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Thanksgiving is upon us. A day of food, family, and friends. A day of giving thanks for all our good fortune.   And with it, the prospect of strife at the dinner table. Democrats vs. RepublicansRex Sox fans vs. Yankees fans Carnivores vs. vegansBeatles vs. StonesCat people vs. dog peopleMouth breathers vs. nose breathers These feuds can sometimes ruin an…

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Back in September, Elysha and I saw Elton John perform in Hartford, CT as part of his “Goodbye Yellow Brick Road” farewell tour. He was fantastic. Both of us left the concert feeling so good. Then I saw the latest John Lewis and Partners, a high end department store in the UK which is famous…

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When you live in a diverse community and your daughter attends a diverse school filled with children of all colors, then princesses can suddenly be any color, too. I found this in Clara’s school folder last night, and it made my night.

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Today’s a big day! My blog – Grin and Bare It – just celebrated its tenth anniversary! Back on November 18, 2008, I wrote my first post. It introduced myself to readers and explained that I had just sold my first novel and was working on my second. I wrote: “I thought that a blog…

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Happy Thanksgiving to all of our listeners in the United States.  Elysha and I are taking the holiday off and rebroadcasting episode #14 of Speak Up Storytelling, which features the joyous story of Renae Edge.  We thought it would be perfect for a Thanksgiving Day listen. Maybe share it with your family. Find us a…

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It’s Saturday night in our house. An evening to relax. Enjoy ourselves. Have some fun. What did our 9 year-old daughter, Clara, choose to do with her free time? She read books on ancient Greece and ancient Rome, and then for funsies decided to create a Venn diagram comparing and contrasting the two cultures. She’s…

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A few days before the midterm elections, Trump told reporters that he listened to one of President Obama’s campaign speeches for Florida Democrats. “I was in the plane,” he said. “I had nothing else to do. He had a very small crowd. They don’t tell you that.” Did you catch that? The leader of the…

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Our son, Charlie, age six, designed a drum kit out of several of his toys. Then he conceptualized a song called “Exploring Your Life” that… well, he can explain better than I ever could. Whenever my kids do something like this, I cannot help but think that when I was their age, I was a…

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Working on one of my next books this morning when I looked up and saw this. Apparently he doesn’t approve of this morning’s progress.

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During the Q&A portions of my author talks, I always invite audience members to ask me challenging questions. No subject is out of bounds. The stranger the better. I even give away prizes to the most challenging questions.  At a recent author talk, perhaps in an attempt to receive a prize, someone asked me “What…

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