R.A. Nelson's Blog, page 12

Caramel Cake. (For Realsies.)

I baked this cake recently:

Hello, gorgeous.

It was the husband’s birthday, you see. And, when he finally decided – the day before – what kind of cake he wanted (my birthday is still over two months away, and I’m already planning the cake . . . make of that what you will), I set out to research and create the best darn caramel cake possible.

That was when I made the shocking discovery that the vast majority of caramel cake recipes DON’T ACTUALLY HAVE CARAMEL...

The Dawn

I know this is a few days late; but, one’s first full week in one’s new abode, the celebration of one’s husband’s birthday, and the visit of an old friend to aid in said celebration are all, separately, events meriting a certain break in routine. Taken all together, they constitute a veritable mandate for a holiday.

Yet, even in the holiday-ing, I was not idle.

One final poem made it into the poetry collection before my husband’s editing eye could finish its first sweep-thru; as ’ti...

Moving Musings

It’s moving week – again – so this shall be rather brief.

As I mentioned in the final post of the “How I Became R. A. Nelson” blog series, a frozen pipes debacle at the turn of the year brought our New England adventure to a sudden end. The past several weeks have involved much crying out as we have sought the next step – the setting for the next chapter in the story.

At last, light has broken through! I am thrilled to share that we will soon be established in our own cozy home, and...

A “Read-y” Respite

As you know, faithful reader, the blog series “How I Became R. A. Nelson” reached its conclusion last week in this post .

Blog series are wonderful. I’ve only been posting for about four months now, and I’ve already done two: the aforementioned “How I Became R. A. Nelson” and a shorter one in December about the origins of each Gatekeeper book (The Finding, The Leaving, and The Keeping). Still, the end of any series always leaves me feeling rather at sea, whether I’m reading or writin...

The End of the Story (and the Beginning of All the Others)

We have come, at last, to the conclusion of the tale “How I Became R. A. Nelson”.

Last week’s post left you on a bit of a cliffhanger (sorry-not-sorry), with yours truly in the throes of that agony inimitable to “waiting”. Hours after writing that poem, “The Dark Before Dawn”, I had a turning-point conversation with my husband that went something like this:

Him: What if we just . . . went for it? Found a place, packed up, and moved – no job, no connections? How would you feel about t...

The Dark Before Dawn

Though last week’s chapter in the tale “How I Became R. A. Nelson” was a tribute to the unexpected richness of my life in Fayetteville, the years spent there were also – in a way – the most difficult part of my journey.

As friendly and fruitful as Fayetteville proved to be, neither my husband nor I ever felt “at home” there. Both of us had landed there as a temporary measure – a brief stop on the way to the “next step”. Even after meeting and marrying and working and living in Faye...

Surprised by Fayetteville

We pick up the tale of “How I Became R. A. Nelson” in Fayetteville, NC, where I moved after finishing graduate school.

I dyed my hair three times in graduate school, all for various plays. The blonde - done for my thesis role, Honey in Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf - lingered for quite a while.

As I mentioned in the post about the writing of Gatekeeper III, Fayetteville was supposed to be a brief stop in my life journey. My MFA – and all the life circumstances that s...

The Birth of an Author

I was sitting in the tiny upstairs computer lab of the Fine Arts Building at the University of Georgia when my life changed.

Strictly speaking, the next chapter in the story of “How I Became R. A. Nelson” should be the writing of Gatekeeper; but, since I have already told the story of how the Gatekeeper trilogy came to be (see my posts on the nascience of The Finding, The Leaving, and The Keeping!), I shall skip ahead a bit. I finished Gatekeeper I: The Finding (which, at that point...

Darkness: An Epiphany

Hello, friends.

In my post containing my Christmas Eve poem, I alluded to certain adventures that have made the start of 2018 far more eventful than any other year-beginning I’ve experienced. Then, my first post in the current blog series – “How I Became R. A. Nelson” – referenced Epiphany: light breaking into darkness, revelation into uncertainty…especially poignant meditations at the start of a new year.

Well, friends, the “adventure” continues. I can honestly say that I have never...

C. Writ. 101: A Dramatic Segué

We cannot go any further in the story of “How I Became R. A. Nelson” without talking about C. Writ. 101 .

In high school and at the beginning of college, I had a fantastic summer (and winter break) job at a small bookstore called Annie’s Book Stop. (Deep and lasting blessings on the owner and on my one co-worker, both fascinating ladies in their 70s, who made my time there educational and enjoyable!) One morning during the summer before my sophomore year at King College, I awoke with...