Welcome To My Website!!!

This site has been in the works for a long time—in my head, on the drawing board, under construction. While it is ready now to be seen, it is and will always be a work in progress—a place of constant growth and change. A showcase for working writers. An oasis for teachers. A resource for readers, students and writers-to-be. A go-to site for those who want writing ideas, a quick lesson or something new to read. A place to find encouragement, motivation and a reason to write. A classroom, a laboratory, a happy place, a club that anyone can join.

These are my goals for this little corner of cyberspace. They’re a lot, I know. And so far, I’ve only scratched the surface. But if you’ll stick around and check back often, you’ll notice steady progress.

Here’s a brief tour of the site.

• The HOME PAGE is where descriptions of the books that I have created will live. I hope you’ll give them a look and consider adding them to your personal collection.
• The BLOG PAGE is me being me. Expect some silliness, some seriousness, some pedagogy and some random thoughts. This is my “whichever-way-the-wind-blows” page.
• The NEWSLETTER PAGE is a place for you to sign up for “Hitherward and Heretofore,” my quarterly newsletter. Past newsletters will eventually be archived on this page, too. Not quite there yet.
• The FOR READERS PAGE gets us to the heart of the site. This page is divided into six categories, each of which will grow over time.
  • The Book Club Discussion Notes section provides suggestions and insights for using my Saving Our Lives books in your book clubs. This will make it easier for club leaders to plan discussions and generate engagement.
  • The Book Reviews are, for now anyway, all written by me about books that sit on my personal bookshelf. Rarely best sellers, the books I own are an eclectic collection of titles that I bought always meaning to read. These are the ones that made the cut.
  • The Links section is a list of internet links to things that appear in the three volumes of Saving Our Lives. They will take you to some of the places that inspired my work. There’s still a lot to add, so check back.
  • The Read Me section is an ever-available free sample of my work. It will rotate periodically.
  • The Guest Book section will showcase the published book of a local indie author. I’m excited to watch this section grow.
  • The Videos section will happen. It’s just a bit overwhelming for me right now. Stay tuned.
• The FOR WRITERS PAGE is my baby. This page is divided into eight categories and is where I have the most fun!
  • The Artfully Said section is a series of writing ideas based on great art—paintings mostly. Art definitely begets art, and paintings are a great source of writing ideas. Here each writing suggestion appears with the piece of art from which it was generated.
  • The Comma Down section will help get you through some of your most frustrating punctuation dilemmas starting with (what else?) commas!
  • The jury is still out on what will become of the DIY section. Stay tuned.
  • The Etudes section is a series of writing ideas based on great music. Here you’ll find writing suggestions alongside links (mostly YouTube) to the music from which they were generated.
  • The Prompt-ly section will be full of quickies—writing prompts that will get you writing in a flash!
  • The Teachers’ Corner will help teachers use this site in their classrooms.
  • The Right Word section is a series of short lessons on words that people mix up all the time. Here’s your chance to correct mistakes you might not even know you’re making!
  • The Visiting Writers section is my very favorite. It’s a place where you can read the work of other writers I know, both published and unpublished, who say wonderful things in wonderful ways.
• The ABOUT THE AUTHOR PAGE will tell you a bit about me.
• The PRESS KIT PAGE is a question mark right now. I’m leaving it there as I mull over what to do with it.

As you can see, this site will be dynamic and progressive. It’s ambitious for sure, but I’m excited to take it on. I hope you’ll find it useful and fun.

My thanks to Paula Pierce of HostingCT for her professionalism, expertise, and infinite patience in the development of this site. I can be pokey and indecisive at times, but she managed this site (and me) with grace and skill. You can find her at www.hostingct.com.

Thanks for joining me on this new adventure!

D.