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Nadine Feldman, Author

celebrating strong female characters and whatever else strikes my fancy

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A to Z Blogging Challenge Theme Reveal!

March 23, 2015 by admin

Good morning, everyone! This year I venture into new territory: my first-ever Blogging from A to Z. Thanks to all the great folks over at the Insecure Writers Support Group for their guidance as I navigate these new waters.

Today’s the day we reveal our themes for the month! And mine is…drumroll, please…

atoz-theme-reveal-2015 Dishing the Dirt: My Gardening Life

After all, it’s springtime, so that means I’m outside. We live on a double lot that is almost entirely garden space. We dug up most of the grass a few years ago so I wouldn’t have to nag my husband to mow. Last week we installed a new front yard fence so I can continue working on my “food forest” concept without having the local deer munch everything to ruins before it can grow.

Gardening makes me more peaceful (no small feat) and reflective of the rest of my life. I’ve only gardened for five years now, so I still have a lot to learn, but the garden teaches me…and it’s fun!

The Blogging from A to Z Challenge begins Wednesday, April 1. You’re welcome to join us, too! It’s not too late.

All of these blogs will be participating in the Challenge, too! I’m still getting to know a lot of these blogs, but there’s some great material in this group, and I’m looking forward to reading what everyone has to say.

See you April 1!

 

Filed Under: blogs, gardening, writing Tagged With: A to Z Challenge, blogging, Blogs, garden, gardening

Random Five Friday

July 19, 2013 by admin

Thanks to my friend Tina Fariss Barbour of Bringing Along OCD, I have hooked up with Nancy’s A Rural Journal for Random Five Friday. Don’t know what I’m getting into yet, but I’ll see how it goes! I invite you to visit these blogs and participate in Nancy’s Random 5 if you so choose.

My Random Five for the week:

  1. It’s been a great harvest week for the garden. Blueberries, onions, artichokes, and lots of tomatoes! I’ve had a bumper crop of peas and have frozen several batches, but they’re just about done for the year. The pumpkins are blooming and zucchinis are forming. 
  2. I volunteer at the office of our local public theatre, Key City Public Theatre. We’ve had a hectic week, selling lots of tickets to a musical history of the world, The Big Bang, and getting ready for Shakespeare in the Park. My husband is an actor who will be performing in Much Ado About Nothing.
  3. I didn’t write a regular blog post this week. Well, actually I wrote several, but nothing feels ready for prime time. Bear with me. I’m hoping that by doing this Random 5, I’ll get back to a regular routine, including book reviews and blog recommendations.
  4. My latest novel concerns a Manhattan-based financial planner who gets unwittingly swept up in the Madoff scandal. At the same time, her estranged aunt has died and left her a house on *cough* the Olympic Peninsula. Soon I plan to start sharing my draft with you.
  5. I’ve learned that it’s impossible to predict the weather here on the Peninsula. When we lived in Houston, we would not only know that a storm was headed our way, but we would know when it would  arrive. Here, the forecasts are useless. The other day we had a predicted high of 81, but it hit 63. There was no rain in the forecast, but my deck was wet this morning. Go figure.

Have a great weekend! See you next week!

Filed Under: blogs Tagged With: A Rural Journal, Bernie Madoff, Blogs, fiction, gardening, Great blogs, novels, Random 5, women's fiction, writing

Book Recommendation: Let’s Pretend This Never Happened

June 12, 2012 by admin

Think of a roller coaster. You get into the seat and feel it inching up, up, up, knowing that at some point you’ll start flying downhill at breathtaking speed, blowing back your hair and facial skin while you scream at the top of your lungs in fear-filled, adrenaline-laced joy.

That about sums up Let’s Pretend This Never Happened (A Mostly True Memoir) by Jenny Lawson, aka The Blogess.

When I first started reading the book, I felt a little…confused. Was I reading an unedited ramble or comic genius? A West Texas native and the daughter of a taxidermist, Lawson describes an unusual life surrounded by animal blood and guts, among other things. Later, she meets and falls in love with Victor, who appears to be the “sane one,” with the exception of his Republican leanings (oops, there goes my political commentary again).

While Lawson takes us on the roller coaster of her life, I couldn’t help but notice that the wizard behind the curtain has managed a long-term marriage and motherhood, so I suspect that there’s a certain amount of cockeyed method to all the madness. If you noticed the mixed metaphor in the previous sentence, well, it somehow seems fitting when writing about this book.

Once I got used to the book’s style, I really enjoyed it and found myself reading passages aloud, gasping through my giggles, to hubby. I think it helps to be a blogger myself — we’re an odd breed, and I related to and understood much more of this book than I would like to admit. And, darn it, she made me cry, too, though I won’t spoil the moment for the rest of you. Let’s just say you’ll know what I’m talking about when you read that particular chapter. I also have had some experience with taxidermy in my home (don’t ask), though not at Lawson’s level, so when she describes her father’s eccentricities, I nod my head in sympathy.

For women “of my age,” Lawson’s free use of the f-bomb and ADD style may be off-putting, but I ended up having a good time with this book. Humor is hard to write well, and I think that for the most part, she succeeds. I admire that in a writer! Spend some time on her blog first so you get a sense of what to expect, and you’ll be fine. I started from scratch, which perhaps wasn’t the best strategy.

At the end of the ride, you’ll get up dazed and dizzy, but with a big, sloppy grin on your face. Enjoy!

Filed Under: blogs, books Tagged With: Blogess, Blogs, books, good books, Jenny Lawson, Let's Pretend This Never Happened, memoir

Blog of the Week: Dating Dementia

June 7, 2012 by admin

Thank you, Zencherry and Tina Fariss Barbour of Bringing Along OCD, for nominating me for blog awards. I will acknowledge you more appropriately next week when I am back from my Peoria/NYC trip — but I wanted to offer a hearty Namaste! and thanks for your continued support.

This morning I head off to a day of Book Expo America, where I will hang out with my editor, Jill Bailin, and browse the exhibits. The Foreign Language of Friends is being exhibited in two different places: the New Title Showcase and the Next Generation Indie Book Awards. I am feeling a bit starstruck, being in the Big Apple and having my little book on display. At heart, I’m still that working-class girl from a small Midwestern town, and I never cease to be surprised at life’s twists and turns. You just never know, eh? Pinch me!

Anyway, enough about that. Today’s the day I recommend a blog! I’m dusting off one of my personal favorites, Dating Dementia by Nancy Wurtzel. Nancy writes about a variety of topics, from the very funny to the heartbreaking. I never know exactly what I’m going to get from her, but it’s always interesting. Divorced with a college-age daughter, Nancy relocated from Los Angeles to rural Minnesota, where she grew up, to care for her mother, who has dementia. Take a look!

Filed Under: blogs, Life Changes, women Tagged With: best blogs, Blogs, Dating Dementia, dementia, Nancy Wurtzel

A Blog for Short Attention Spans

May 17, 2012 by admin

If you ever want something completely different from my somewhat long-winded posts, here’s a blog for you:

Just a Minute, I’m Busy – Glimpses in the Life of a Procrastination Fairy

You’ll find quick thoughts, book reviews, and more, all in bite-size pieces.

In homage to this short, sweet, and fun blog, I’ll keep mine short as well! Have a great weekend, everyone! I’m off to a grantmaking workshop (I’m now on the board of a local nonprofit) and then to enjoy the Rhododendron Festival!

Filed Under: blogs Tagged With: best blogs, Blogs, book review blogs, Just a Minute I'm Busy, procrastination, Rhody Festival

Blog Recommendation of the Week

May 3, 2012 by admin

I would like to thank Tina Fariss Barbour of Bringing Along OCD for nominating me for the Sunshine Blogger Award. Thanks, Tina! I had hoped to post the required elements this week (answering some questions and recommending other blogs for the award), but I have run out of time. So, for this week anyway, I will stick with the usual Thursday format by recommending one blog. I will try to get my act together for next week.

This week, I’m offering one of my favorites. I’ve recommended it before, but Zencherry’s The Zen Corner has upped her game in the humor department. Plus, (hopefully) I have a few more readers than when I last recommended it. Some things bear repeating!

Maureen Hovermale, the Zencherry herself, can find the silliness in everyday life, and her posts often make me laugh out loud. There is a consistent quality in her posts that make me look forward to them day after day. If I had an Erma Bombeck award to give, I would give it to Zencherry.

So, have a laugh!  Have a great weekend, and I’ll see you next week!

Filed Under: blogs Tagged With: best blogs, Blogs, Bringing Along OCD, Erma Bombeck, Great blogs, Maureen Hovermale, The Zen Corner, Zencherry

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