I invite you to go to this link: https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/m001msqn and listen to the amazing work that SOUL MUSIC program professionals do at BBC. This 28-minute program includes ME talking about how I am making peace with our love song at 17:30 to 22:00, then again at 25:10 to 26:46. But do take the time to listen to the entire program! In fact, you can find more than 180 episodes of SOUL MUSIC, which is a radio “series about pieces of music with a powerful emotional impact.” Thank you, BBC SOUL MUSIC, for including me in this broadcast!!! Oh, and here’s a photo of Victor and me w ..read more

Readers of my memoir find out early on in my love story why I consider St. Patrick’s Day 1990 one of the worst days of my life. So it may come as no surprise that since then I never touch a drop of alcohol on St. Patrick’s Day. I prefer to give a listen to Randy Travis singing “Diggin’ Up Bones” as he soulfully ponders “sittin’ alone” and “resurrecting memories” and “exhuming things that’s better left alone” [link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wc5GLG5JtQo]. So much drama in my life I could scarcely take it all in! [Photo courtesy of pexels.com]Here I am, 30 years later, with vivid memori ..read more

“Let us be like a bird for a moment perched, On a frail branch when he sings; though he feels it bend, yet he sings his song, Knowing that he has wings.”—Victor Hugo [Photo courtesy of pexels.com, showcasing the photography of Lucas Pezeta ..read more

“People shop for a bathing suit with more care than they do a husband or wife. The rules are the same. Look for something you’ll feel comfortable wearing. Allow for room to grow.”—Erma Bombeck These words from beloved Erma Bombeck always make me smile. First, it reminds me of my dread of bathing suit shopping, which explains why I keep wearing the same stretchy black one-piece with a thigh-forgiving skirt ruffle I bought many years ago at a shop near the lake—on sale in October when buying a swimsuit was the last thing on my mind. It fit, it was snug enough to stay put but comfortable enough ..read more

Drum roll: And the winners are… I’m told my book was one of the “more than 2,300” book submissions for the 26th Annual Writer’s Digest Self-Published Book Awards program. Here’s how it worked: Submit book, completed form, and entry fee by May 2018 deadline. All winners are announced in the March/April 2019 issue of Writer’s Digest. (For more details visit this link: https://www.writersdigest.com/writing-competitions-preparing-your-entry) Judging results for The Straight Spouse: A Memoir by Vivian Fransen (Open Door Publications, 2017): Structure, Organization, and Pacing: “OUTSTANDING” Spelli ..read more