Published Essay: Brief and Bizarre History of Dog Shit

The knock on the door came at 9:30pm. I was half naked, my kids asleep. Pulling on sweats, I answered the door with a bad feeling. What else but bad news knocks on your door at 9:30pm? It was my neighbor in his own sweats, trembling, his already popping eyes bulging even more out of his head, curly grey hair moping along the forehead. He began talking before I could even open my mouth. I’m sick of it! Look at this! He held up a black bag. Piles of it, I’m sick of it. It’s not MY dog! Pick up after your dog! He threw the bag at my feet, on my doorstep, and stalked away.

I stood at my doorway, pursing my lips. What to do? I squinted at the bag of shit. Hm. There is a bag of shit on my doorstep, I considered. This is worthy of some action.

Read the rest here!

My Essay On Pat Conroy, Trauma, and the Power of Books

I wrote an essay here, if you'd like to read it. If you do enjoy it, please click the little heart shape to the left of the screen, and or share. Thank you! Writers are little without readers.

What was so incredible to me–besides both Mr. Conroy’s genius ability to tell a story that you cannot, cannot stop reading, and his breathtakingly beautiful prose– was the precice way Mr. Conroy illuminated how each person in the family had been affected by what had occurred, and how deeply sick their silence, perhaps more than what had even occurred, had made them. Mr. Conroy’s passion for breaking open the secrets of his own family life cost him his relationship with one sister, and the respect of many family members– but what if it gave the man back to himself? What if the way he could truly heal was never going to be in a therapist office, but in the telling of a story. His story. And what if it’s all right that he claimed his own life to tell.

My Piece On Donald Trump and Lola's Freshman Year

It's amazing how powerful the word pussy is. I think you can read this:

I shaved his dick

and feel less surprised than reading this:

I shaved my pussy.

Why does, at least to my ear, the word pussy sound so much more. Pulpy. Vivid. Exposed. Vulnerable. Intensely private. Although we see more nude women than nude men, the pussy remains for me more private, more mysterious, less available. You can see a woman fully nude, standing in front of you, and still not really know what her vagina looks like. Only when she is vulnerable, legs open, exposed and trusting, can you see the details. Whereas dick, penis- this is unavoidable, in your face, the second a man is naked. Unless I suppose, his back it turned to you.

I like being a woman. I like having a pussy. I hate that Donald Trump ever gets to utter that word: pussy. He doesn't deserve it's tender, ferocious, private power.

I wrote about this at The Establishment. 

The Truth About Married Sex

We woke on opposite sides of the bed, the blinds casting slants of sunlight directly in our eyes. In the early hours our daughter had woken us both, whining and climbing over our entangled bodies to wedge herself in the middle. She lay open mouthed and dreaming now. I sat up and smiled to myself; last night had been on fire. As I gazed at the curve of my husband’s muscled shoulder, arm thrown up over his face, I thought how sex after all these years was not anything I’d been afraid it was going to be: not boring, not remote, not lacking. It was still one hell of a good time...

Read the rest of my piece on the new online magazine, Together

Essay Published in Medium: Human Parts. ' Stigmata By Proxy '

Hi you alls. Come read my essay, published in the murky mysterious waters of Human Parts.

Stigmata By Proxy

New Article: Sexus Interruptus

Hello Jello

Come read my new article at Purple Clover on sex after (many) children, and hopefully laugh: 

Sexus Interruptus

My Article on The Broad Side About Vaccinations:

Please come read and comment on my article up at The Broad Side. I spent a lot of time researching and putting together what I believe is a very important story. Part of the story itself is how the press completely ignored the entire thing because of, as happened with the scientists themselves, the fear that public will react by not vaccinating. In other words, we are having our news curated for us because maybe we aren't smart enough to understand what to do with the information we are being told.

Read and comment and if you think it's worth talking about, please share. Let's get talking.

New Essay Up

at Luna Luna:

Suburban Settler Stranded, Almost Dies; Is Saved By The Internet

everkins

she's wearing her sister's American Girl doll glasses
a Minnie Mouse necklace
the same amber teething necklace she's worn since 4 months old
an apple shirt from Grandma Mimi
and holding very ancient and pixelized candy from the Halloween era that was discovered fossilizing in an abandoned cabinet

her nose makes me want to honk it or kiss it, both
i am completely head over heels in love with this tiny but surprisingly muscley ball of unstoppable energy, curiosity, sass, love and at three years old, devoted to me passionately.
i night weaned her. i told her the day she turned three that she could nurse to sleep, but could not nurse again until the light comes up in the morning.
every morning at the crack of dawn when the first tiny slivers of sun make their way through the darkness of night, she sits up possessed by one and only one desire: GIVE ME SOME NURSIES NOW

somehow i won and lost.
motherhood, in a nutshell.

PS
my non-fiction essay is up in the new edition of Literary Orphans. 

My First Ebook with Shebooks & A Writing Contest

I have a publishing contract. This is so rad, this is so good, this is so worked for! Shebooks is a new publishing company put together by some powerful and talented women in writing and publishing. It is an online format that will charge a subscription fee month by month to read short ebooks written by women authors- novella length. With an amazing line-up of women writers, Shebook plans to launch in January and is working with Good Housekeeping and BlogHer for promotions and connections.

My Ebook is Scenes From A Marriage, the idea taken from my blog posts here and expanded into a cohesive telling of our story. I am thrilled to be working for and with these women.

Shebooks is holding a contest, for all you women writers out there. Here is a link about it. They are looking for a memoir about mothers or mothering, with a prize of $2000 and a publishing contract. Sweet.

Essay In Equals

Hi y'all. There is a new and completely beautiful magazine called EQUALS, and I have an essay in it. Take a gander.

What Do Wives Do? is the name of my game, and there are thirty or so other essays in here, along with completely fabulous- I'm not preening, they are- illustrations, and photographs. This is the first edition and the theme is Exploration, of any kind. There are essays on New York City, essays on religion, essays on motherhood, essays on every kind of creative exploration. The quality and beauty of this magazine exceeded my hopes. I am really proud to be a part of this. It's more like an art book than a magazine. I've been reading and re-reading. The layout is so modern and beautiful, even the way they design fillers is interesting and pretty to look at.
You can buy one here.
Their website is here.

The Equals Project essay

The Equals Project is a newish magazine- both online and soon to release the first print edition, which I am thrilled to be a part of - with essays written by women about All The Things. I have an essay up today about Ever Elizabeth's place in our family called The Baby Of the Family.

I'd love if you'd take a minute to read it, comment. Thank you! I have no daycare kiddos today so am now off the puter to take Ever outside for a while until we have to pick up Ms. Lola. Hope your afternoon is calm, and if not calm, then not crazy, and if it's crazy, there's always tomorrow!

Black History Month & Fashion

Willi Posey

I'm proud of my newest piece up at The Budget Fashionista: The Influence of 10 Black Women In Fashion It was so interesting to research and put together, and I hope I chose to highlight many of the lesser known black designers and businesswomen who were at the forefront of the fashion industry and broke barriers.

My First Essay At Huffington Post Is Up

 Please come read From Inside The Fishbowl and let me know what you think :)

I'd so appreciate any comments you leave on the actual post, or FB or Twitter shares.

It helps me move upward ! I'm thrilled to have this writing opportunity and work

with HuffPo. I hope you like it!

Remember Punky Brewster?

She's all grown up, with kids and a book and a website: and I'm a blogger there today!

Check me out at moonfrye

A Dream Come True: Published on Amazon 'Welcome To My World'

A dream of mine has come true in one more step: I've been published on Amazon in this e-collection Welcome To My World, edited by Sarah Bryden-Brown, an extremely social media savvy writer, editor and curator. The collection is as its subtitle indicates: essays written by mothers about being stay at home moms or working moms, and despite the 'vs' in the title, this isn't a clash between us but an honest and interesting look at how 13 modern day mothers make their lives work.

For the price of a cup of coffee and a bagel, you can read this collection on Amazon's Kindle, Barnes and Noble Nook, or if you don't have this options, download a free application:

Kindle for PC
Kindle For Mac
Nook

It is because of this blog that I have been able to doggedly and persistently attempt to turn my writing into something more closely resembling a career, and I am thanking all of you most sincerely for coming here and reading what I write, and for (mostly:) keeping up your own blogs so I can continue to learn about your lives and read your writings.

A big shout out to the awesome GIGGLE, the book's sponsor. Their clothes and toys are really, really cute. One of my favorite baby shower gifts for Ever came from Giggle- a pink and orange striped footy sleeper.

Published: Far Away Literary Magazine

Visit the beautifully rendered Far Away magazine and read the wonderful essays,
including our own Mary Moon
I'm happy to have my essay included!

Published: Femamom

FEMAMOM

The essay I wrote that was totally embarrassing and revealed my gynormous flaws? It's now published in Femamom, a little online magazine that just begun, for 'edgy ' stories of parenthood, which really suits me- to read and to write. :)

My Short Story Published in Storybleed

My short My Year In Mississippi was published today in Storybleed magazine! I'm happy the piece was chosen and love the image that the editor picked to acccompany it. Take a gander!

MOMOIR's First E-Book Release: Stories I've Only Told My Mom

For some highly annoying reason that I've yet to figure out, the new Blogger format won't let me upload many of my pictures, so I offer you this without image.

The wonderful MOMOIR project headed and created by former Babble editor Sarah Byrden-Brown is completed: an E-Book called Stories I've Only Told My Mom

I am banging myself vigorously (dirty minds, people) on the head because I missed the deadline for entries in this wonderful compilation, and can only hope there are future books I can contribute an essay to. Meanwhile, I purchase my copy of Stories I've Only Told My Mom eagerly, can't wait to dive into essays featuring many bloggers I love and read regularly:  Monica from The Girl Who and Katie from Mamapundit, to mention just two. For the price of under six bucks, you can't beat it!