Durham NC Street Art: Decorative Downtown
June 30, 2020
In my Five Questions Series I interview writers and offer them a platform for their work. It now seems appropriate to also offer space to visual artists. Over the past few weeks, the boarded-up store fronts in my town have turned into an outdoor art show. I now live in… read more
Tightening Your Plot: Three More Tips
June 26, 2020
You have a great story in mind. Really great. You sit down to write, all fired up … and then you wobble and go off the rails. With some effort you find the storyline only to get sidetracked again. Eventually you’re holding a bunch of loose threads. Here are some… read moreTighten Your Plot: First Two Tips
June 23, 2020
You have a great story in mind. Really great. You sit down to write, all fired up … and then you wobble and go off the rails. With some effort you find the storyline only to get sidetracked again. Eventually you’re holding a bunch of loose threads. Here are some… read more
African American Vernacular English
June 16, 2020
African American Vernacular English (AAVE) has a number of names, including Black Vernacular English. For many decades now linguists have studied AAVE. They understand it not as a defective form of Standard English. Rather it is a variety of English in its own right. It has its own lexicon, grammar… read more
Confederate Monuments / Monument(al) Mistakes
June 12, 2020
In these past two months I have interrupted the pace of my usual Tuesday-Friday blog postings. World and national events currently take precedence in my life over writing about my chosen topics of language, love and adventure. During this time I have been reposting blogs that are as relevant now… read more
World Travel Pandemic Style: From My Armchair
May 26, 2020
My tag line touts love, language, adventure … out of the ordinary. Over the years I’ve shared with you experiences I’ve had around the world. From Kazakhstan to Cuba to California. But now? How does one engage in world travel in the present circumstances? World Travel: The Current Reality Europe is… read more
Eswatini: A Place to Know in the World
May 12, 2020
Eswatini. You may know it as Swaziland. Or you may not know it at all. It got on my radar yesterday when a reader wrote me: “Thank you soo much Julie. Was able to download 5 books, currently reading The Temporary Bride and am loving it. Thank you soo much… read moreLoading