As soon as I thought about one of my favorite women in history — there are so many! — the poet, Emily Dickinson , came to mind. She was born in 1830 in Amherst, MA, and had only 10 poems published, yet she wrote almost 1800. Nobody really knew about her passion until after she died and her sister found the poems. The sister had a collection published, but allowed the poems to be edited to fit popular fashion (bah humbug!). Only in 1955 did Thomas H. Johnson create The Comple

Women’s History Month has arrived! Every Monday I’ll post a question that’ll hopefully encourage you to think more deeply about the women who’ve been in your lives. My answer to this question: women who help, but if they need it, accept help, too. I’ve found that’s a necessary combo for every character I’ve ever created, and for myself, too, which I discovered while writing BLISS ROAD . I’ll be the first to admit that the second part of that combo is sometimes wicked hard. _

A story that touches on anything Alzheimer’s might seem too heavy from the get-go, but PERFECT LITTLE WORLDS by Clifford Mae Henderson injects so much humor and humanity that I found myself alternately smiling and tearing up. In 1989, Lucy Mustin, a middle-aged lesbian cake baker from Portland, gets a call from her possibly autistic, and definitely neurodiverse sister, Alice, who says she needs help with their dementia-affected mother. Lucy reluctantly makes the long drive

Buy NOW! Valentine's Day has never seemed like a fair holiday: if you don't have a love interest, too bad for you. So Valentine’s Day has become, for me, a day about loving yourself. And if you're like Mary Donahue does in SCATTERED LIGHT , you might have to learn to love yourself. Because it’s hard to love others if we don’t love ourselves! ___ For updates about Martha’s forthcoming books, news and giveaways, subscribe to her website: MarthaEngber.com . SCATTERED LIGHT , a n

Jazz greats Ella Fitzgerald , Sarah Vaughan , John Coltrane , Miles Davis and Duke Ellington When I was a junior in college for broadcast journalism, I was hungry for all of the experience I could get, so I volunteered for a shift as a DJ for the school-owned, professionally run radio station at the University of Missouri - Columbia . The director made sure all students took a first shift for the classical music show, primarily because he had trouble filling that spot. I did

Do you know any Dungeons & Dragons fans? If so, share this post, because the creators of this new D&D module deserve a shoutout for their unique twist on a traditionally very male game. Specifically, my friend and fellow writer, Cathy Thrush, and her husband, Tom, have just published their FOURTH ROMANTIC MODULE FOR COUPLES! Yes, the Thrushes , who own Urban Realms , have created a series called Date Night Dungeons and this module is titled Heroes of the Henge . The descrip

Buy NOW! I started researching THE WIND THIEF in 1995, the story of Madina, a strange, young Sahara Desert woman who believes she can stop a forthcoming war of winds, and Ajay, the young male thief from Mumbai who tries to dissuade her. The concept of climate change had been a thing for some thirty years already. What inspired me more than any news reports about a warming globe and more severe weather, however, was experiencing nature while backpacking. Standing atop a snow-

FLOATING IN THE MIDDLE sings about nature like no other! Set on the gorgeous, but rough California coast north of San Francisco, seven friends unite for a weekend in a remote beach house. Rather than just fun and games, however, Tam, the protagonist, has come to find out if, after long separation from her husband, Jamie, he’s willing to try again. Because she is. Tension continues to build via the feisty dynamics of people who’ve known one another for a long time, and from n

Buy NOW! SCATTERED LIGHT is showing up in mailboxes and I’m loving the photos and reviews people are sending my way! Thank you, reader friends, for your support! ___ For updates about Martha’s forthcoming books, news and giveaways, subscribe to her website: MarthaEngber.com . SCATTERED LIGHT , a novel, sequel to WINTER LIGHT , (Nov. 2025) THE FALCON, THE WOLF AND THE HUMMINGBIRD  a historical novel BLISS ROAD ,  a memoir WINTER LIGHT , a novel, in paperback and audiobook THE

Buy NOW! Elaina Battista-Parsons’ CHOMP, PRESS, PULL fully immersed me into the life of someone whose senses go off like fireworks! The author talks about growing up in New Jersey with sensory dysfunction before anyone had a name for experiencing life in a hyper-vibrant sensory way. Though often not idyllic in a world where most people’s senses are calibrated toward the middle, her rich, often very funny descriptions left me wishing I could experience her dynamism of touch,

Buy NOW! I love strong, feisty, smart female protagonists. In THE MAESTRO'S DAUGHTER by Catherine Thrush (The Lady Blade Series Book 1), teen Francesca de DiCesare, daughter of the Maestro, a famous fencing master in 1716 Tuscany, Italy, is all that. A natural rebel, Francesca strongly objects to everything young ladies are supposed to learn in order to become the wives of nobles. Cooking, household management, gardening. No thanks! What she really wants to do is fence like

Read NOW! My thanks goes out to Barbara Bos of Women Writers, Women’s Books , which just published my essay, "Scattered Light": How Fiction Can Help Us Heal Our Own Past Trauma . I hope you take a read and let me know: Does fiction help you discover more about yourself, and in some cases, heal? ___ For updates about Martha’s forthcoming books, news and giveaways, subscribe to her website: MarthaEngber.com . SCATTERED LIGHT , a novel, sequel to WINTER LIGHT , (Nov. 2025) THE F

Jim Zervanos’ newest book, AMERICAN GYRO is a deeply immersive dive into the world of a Greek-American family in the Philadelphia area. When the book opens, we’re with teenager Johnny Demos’ as he and his family keep vigil at the deathbed of Johnny's grandfather, the patriarchal immigrant who established a restaurant on which the family continues to thrive. But Johnny wants to be free of the expectation he’ll remain in the area and work at the restaurant. He’s got his own dr

I joined the California Writers Club eons ago when I first moved to the state. I’m still involved years later because what an impressive organization! According to the Website history: The informal gatherings of Jack London, poet George Sterling and short story writer Herman Whitaker, among others, eventually formed the Press Club of Alameda. In 1909, a faction of the membership split off to form the California Writers Club with Austin Lewis, an English civil libertarian, as

Order NOW! I don’t know about you, but I was reared in a family of three girls. And while the careers back then were only just opening up...

While doing research for my next book, I found an article by the Los Angeles Urban League, “Remembering Onie B. Granville, Founder of...

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Seriously, folks! Over the years, the prose written by the winners of the Bulwer-Lytton Fiction Contest has never failed to crack me up....

by Doug Teschner, Beth Malow and Becky Robinson Coming in September 2025 You might not know that I’m the host of Vigilant Positivity , a...

I’m not a huge fan of having my photo taken, but I never liked my old photo and so decided to contact a few local photographers to...