Five Things - March 17, 2025

Welcome to my blog titled ‘Five Things’ where you can expect just that - five random musings or reflections from the previous week or so. I’ll also share a quote I find meaningful as a point of focus for the week. For a photo gallery of our life on the road, our pets, and miscellaneous things I find interesting, you can follow me on Instagram @tabithalord.

So here are this week’s five things, starting with the quote of the week…

1. "When we lose the right to be different, we lose the privilege to be free." - Charles Evans Hughes

2. Did you know that Kevlar was invented by a woman named Stephanie Kwolek in 1965? In honor of Women’s History Month, and because I am a total science geek at heart, I encourage you to read more about her on The Science History Institutes blog page. As a chemist for DuPont laboratories, she was tasked with investigating the next generation of fibers capable of performing in extreme conditions, and she came up with Kevlar! In 1995 she was induction into the National Inventors Hall of Fame in 1995, only the 4th woman of 113 members at the time. One of Kwolek’s most cited papers describes how to demonstrate condensation polymerization in a beaker at atmospheric pressure and room temperature (a lot of words for a fairly straightforward reaction). It’s commonly called the ‘Nylon Rope Trick,’ and it is one of the experiments I remember distinctly replicating in Organic Chemistry class many years ago!

3. This Saturday, our youngest child will turn 21. This age, for the obvious reason that she can now legally join us at bars, feels more significant than 18. And, don’t worry, we’ve already taught her to mix a good martini! When I think about Kyra, aside from her incredible musical talent, her voice like an angel, her own unique style and vibe, and her intellectual prowess, I think about her kindness. In a world where cruelty still holds sway, this child of ours is thoughtful, caring, intentional, and above all, kind. Happy birthday, sweet Kyra. You are a beautiful, bright light, and this world is a better place because you’re in it.

4. I’ll be heading to Folsom, CA this week for a ‘sister’ visit. Since Ray and I have been on the road, we’ve definitely spent time with family and friends all over the country, but I used to go to my sister’s a couple of times a year for girl time, and I’ve really missed that. My visit just so happens to coincide with Persian New Year, so I expect I will barely be able to zip my jeans after partaking in the fabulous feast! I’ll try to post some photos of the delish dishes over on Insta.

5. We’re at the midpoint in the semester for school, just finishing our Science Fiction and Fantasy sections and heading into Horror. Mostly, I really dislike the genre, but I have on occasion loved a horror story. Shirley Jackson’s “The Lottery” sticks with me still. The Stand is an all-time favorite read, and I tore through What Moves the Dead, a retelling of Edgar Allan Poe’s The Fall of the House of Usher for class last week. I think I dislike horror because I want to love a flawed character, who in the end comes through on the side of good. With horror, the characters can serve another purpose. Horror writing often features characters who are unlikeable, or who have a fatal flaw, who are the victim, or who are themselves the horror. Funny enough, I notice in my own horror writing, I too use character differently. Charlie, from my short story “Goodbye Charlie,” which you can listen to HERE (my story starts at 18:40) is not my favorite guy, but he’s right for his role. And in “Monster” (coming soon on the Tales to Terrify podcast), both the characters of Cora and Mama are pretty monstrous. Studying Horror is certainly helping me understand the genre better, if not enjoy it more.

Five Things - March 3, 2025

Welcome to my blog titled ‘Five Things’ where you can expect just that - five random musings or reflections from the previous week or so. I’ll also share a quote I find meaningful as a point of focus for the week. For a photo gallery of our life on the road, our pets, and miscellaneous things I find interesting, you can follow me on Instagram @tabithalord.

So here are this week’s five things, starting with the quote of the week…

1. “We must always take sides. Neutrality helps the oppressor, never the victim. Silence encourages the tormentor, never the tormented.” - Elie Wiesel

2. In honor of Women’s History Month, and in keeping with my own love of all things nerdy, I encourage you to read about Vera Rubin, an astronomer whose research proved the existence of dark matter. Dark matter is a mysterious substance that’s believed to make up more than a quarter of the universe. It outweighs regular matter, and it plays an important role in galaxy formation and the evolution of the universe. Born in 1928, and coming of age in the ‘40s, Rubin faced extraordinary challenges as a woman working in a male dominated field. Her life and accomplishments are well-chronicled in this article on the National Women’s History Museum webpage. Check it out here: Vera Rubin. In honor of her achievements, the Large Synoptic Survey Telescope in Chile has been named the Vera C. Rubin Observatory.

3. Looking ahead to March, I’ve got a lot of school work to complete before spring break, so I’ll have my nose to the grindstone, so to speak. After break, it will be time to narrow down my thesis project ideas. For this MFA program, the thesis is a full-length novel, and I’ll need to present a minimum of three proposals to the program director. It’s exciting to know I’ll have the backing of my classmates and a thesis mentor as I work on this project, but per usual, until I have the idea locked down and the outline solid in my head, I’ll be a little stressed!

4. I’m also currently writing a synopsis for a novel work-in-progress. When I went back to school, I left this particular project at the half-way mark. Now, I have to think it through and outline the second half of the book. I’m excited to do it, but it’s also daunting, especially when my creative energy is taxed to the limit at the moment. I am really excited about this particular story though, so wish me luck!

5. We had our first real taste of a wind storm here in the desert. It didn’t happen with a big burst of energy, but rather it was more of a sustained, day-long gusty event. We had to make an emergency leaf-blower purchase to clean the dust and dirt from our outdoor living space, which had about a half inch of accumulated grit on every surface. Mother Nature does her thing pretty much everywhere!

Five Things - February 3, 2025

Welcome to my blog titled ‘Five Things’ where you can expect just that - five random musings or reflections from the previous week or so. I’ll also share a quote I find meaningful as a point of focus for the week. For a photo gallery of our life on the road, our pets, and miscellaneous things I find interesting, you can follow me on Instagram @tabithalord.

So here are this week’s five things, starting with the quote of the week…

1. “Tell me, what is it you plan to do with your one wild and precious life?” - Mary Oliver

2. As things around us feel like they’re on fire, I am reminded that art is resistance. The world needs its storytellers, singers, actors, dancers, sculptors, musicians, painters, (and anyone else I forgot to mention) to remind us of our humanity. Artists hold a mirror up to society. We question and dig. We bring injustice into sharp relief. We invite laughter. We provide entertainment, respite, relief. We provoke change. We ask our audience to look at the world from a different perspective. Art is resistance.

3. In honor of Black History Month, I’m highlighting an author I heard speak several years ago at a writers conference in NYC. Jacqueline Woodson’s resume includes the National Book Award, the Newbery Honor, and the Hans Christian Andersen Medal. She’s been on the NYT best-selling list, served as the Young People’s Poet Laureate from 2015 to 2017, was named the National Ambassador for Young People’s Literature by the Library of Congress for 2018–19, and named a MacArthur Fellow. Her writing is hauntingly beautiful and heartbreakingly real. If you have an opportunity to read her stories, watch one of her TED talks, or introduce her books to the young people in your life, I highly recommend it.

4. I’m heading to Colorado Springs this week for a writer’s conference. I am so excited because more than half my cohort from grad school will be there. We’ve been online with each other several times a week since September, but we haven’t been together in person since July. Events like this one help to fill my creative well. There’s nothing like spending a few days with fellow creative types to stay motivated, and with my aggressive writing schedule this year, I really need the motivational support! Next post, I’ll share my favorite highlights from the conference.

5. Birthday season is underway, and last night we celebrated Noah’s 27th. This kid of ours is smart, creative, driven, and kind. Last summer, for one of my first school assignments, I had write about my ‘creative hero.’ This is an edited version of that post, which I think is a fitting tribute to the birthday boy!

   All the kids are creative types, but our second son is a writer. He wrote his first ‘novel’ as an eighth-grade project, before I had the whiff of a first draft for my first novel in mind. His mentor, a traditionally published author, sang his praises for both completing the daunting project and for his fresh take on the story. He had the ‘chops’ she’d said. When he finished the draft, he said something like, “I’m not attached to that manuscript anymore. I used the project to learn about process, and my next book will be better.” I was like, “Dude, you’re thirteen. How do you have such perspective?”

   He kept on writing. He went to film school, became a screenwriter and stand-up comedian. He writes more in a month than I do in a year, and he has an amazing attitude. Rarely is he discouraged. He loves to collaborate. He’s willing to pitch something, and then the next thing, and then the next. He has a wild imagination, he works hard, and he is now an extremely skilled writer. In fact, he’s top of my list of people to call when I’m stuck on a plot point, or I’ve written myself into a corner, or I can’t quite make a character land.

   This kid had the courage to do at thirteen something that took me four decades to try! Bravo, Noah, for recognizing that sharing art with the world makes us vulnerable and doing it anyway.

Five Things - January 19, 2025

Welcome to my blog titled ‘Five Things’ where you can expect just that - five random musings or reflections from the previous week or so. I’ll also share a quote I find meaningful as a point of focus for the week. For a photo gallery of our life on the road, our pets, and miscellaneous things I find interesting, you can follow me on Instagram @tabithalord.

So here are this week’s five things, starting with the quote of the week…

1. "I believe that unarmed truth and unconditional love will have the final word in reality. This is why right, temporarily defeated, is stronger than evil triumphant." - Martin Luther King Jr.

2. So many of you reached out to check in on us as the devastating fires swept across Los Angeles. Thank you! We are far enough away not to be threatened, but we can feel the Santa Ana winds from here, and they are fierce. The boys are okay too, but they’re still on alert as the conditions that sparked the fires are still in play. Amidst the destruction and loss, kindness, generosity, and the spirit of community are flourishing here.

3. In class, we’re reading, writing, and studying science fiction this semester. As many of you know, science fiction is my first literary love. I love it for many reasons, but one is that exploring meaningful ‘what if’ questions through storytelling feels so satisfying. I think when we pose these questions set in the future, or on a far off planet, or on a generation ship, etc., we may find more freedom in that exploration. We can talk about really challenging things without being quite so on-the-nose with them. Maybe we’re creating a more accessible space to have some of these conversations when we are not as personally invested in the issues? 

4. Tomorrow, the new book club I joined will be discussing one of my books. This is both exciting and little nerve-wracking. Wish me luck!

5. I woke up this morning exhausted. On Mondays, I take a yoga/sculpt class, and it tends to be quite challenging, but I made myself go anyway. As sluggish as I felt walking in, I ended up having a really good class. I used heavier weights, did more reps, and finished strong. Here’s what I realized. Over the last several months, I’ve been focused on my physical, mental, and spiritual health, and this work is paying off. I am stronger, more resilient, more centered because of it, and I now trust this work will help carry me through the tough days. So, a little advice if it resonates… Do what you gotta do to take care of yourself. Find joy wherever and whenever you can. Build resilience. On the bad days, and there will be bad days ahead, these practices will serve you well and create a reserve to access as needed.

Five Things - December 16, 2024

Welcome to my blog titled ‘Five Things’ where you can expect just that - five random musings or reflections from the previous week or so. I’ll also share a quote I find meaningful as a point of focus for the week. For a photo gallery of our life on the road, our pets, and miscellaneous things I find interesting, you can follow me on Instagram @tabithalord.

So here are this week’s five things, starting with the quote of the week…

1. “Some believe it is only great power that can hold evil in check, but that is not what I have found. It is the small everyday deeds of ordinary folk that keep the darkness at bay. Small acts of kindness and love.” - J. R. R. Tolkien

2. I just finished my last assignment for the semester, and I am now officially on winter break! So far, this program has been everything I’d hoped for. The workshops have been truly a highlight. I am amazed by the talent and storytelling abilities of my colleagues, and I also think they’re incredibly generous, kind, and thoughtful people. This semester, I challenged myself to write outside my comfort zone, and I’d also hoped some of my work from class could do ‘double duty’ and be used professionally, and this is happening.

3. My mystery story, “The Accused, Charity Vale” was acquired by Inkd Publishing! It will appear in their anthology Detectives, Sleuths, and Nosy Neighbors: Dying for an Answer, and publication is scheduled for April 2025.

4. This Wednesday is cookie swap day. I miss my old neighborhood cookie swap, so I’m really happy to participate in this one. Tomorrow, I’ll be up to my ears in butter, flour, and powdered sugar as I make seven dozen cookies for the event. Wish me luck!

5. Wishing you all a Happy Holiday. May the season be filled with love, light, and joy!

Five Things - December 2, 2024

Welcome to my blog titled ‘Five Things’ where you can expect just that - five random musings or reflections from the previous week or so. I’ll also share a quote I find meaningful as a point of focus for the week. For a photo gallery of our life on the road, our pets, and miscellaneous things I find interesting, you can follow me on Instagram @tabithalord.

So here are this week’s five things, starting with the quote of the week…

1. “People speak of hope as if it is this delicate, ephemeral thing made of whispers and spider's webs. It's not. Hope has dirt on her face, blood on her knuckles, the grit of the cobblestones in her hair, and just spat out a tooth as she rises for another go.”

2. I’ll be in RI this weekend for the Annual Rhode Island Author Expo on Saturday, December 7th from 10 am - 4 pm at the Crowne Plaza in Warwick! Signed books make excellent holiday gifts, so if you are in the area, come check us out. With over a hundred local authors, you’ll likely find something for the readers on your list. The event is also packed with panels, author Q&As, raffle items, and more. I’ll be hosting a kaffeeklatsch focused on the pros and cons of using a pen name at 11:30 am and moderating a panel titled “Pathways to Publishing” at 2:45 pm. Hope to see you there!

3. We are slowly settling into our winter home here in the southern California desert. As with any project large or small, things always seem to take longer than expected. Finishing our outdoor space has been no different, but we were able to host the family here for dinner this week, and my mom and dad helped decorate for the holidays, so it’s feeling rather cozy now.

4. I’ve recently started a meditation practice. I’ll admit, I was skeptical as to whether or not I’d notice a difference day to day. The last time I seriously worked with meditation I was in medical school, and everytime I’d relax and try to Zen out, I’d fall sound asleep! These last couple of weeks, though, I’ve been using an app. I’ll choose a five to ten minute guided meditation in the morning and another before bed, and I actually notice a difference. It’s subtle, but my sense of well-being feels solid. During the day, if something rattles me, I can recenter more quickly. I guess the practice is worth the hype!

5. Last week, while family was in town for Thanksgiving, we made a trip to Joshua Tree. Although I’ve been once before, every time we visit a National Park, I’m reminded of Planet Earth’s beauty and diversity. If you have a chance, it’s worth the trip!

Five Things - November 18, 2024

Welcome to my blog titled ‘Five Things’ where you can expect just that - five random musings or reflections from the previous week or so. I’m also starting a daily meditation practice. I’ll be using a quote I find meaningful as a point of focus for the week, and I’ll share as the first item on the list. For a photo gallery of our life on the road, our pets, and miscellaneous things I find interesting, you can also follow me on Instagram @tabithalord.

So here are this week’s five things, starting with the quote of the week…

1. “All forms of heartbreak, loss, or defeat will require you to embrace a temporary state of uncertainty if you want to someday move forward effectively. Because it is within the unknown where you will find the clarity to rebuild. Pay attention to who or what helps you feel grounded whenever you are overcome with feelings of fear and doubt, then, make those elements your primary focus and watch as your life naturally begins to sort itself out.” - Kyle Creek

2. Ray and I both need a travel break for a little while, and I’m ready to settle into our winter space. I’ve already found a great yoga studio, the best local grocery store, and a good hair stylist. I’m joining a book club while we’re here, and I’m planning lunch dates with some new friends. Ray found us a great acupuncturist, and my body is so grateful! While we aren’t ready for a permanent home yet, we think taking a little down time for the next few winters will strike the right balance between adventure and rest.

3. There’s still a lot to do before wrapping up the semester for winter break, but I feel so satisfied with what I’ve accomplished and learned already. I’m currently workshopping a mystery story, which is way out of my comfort zone. The inspiration for this particular story came from a couple of places. First, I’ve been obsessed with the Lizzie Borden case since I visited the museum a few years ago. There was a particular legal element in the case that stuck with me. I won’t say, because it directly inspired my story, and no spoilers, but if you ever have a chance to visit the museum, I highly recommend it. Another piece of inspiration was a graphic on social media that said, “They didn’t burn witches, they burned women.” Growing up in New England, and having taken many a field trip to Salem, MA, this resonated. The Lizzie Borden case and the Salem witch trials took place almost exactly two centuries apart, so I had to pick a time period and focus on getting the details right. I chose Salem twenty-five years after the trials, and it’s been really interesting to take a deep dive into the research. As soon as I work through edits, I’ll find a way to share my story with anyone who’s interested.

4. I am so grateful that the art I am so passionate about has become my life’s work, but a funny thing happens when your art becomes your work. Well, it’s work. I’m not complaining, and I wouldn’t change a thing, but I do miss having something creative in my life that I do just for the joy of it. To that end, I’m planning to sign up for a glass art class. It doesn’t start until the new year, but I’m really excited. I’ll let you know how it goes.

5. Thanksgiving is just around the corner. The unique thing about Thanksgiving, as far as holidays go, is that it’s only about food, friends, and family, and our gratitude for those things. There is no other agenda – no gifts to buy, no atonements to make, no goals to set. Just a gathering around a table. I hope you all find joy and peace around your table next week. Happy Thanksgiving!