Lake Kachess, WA Pebbles grind beneath my shoes on a rocky beach overlooking the blue-green waters of Lake Kachess. The clouds are clean white and bunched, like someone pushed them together to bulk up their size, then puffed them up using a straw. One cloud strongly resembles a charging elephant—how long has it been since I looked for shapes in the clouds, and for only my…
I stood in an old schoolhouse that had been converted into an art library, then temporarily converted into a studio for a writer (me) and a visual artist (my friend Jason). I hefted a book in my hands, as I narrated my part of the studio tour, sharing that my next literary goal was to be published in this sci-fi and fantasy anthology. One year later,…
I have been biting my tongue for about five months (it's amazing I still have any tongue left...) but now I can finally say it! My story that will be published in Writers of the Future is titled Untrained Luck. Due to anonymity with the Writers of the Future grand prize judging, I was not supposed to link my name to the title of my piece…
It was late April 2018. James and I were hiking Little Si, a small mountain near North Bend, WA. We navigated wet dripping branches and slick tree roots as we tried to rouse our minds and spirits from a season of mental fog that had engulfed us while my husband studied fervently for his Structural Engineer licensing exam. He'd taken the test a few weeks before…
Elise, what have you been up to? Where shall I start? It's officially summer, so my garden and I have been racing each other to see who can weed/grow weeds the fastest. Ha. It's no contest. I lose. But the flowers are gorgeous and I keep picking these bouquets that knock my socks off! Seattle friends--I'll make you a pretty posy is you want to stop…
Today I have good news to share! A glimpse at the day-to-day first: I'm at the tail-end of a very challenging season in which I've had to hold down the proverbial fort with home and children for three months while my husband studies for a big engineering test. (The test is April 13th! Wish him luck!) I have been faced repeatedly with depression, exhaustion, and feelings…
Hey there. Sorry I haven't kept in touch. My excuse is seven weeks old and, in this mama's star-struck eyes, she's absolutely perfect. She arrived on a November morning a few weeks before Thanksgiving. I can't stop feeling thankful for her. She's all I wanted for Christmas this year. A friend mailed me a little box with a bracelet in it for me and a pair…
Booktrope, the publisher who signed me for my first novel, Moonlight and Oranges, the publisher that turned me from "writer" to "author" announced on April 29, 2016 that it would be closing its doors. This was the publisher that helped teach me what it's like to professionally edit and revise a manuscript, to collaborate with others in a book's cover design, how to write the words that on…
I met her at freshman orientation. She and I had both circled a long list of identical activities from a series of opportunities designed to help us explore our new university campus. We wanted to see all the same things. It was a sign. (I love looking for signs!) She told me, over lunch a few days later, that she felt we’d known each other…
It's a calm contentment, this feeling inside. (That isn't exactly the vibe my picture is giving you. I was striking a confident pose at the time) The calm contentment comes later, now that the emotional confetti has settled from the air. The third novel waits alongside its brothers in my home's Harry Potter closet (we have a fantastic cupboard under the stairs!) nestled in its box,…