Chapter One: March 1889

When he emerged from underground after hours of toil, David couldn’t deny the protest of his back any longer. But two years over thirty, his body gave him pain that he didn’t think he’d feel until he was an old man. He knew the men who worked bel...

*written for "Choices" magazine/ summer 2019 edition

There's nothing like a milestone to make you take inventory of your life's accomplishments (or lack thereof). My twentieth high school reunion is approaching this summer, and while I see a few fine lines in the mirror...

Write what you know.” I believe it’s the most common writing advice an aspiring author will hear. It’s a worthy consideration, but it’s seemed hollow at times and not always helpful. While it’s important to write from what one knows of life: its wonder, joys, triumphs,...

written for "Choices" magazine 

If Washington state is known for anything in its late August days, its the detrimental wildfires. Threatening, sometimes devastating, the flames spread through farmland, creating chaos and rendering the sky full of hazy smoke. For most th...

*article written for Judi Moreo's personal growth/development publication, "Choices"

When considering life's journey, it helps to think of myself ascending a spiral staircase. This visual reminds me that there are steps behind, steps still ahead, and that anything I'm c...

for "Choices" publication 

When these moments happen, they give you pause. Sometimes you feel chills up and down your spine at the stunning nature of them. Or they make you shake your head because they're that uncanny and so incredibly personalized to your situation. Sy...

• Do you want to live out of fear or love? It's become the guiding question of my life, and I'm grateful for it. I know which one wins as I pick up the pen and share a reflection on February 5, 2018, the day we were supposed to meet our third child.

• Why fear at...

Traveling seems to elude me now that I’m busy raising two little kids ages five-and-a-half and four. But I have a backlog of trips that left a sweet aftertaste, so much so that I can practically take myself to clear Caribbean seas or to the rainy Scottish highlands for...

Prologue:

1889

       When he emerged from underground after hours of sweat-inducing toil, David Burnett couldn’t deny the protest of his back any longer. But two years over thirty, and his body gave him pain that he didn’t think he’d feel until he clamored out of bed as...

So write your story as it needs to be written. Write it honestly, and tell it as best you can. I'm not sure that there are any other rules. Not ones that matter." — Neil Gaiman

"There's still restraint in your writing." one of my sisters recently told me, "What would ha...