Y’all, Today the countdown on my blog says I submitted my thesis—as in, today was the deadline for thesis submission this spring. In actuality, I turned in my thesis TWO WEEKS AGO today! And then, the next morning, Chris and I woke up and moved to Florida. I was offered a position in Orlando, and … More I’m done!
I realize (as with many creative endeavors,) we can sometimes overshoot. I had hoped for internet access while visiting in Alabama the last three weeks. Needless to say, I didn’t have constant access (though I did have cell service!) and got behind on my 105 facts. Still, I had a BLAST in Alabama and accomplished … More All About Alabama (Facts 31-80.)
Everything has finished up so fast! My director has had me revise the first 225 pages already, which feel really tight and cohesive, especially the beginning. Unfortunately, the last 100 pages feel like a train wreck. Tying up endings has proven harder than I imagined. Don’t get me wrong—I know where and how the book … More The Home Stretch
In honor of Valentine’s Day, here are 14 Cal & Ada Claire facts. Cal and Ada Claire are high-school sweethearts, strong parental figures for Ritchie and Selma, and inspired by my grandparents. I always think, even though my grandparents divorced, that they had a deep and complex love. They, like Cal and Ada Claire, were … More 14 Facts for Valentine’s Day
When I was a teenager, I doodled fake family trees in Microsoft Paint for ANY story I wrote. Case in point: (Do you like my gender color-coding? Also, there are a lot of family names in this tree, including Ware, Calhoun, Kendrick, Caroline, Martha, Mary, Vivien, Sarah, and Edward.) But, I would have never thought … More The Womack Family Tree (and facts 9-16!)
5. Gammage’s Drug Store was a real store in Greenville, Alabama. My mother always told me about growing up going to Gammage’s, so I named a Pine Creek store after it. It’s at the same intersection as Langley’s Five and Dime, which is named after my childhood best friend and her family. The depot hadn’t … More Facts 5-8 of 105 Facts!
My Google search history makes me look pretty crazy sometimes. But sometimes, I discover some pretty fascinating stories. … More Stumbling through history.
105 days until my thesis is due! In honor of that, I’m starting a running list of “105 Facts about The Left & the Leaving.” These are facts or Easter eggs I’ve sprinkled into my book: real names, dates, or events, or just subtle nods & inside jokes. This is a running list, and I’ll … More 105 Facts about The Left & the Leaving.
The Left & the Leaving centers around the Womack family, a fictional family in equally fictional Pine Creek, a town in (you guessed it!) fictional Cahawba County, Alabama. The Womacks are real, though, and this fictional line of Womacks descends from the real-life Womacks that settled in Butler County, Alabama, in the early 1800s. My … More The “Real” Womacks
My thesis is due to the George Mason Library in FOUR MONTHS—that’s 120 days! How did we get here so soon? January 24th will mark the start of my last semester of classes, and I only have six credits left to take: 3 in thesis, and 3 in a creative non-fiction (we have to take … More FOUR MONTHS TO GO!
discovering althea 