug. I typically, but not always, give a warning like, “I’m coming in for a hug.” There’s usually time for the huggee to get their arms up. But, again, not always. Sometimes it’s me hugging people the way a panda snuggles a bamboo…
Read MoreWorry Is What You Do
Worry is what you do… (If you want to hear me read this 4-minute piece you can listen here: https://inside-stories.simplecast.com/episodes/inside-stories-covid-19-stories-2 I’m at about 2:38.) My daughter called yesterday. “Mom, They’re running out of gloves and masks. She’s 23 and still in orientation as a brand new ICU nurse. We have that guy in a coma,…
Read MoreI Thought You Said This Would Work
I Thought You Said This Would Work This is both the title of my new book and what I say to my writer friends, agent, and publisher. I say, “I wrote this book, do you like it? Is it working?” And my people say, “Sort of, kind of, maybe, almost. Try this.” Then I go…
Read MoreA Quick Question. I Need Some Tips
Quick question. Who here has gone on vacation entirely alone? No conference or professional meeting to take up your time, no friend waiting at the airport to whisk you off for a chat. Alone. Alone. I’m asking about solo traveling. Sacajawea without the hangers-on, Lewis and Clarke. Amelia Earhart without the scary flying goals. Just…
Read MoreSo many confessions, so little time
So many confessions, so little time. Hi, I’m Ann Garvin, and I like my screen time. Hear me out. I like my screens, but I also enjoy quiet time walking my dog outside. I like to stare into space and read real books. I love talking to my neighbors, going to listen to music, eating…
Read MoreHard To Get, Hard To Keep
Hard To Get, Hard To Keep. In almost thirty years of teaching health, I find that I still want to talk about health stuff. You’d think I would be sick to death of trying to help people feel better. But, I’m a stubborn little know-it-all and I can’t stop myself. So here goes. I was…
Read MoreLast Night I Had A Party In My Bed
Last night I had a party in my bed. No, this is not another essay about my dating life. This is a public service announcement that might revitalize the Just Say No campaign of the Nineties and is a good example of my non-perfect life. If you ever thought that I had a perfect life.…
Read MoreLift Don’t Suppress Others
Lift Don’t Suppress Others. Thirty-five Years After How to Suppress Women’s Writing In 1983, the University of Texas Press published Joanna Russ’s landmark “How to Suppress Women’s Writing”, which enumerated and elaborated on the many ways women writers had been kept out of the canon. Almost forty years later, it remains distressingly true that, as…
Read MoreCan I Pick Your Brain
Can I Pick Your Brain? The Fine Line Between Giving Back and Getting Paid The right connections in publishing can jumpstart your career and make the journey more enjoyable. But there is a fine line when asking for a favor (or a freebie) and networking. This panel looks at how emerging writers can gracefully navigate…
Read MoreCake Without The Calories
Cake Without the Calories There is a man outside my house shoveling my sidewalk. I can hear him chopping and scraping against the inches of slush and ice that has collected on my concrete path and driveway. It’s a miserable job; unending and one that Sisyphus himself could totally get into. Push the slush, watch…
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