Travel Life's Road

For those curious about the world: the world outside and the world within.

[maryleemac]

How to Balance Work, Life, and Senior Care Without Losing Yourself If you’re the one who calls the doctor, coordinates the medications, shows up on weekends, and still has a full workday on Monday—this is written for you....

How to Balance Work, Life, and Senior Care Without Losing Yourself

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How to Actually Take Care of Yourself When You're Too Busy Taking Care of Everyone Else

A practical guide for caregivers who know they need a break but don’t know where to start. Caregiver burnout is not something you can wish away, nor should it be a cause for guilt. (© DragonImages 1987044196 via AdobeStock) You set an alarm for 6 a.m. so you could have 20 quiet minutes before anyone needed you. By 6:03, someone needed you. If that sounds familiar, this post is for you. Caregiving…

How to Actually Take Care of Yourself When You're Too Busy Taking Care of Everyone Else

[maryleemac]

How Thriller-Writer Mike Ewing Began Mountain Biking

Beginning writers are often advised to “write what you know.” One of the main characters in my new thriller, LIGHTNING, is Adam Barnett, a mountain biker and owner of a mountain-biking store in Defiance, Arizona. Adam’s kind of an average guy, like me, and if he’s passionate about one thing, it’s mountain biking. Again, like me. My First Experience with Mountain Biking Was a Disaster The first…

How Thriller-Writer Mike Ewing Began Mountain Biking

[maryleemac]

Lightning

In a war against the desert’s ruthless killers, there are no winners…only survivors. — Release date, April 2, 2026 LIGHTNING is a pulse-pounding sci-fi thriller where three strangers must race against time to uncover the truth before danger picks them off one by one. Adam Barnett was building custom bikes and conquering desert trails above Phoenix—until a lightning strike scrambled his memory and…

Lightning

[maryleemac]

Avoiding Burnout: Support for New Caregivers

Even a small corner of a room can be a useful haven during a caregiver’s day. Unroll a yoga mat and do simple stretches to practice mindfulness and relieve body tension. Photo by Jeongsun Lee via Unsplash   Becoming a caregiver is a deeply rewarding yet demanding role, often requiring long hours, emotional resilience, and constant attention to another’s needs. When you’re caught up in providing…

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[maryleemac]

The Greeks Believed in Fate

Does Fate still play a role in our lives? In ancient Greece, Fate wasn’t a single divine being. The three Moirai of Greek mythology were women with a subtle, but awesome, power. They decided a person’s destiny and determined whether that person was good or evil. They also chose how long a person’s life would be. Clotho, the spinner, spun the thread of life; Lachesis, the measurer, chose which…

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[maryleemac]

Stories about growing up and growing old

(Cover images © Евгения Юшина; artyway via http://www.stock.Adobe.com) Gregory D. Williams, author of A Dry Heat: Collected Stories, captures turning points in the lives of boys and men. Two stories in the collection draw on the author’s memories of a boyhood spent playing Little League and slip-sliding on irrigated grass of Phoenix, Arizona’s city parks. Stories about fatherhood and middle-aged…

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[maryleemac]

The Poppy Field

A restless wife. A handsome suitor. Will she say yes? When her husband, Phil, decided to become a missionary in Guatemala, his decision turns Katherine’s comfortable life in Indiana upside down. Trying to be a supportive spouse, she organizes the move and packs up the kids. Now, the family must adjust to life in colorful Guatemala, a land of coffee plantations, peasant farmers, and archeological…

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[maryleemac]

A Dry Heat

  Little League players playing in the Phoenix sun (by Stuart Monk via Adobe Stock) In Arizona, where the sun beats down 300 days a year, boys are on their way to becoming men. This debut collection from award-winning short story writer Gregory D. Williams takes us back to the 1970s, a bygone era when parents didn’t always know what their children were up to and pre-teen boys were becoming men.…

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[maryleemac]

A Safety Net for Health Care

Travel is often a component of active retirement. But what if one of these seniors tripped on the cobblestones and broke an ankle? What if a broken hip required months of rehab? Having a health care safety net in place can bring peace of mind. (via Pixabay) Advance planning for retirement and healthcare can provide an extra layer of security. And for caregivers of seniors, it’s especially…

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[maryleemac]

Ten Questions for Lorraine Dusky

In this column I’m asking subscribers to share their knowledge about writing, publishing, and marketing their books. I’m calling it “Ten Questions.” Thank you, Lorraine Dusky, for allowing us to share in your excitement about your new memoir. The book is not just the author’s personal story, but the story of adoption reform.–Marylee MacDonald Lorraine Dusky’s Author Tip: “Begin writing. You can…

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[maryleemac]

A classic novella for our times

Few references to the Spanish flu exist in literature. Even history books glide over an event that devastated families and claimed more lives than were lost in World War I. History looks back and searches for causes and effects. Historians can tell us where and how the pandemic began. It can chronicle the spread of a disease that swept the nation. But for all its benefits in providing insight…

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[maryleemac]

An Important New Book about Adoption

This memoir about #adoption will break your heart. #bookstagram #booknerd #memoirs

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Resources for Senior Caregivers

Being a senior caregiver is a rewarding job, but it can also be challenging, both physically and emotionally. It takes a lot of time, effort, and dedication to provide quality care while also balancing your own work and personal life. Long-term stress can take a toll on your overall well-being. Caregivers can be grandchildren, nieces, or nephews. Caring for seniors provides an opportunity for…

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[maryleemac]

Montpelier Tomorrow

“An affecting, deeply honest novel; at the same time, a lacerating indictment of our modern health care system.”—KIRKUS REVIEWS A mid-life mom, Colleen Gallagher would do anything to protect her children from harm. When her daughter’s husband falls ill with ALS, Colleen rolls up her sleeves and moves in, juggling the multiple roles of grandma, cook, and caregiver, only to discover that even her…

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[maryleemac]

Hole in My Heart

Official launch day, April 4, 2023. In the days before Roe v. Wade, an ambitious young journalist, abandoned by her beau, leaves Michigan for a dream job on the city desk of a Rochester, NY newspaper. Burned once, she’s eager for love, but as the only Girl in the newsroom, she’s more concerned with making allies and finding friends. When a new leading man appears, she recognizes a kindred spirit.…

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[maryleemac]

How Writers Find Readers-Part 2

Here's my latest blog post on finding readers for your books.

A writer can get the word out about a book by doing guest appearances on podcasts. https://www.freepik.com/free-photo/woman-asking-questions-podcast_16132738.htm#page=4&query=podcast&position=5&from_view=search In a previous post, I talked about the difference between “writers” and “authors.” In my view, a writer’s goal is to write one book. After that, a writer pushes the book out into through…

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