Posts by Christina Consolino
Even More Words for the New Year 4
Each new year, I try to focus on a set of words to guide me through the next fifty-two weeks. Last year, I identified these words. What is not started today is never finished tomorrow. ~ Johann Wolfgang von Goethe Sadly, I promptly forgot those words. That’s not to say that I didn’t start new…
Read MoreGingerbread
In all my years of baking, I have not once baked real gingerbread nor made any gingerbread people. But my children love most of the gingerbread man book variations out there. So this year when Melina said, “Can we make some real gingerbread people?” I said yes. I would have scoured the internet for a…
Read MoreThe Card
The mother walks to the mailbox, a lightness to her step. Her daughter is expecting a set of stickers, handmade from an artist on Etsy, to be used for a game that she’s constructing. That daughter has been waiting patiently for days, and each time she sees the mother exit the house and reach into…
Read MoreBroken Hearts Indeed Do Crack, Part V
To see parts I, II, III, and IV of this story, click here, here, here, and here. Caroline had always had poor vision, but the fog and the low-hanging street lights made it very hard to determine whether or not Adam was still standing at the church. But then, a gust of wind tugged his…
Read MoreI Am
Ever since she discovered HGTV, Melina envisions becoming an interior designer. Thanks to shows like Property Brothers, Fixer Upper, and Love It or List It, she talks about open floor plans, wainscoting, and the difference between coffered and tray ceilings. She draws floor plans of houses she might like to help build someday, and her…
Read MoreAn Interview with Jess Montgomery
When Jess Montgomery was six, she wrote one of her earliest stories, “The Fireman,” in which a fireman rescues a kitten from the top of a tree. For those of us who know Jess Montgomery (a pen name for author Sharon Short), the topic of that story is not surprising. Jess is one of the…
Read MoreAn Interview with C.L. Pauwels
C. L. Pauwels is a woman of many talents: author, teacher, editor, writers’ workshop assistant director, literary citizen, mother, grandmother, and wife to name a few. She’s also on a mission to make a positive impact on this world and not just with her writing: Pauwels is passionate about healthcare, equal rights, and climate change…
Read MoreThankful, II
1 : conscious of benefit received* Eleanor bowed her head and clasped her hands together. She shut her eyes and concentrated on Larry’s voice—too loud, too boisterous, too everything for this occasion. “For what we are about to receive, let us be thankful,” he said, and if he said anything else, which he probably did—something…
Read MoreAn Interview with Laura Laakso
According to author Laura Laakso, “books and storytelling have always been a big part of her life, be it in the form of writing fanfiction, running tabletop role playing games or, more recently, writing original fiction.” By day, she serves as an accountant, but when not crunching numbers or spending time with her dogs, she…
Read More14
Dear Aaron, Last year, on the occasion of your birthday, I celebrated thirteen reasons I love you. Those reasons spanned the gamut, from your smile to your confidence to your love for our animal housemates (no, I’m not referring to your sisters), but every one of them encompassed you. I went on to wish you…
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