If you’ve seen any of my other recent posts, you know that 2021 is my year of reading romance novels, so imagine my delight when I got an email from the Senior Class Dean (Hi, CC!) saying that Romance Writers of America Hall of Famer, Julia Quinn (aka Julie Cotler Pottinger, Hotchkiss ’87) will be…
“Why”…Wednesdays
125. Why I Don’t Have a Favorite Word
Recently, when I was on dining hall duty (don’t bother asking unless you’re really curious, in which case, ask away), a group of four students (Hi, CC, LG, EH, and BJ!) asked me to tell them my favorite word. I glibly said, “splendid,” which they rejected as not very long or interesting. I tried, “defenestration,”…
124. Why Do You Write That Stuff?
[In my MFA program at Southern New Hampshire University, I was lucky enough to have Patricia Lillie as my Capstone Project teacher, which means that I got her for three classes in a row. I found her supportive, realistic, and thoughtful. As the best teachers do, she pushed me in all the ways I needed…
123. Why Beverly Jenkins
The screenshot above shows you this month’s spotlight romance author, Beverly Jenkins with a few of her almost fifty novels’ covers. I read as many of her books as my three library aps allowed (seven books) and thoroughly enjoyed her style. Having come off my Lisa Kleypas month, I was immediately struck by the heroines…
122. Why Gardiner
[I took a screen shot fo the picture above from a site called Almost Chose People, which seems like a pretty great name for a website. The relevant part is the seventh name in the last column.] Carita Gardiner isn’t my real name. Well, fine, it is the name I was given at birth, but…
121. Why AWARE
In late May and early June, after George Floyd’s murder became public, I knew I had a lot to learn about systemic racism. I didn’t phrase it as creating a book club, but that was my plan, to read and learn. I offered to help organize an Anti-Racism 101 reading group for everyone at my…
120. Why Vaccinate
When this post goes live, I will be two weeks past my second shot of Moderna’s COVID-19 vaccine. It’s hard for me to express how amazed by and grateful I am for the scientists and doctors who managed to create vaccines to end this pandemic. I’m thrilled to have modified RNA running through my veins,…
119. Why Way Leads on to Way Leads to a Derek Craven Education
[photo above comes from Fated Mates’ website’s “Derek Craven Day” page. More on that below.] It’s hard for me to know where to start on this post because as I wrote in the title, way leads on to way. Thanks, Bobby Frost for pointing that out. The idea for this entry started with my resolution…
118. Why Give Blood
[Today’s Why Wednesday post is very special to me for several reasons: First, I’m a big fan of the woman who wrote it. She used to work at Hotchkiss and always brought cheerful kindness to every task and interaction. She helped me get Conventions of Composition online, for which I’ll be forever grateful. Second, she…
117. Why We’re on a Bridge…and Which Way We Need to Go
The photo above shows the coolest bridge I’ve ever crossed, though I didn’t take this picture. I screenshot it from a tourism site for the Bahamas. If you ever get a chance to go to Eleuthera, Bahamas, I recommend taking time to stop at the Glass Window Bridge that has the Atlantic on one side…