Chrissie’s Blog
Michigan – Chicago Trip
On June 24, Russ and I set out for our second-annual Michigan-Chicago trip. The trip up vexed me – at the last minute, Russ decided to go up through Kentucky, Indiana, and Ohio, instead of my family’s traditional trip up the West Virginia Turnpike. I’ve never traveled...
Anniversary
June 19 marked the one-year anniversary of my gastric bypass surgery. It’s hard to believe it has been a year. It all just seems like a natural part of my life now. Well, for the most part. I do miss a few things – fried chicken, carbonated drinks, an occasional...
Highlands Summer Conference
Imagine a week of hanging out at a nature conservancy with about a dozen other people, deeply immersed in daily lectures, lessons, and writings about all things Appalachia. Your evenings are filled with readings and old-time music. You share an indoor, air-conditioned...
Mountain Heritage Lit Festival
The 18th annual Mountain Heritage Lit Festival took place at Lincoln Memorial University Friday, June 21-Saturday, June 22. Numerous sessions were offered by a talented staff of writers this year, covering general fiction, nonfiction, and poetry, as well as...
West Virginia Writers Conference Recap
The West Virginia Writers Conference was held in Ripley, WV, at the Cedar Lakes Conference Center, June 7-9. It was a grand conference with phenomenal speakers and workshops. I got to see several old friends and made a few new friends, too. The first session I...
7 A.M. Writing Group
I belong to a group of writers that meet every morning at 7:00 a.m. (except for Saturdays, when it’s 8:00 a.m.), to write to a prompt, provided by our fearless leader, Connie Kinsey. As a disclaimer, I do not make it every day. In fact, I took a hiatus for several...