Steps and Exes by Laura Kalpakian

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Laura Kalpakian wrote my all-time favorite line in Steps and Exes:

“Bullshit,” said Eve,

but not too loud.

The book is set at Useless Point on Isadora Island, a fictional artistic enclave in the San Juan Islands of the Pacific Northwest. The heroine, Celia Henry, became a young widow before she realized her late husband was not Henry West ~ she had married Henry Westervelt, the scion of a lumber baron family. Her life is unconventional and filled with a tribe of step children and ex-spouses and lovers. She runs a bed and breakfast on property that belonged to Henry’s great aunt Sophia. (See Educating Waverly by Laura Kalpakian.)

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Seattle’s Got Talent!!!

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Kari Callen works as a radiology technician for a trauma hospital here in Seattle. She has a facial deformity which caused a cruise ship auditioner to refuse to listen to her sing. Big mistake, buddy! Huge mistake!

The audience was absolutely mesmerized when she belted out “Somewhere” from West Side Story. Goose bumps. Chills.

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Vernetta in O Magazine: Does Oprah Finally Get It?

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Good questions. I think most women who experience domestic violence would like to know the answers. As I read and digested the article, I realized the Vernetta’s story is all our stories. We are conditioned by the system to think we’re the only ones who think the system doesn’t work. The truth is that it doesn’t work for most of us. “Fell through the cracks,” is a phrase that sets my teeth on edge. Callous indifference is more accurate.

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Lobbying 101: Violence Against Women Act Funding

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Many women and children ~ some men too ~ are finding there isn’t much justice in our legal system. In fact, the legal system is easily manipulated as an instrument of abuse. Several bloggers, especially WordPress’ MamaLiberty, are vigilant watchdogs. If you haven’t visited her site, I encourage you to do so. You will laugh. You will cry. You may get angry.

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Nancy P. Tyler: Will Her Nightmare Ever End?

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Is Nancy Tyler’s nightmare over? I doubt it. Arrest and court records hold abundant evidence that Richard intends to kill Nancy. The clear pattern is that his brother will pay the bail, Richard will be released, and the court proceedings will drag on and on. Even if he is convicted, Nancy fears the day he will be released from prison. Richard has threatened too many times.

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Bridges, Chapter Two

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He was worried. She seemed to be having the hallucinations of a dying person. He was right about the dying. “Who the hell is Anne Elizabeth Bellingham?” he demanded hoping she would drift back into reality. “Bridges,” was her whispered reply, “bridges. You must write the story.”

He wanted to know more, but she was no longer grasping his hand. He knew she was gone. He couldn’t cry. He couldn’t move. She was gone, and he didn’t know who it was lying in that bed. Was it the woman he had loved or a stranger?

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