Ten Women Writers Who Most Influenced My Work

Feb 14, 2012 | Books

Helensadornementsblog just started a series called, Ten Influential Women Who Have Influenced My Life and Inspired Me. The blog features a post about how each of the women on the list has played a part in how Helen makes daily decisions and lives her life. It reminded...

The Quiet Desperation of Suburban Living

Dec 9, 2011 | Books, Home

I was tempted to jump on the holiday bandwagon and make this blog about Christmas, but I just finished Freedom by Jonathan Franzen and had to write about it. I probably would not have read the novel if a friend from my writing group hadn’t recommended. She thought it...

Reading and Ruminating – Krik?Krak!

Nov 18, 2011 | Books, Quotes

Lately, I’ve had a lot of free time on my hands so I decided to volunteer at a local shelter for women. I thought it might be helpful if I taught a writing class, but the program didn’t really lend itself to that type of thing.  I went to the volunteer...

Hemingway Lesson Part II – Replenish your creative well

Oct 7, 2011 | Books

I love the scene from The Shining when Shelley Duvall goes into Jack Nicolson’s office and finds a stack of paper with “All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy” typed repeatedly for hundreds of pages. When I first saw it, back the 80’s, it really creeped me out....

Lessons by Hemingway Part I

Sep 29, 2011 | Books

I’ve had a really hard time writing my blog this week. The problem started Monday morning. After forty minutes of writing my morning pages, I dashed off to the airport to pick up my son. I took him home and then ran a few errands. By one o’clock, I was on the opposite...

Hemingway – A Moveable Feast

Sep 22, 2011 | Books

Lately I’ve been obsessed with reading novels that fictionalize famous authors. I read The Secret Confessions of Anne Shakespeare (about Shakespeare’s wife) and Becoming Jane Eyre (about the inner life of Charlotte Bronte). Part of the obsession is my love of history....