Episode 57: Becoming an Author with Chris Thelen
March 8, 2024
Podcast with author Chris G. Thelen about his thriller, Islands of Deception … More Episode 57: Becoming an Author with Chris Thelen
Tag: books
Episode 52: Unlocking Secrets with Vicki and Wynne
February 2, 2024
In this episode, I’m with my co-host Dr. Vicki Atkinson and we’re talking about unlocking secrets. Both Vicki and I have published books about family. Vicki about her mom, Sue, and me about my dad, Dick. As we’ve discussed in other podcasts, writing about family is hard. But it’s also instructive – we learn so … More Episode 52: Unlocking Secrets with Vicki and Wynne
Episode 51: The Magic of Stories with Dave Williams
January 26, 2024
In this episode of the podcast, I’m with my co-host, Dr. Vicki Atkinson, and we’re talking with author and illustrator, Dave Williams. I love bookstores and have a soft spot for any book written in them. Novels like The Thirteenth Tale by Diane Setterfield and The Storied Life of A.J. Fikry by Gabrielle Zevin are … More Episode 51: The Magic of Stories with Dave Williams
Light, Love & Gifting
December 10, 2023
Here at Heart of the Matter we writers are dabbling with the concept of “light” this month. As you may have read, our talented team has done a terrific job of bringing heartfelt stories forward, literally reflecting their creative insight about the word LIGHT and all the various manifestations of its meaning. LIGHT. LIGHT. LIGHT. In … More Light, Love & Gifting
How a curious little monkey changed the world
September 27, 2023
When I was very young, I would crawl into my mother’s lap wearing my onesie pajamas and beg for a glass of milk and for her to read to me. I had a series of favorite books, everything from The Poky Little Puppy; Clifford, the Big Red Dog; The Little Engine That Could; Corduroy; The Berenstain Bears; to Katy and … More How a curious little monkey changed the world
Inspirations
August 27, 2023
I appreciate and admire my blogging friends who share their observations about people, whether in chance encounters doing everyday things or sweet reminiscences about home and hearth from days gone by. Examples? Ally Bean and slices of human nature at the grocery store; Deborah and a forested encounter with a woman wearing her favorite color … More Inspirations
Episode 26: Eye of the Tiger with Mark Petruska
July 14, 2023
Last week Mark Petruska wrote a post Eye of the tiger, thrill of the fight that spoke to me deeply. First of all, who doesn’t love a good anthem to get them going when life is going very well? [Vicki has a great resource for finding personal anthems, see link at the bottom of the … More Episode 26: Eye of the Tiger with Mark Petruska
Episode 25: The Book Publishing Journey with Vicki Atkinson
July 7, 2023
The other night I was sitting at dinner with my dear blogging friend, Betsy Kerekes, and mentioned that she has written three books. After dinner she jokingly said to me something like, “it was a great dinner except for having to get out of talking about my books.” I thought to myself, “oh good, I’m … More Episode 25: The Book Publishing Journey with Vicki Atkinson
Episode 23: Marv Taking Charge with Lois Roelofs
June 23, 2023
When I sat down to read Lois Roelofs’ excellent book, Marv Taking Charge, I didn’t expect that the word I’d come away with after finishing would be “uplifting.” After all, I knew that it was an end-of-life story of a wonderful man, Marv, and Lois’ support and honoring of him as he spends his final … More Episode 23: Marv Taking Charge with Lois Roelofs
Episode 22: Themes in “Surviving Sue” with Vicki Atkinson
June 16, 2023
I think it’s safe to say that writing is a solitary pursuit. I don’t know of anyone who writes while hanging out with other people. I mean we might write in a coffee shop but not usually when we are carrying out a conversation with others. This might be why I find it so fascinating … More Episode 22: Themes in “Surviving Sue” with Vicki Atkinson
The Heart of the Matter 