Every Seed Holds a Story
I hold both a tomato seed in my palm and the seed for my next book in my heart. From over 40 years of growing tomatoes, I know the story of the seed. But my next book? I’m waiting to see what grows.
Can We Raise Healthy Children on an Unhealthy Planet?
In my 20 years as a rural school nurse, I observed the growing number of children’s health issues coinciding with increased pollution and climate change. How can we raise healthy children on an unhealthy planet?
Are We Under the Weather?
It used to be thought that “Peak Oil” or severe droughts would change life as we know it. But maybe it will be the continuous barrage of severe weather events. How do you prepare?
My “One Small Thing” Project
When in despair about our environment’s future, I turn to my next “One Small Thing” project.
Potato Chip Leaves
Gardening in heat and drought: The end of gardening as I’ve known it; time for a whole new gardening strategy.
Triads of Women Give me Hope!
It’s time for the feminine model of leadership of working in triads. Let NY Governor Kathy Hochul lead the way with her top two female advisors.
Elon Musk’s Neurolink: Harbinger of the “Nib”?
With new technologies that propose to link our brains with digital devices, (such as Elon Musk’s Neuralink) do we stand to lose our still, small voice?
Thought Provoking?
I received a notice that Heart Wood was a finalist for the 2021 Eric Hoffer Award’s Montaigne Medal. The significance didn’t sink in at first. Although I had applied for several book awards, the Montaigne Medal was not one of them. As an independently published author, I didn’t have the resources of a publishing house…
Behind the Scenes with Emily Hoppin
Join me on Wednesday, March 24th, 3 pm, for a Webinar about Emily Hoppin – Yolo Pioneer, Women’s Activist, and as my Great-Grandmother, the inspiration for Eliza in Heart Wood. Zoom link: https://yolocounty.zoom.us/j/96613600322
Creating Historical Fiction
Note to reader: I am struck by the irony of my post Creating Historical Fiction that I planned for today. Start with the facts, I write, but if you want a richer, more powerful story, try converting your story into a fictionalized version. We’re living in a time when a president is attempting to stay…
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Three Books that Shaped “the Future” in Heart Wood
I’m often asked, “what influenced your creation of a dystopic future in Heart Wood ?” Although I’ve read speculative novels by amazing authors (think Margaret Atwood), my answer is always the same: The three dystopic novels forever branded into my memory are: “Earth Abides,” “The Great Bay,” and “Feed“ Each novel influenced how I wove…
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The Challenge of Zooming in the Mountains
It’s shivering cold inside the room where I’m about to take part in my first webinar panel about writing Heart Wood. If this had been old Japan during a freezing mountain winter, I might have kept warm by sitting at a table with a brazier of hot coals by my legs and a thick futon…
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Strategies for surviving crazy, uncertain times
Expand…Contract…Expand…Contract…that’s my experience of the yo-yo ride of these past few years. One moment I feel expanded and happy, then I check the news and become contracted and anxious. I think the terms expand and contract aptly describe how my body and mind have responded to what’s happening in so many arenas at once: divisive…
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Wildfires are our future?
The sun hides its fiery crimson ball behind the gray pall overhead and I can hardly make out the ghostly outline of pines beyond my window. Friends report the sky over San Francisco is a dystopic burnt orange. We’ve all been breathing smoky air for days along the entire west coast and as I write,…
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Heart Wood Interviewed!
A friend stopped me in the fruit isle of the grocery store recently and asked what I’m doing now that my book is published. Hanging out at the river? Reading? Cooking gourmet dinners? I chuckled and rolled my eyes. For authors, writing a book is only the tip of the iceberg. The real work comes…
Read More Heart Wood Interviewed!
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Shirley DicKard 