Memorial Day Re-visited
Every year Memorial Day gets a little easier. My father died on this day, May 31st, seven years ago. He would have been an old...
Archives
I write to shine a light on a dim or otherwise pitch black corner…to provide relief for myself and others. It’s the light that I am looking for. And the wonder it illuminates. May my words land in your heart. yours, Laura
The Year My Mother Hit the Road
If you haven’t stepped into my house during the day, you wouldn’t know what it sounds like. There is NPR on low in the kitchen, an...
For Mother’s Day
For all the mothers out there, this is for you, but especially for mine. From my Huffington Post blog My mother always says, “Once...
Book Tour– In case you wondered…
I just returned from a month on the road, promoting my paperback of THIS IS NOT THE STORY YOU THINK IT IS. It was a...
Spring-blind
Today is Easter and I am officially on vacation after what has been a wonderful two plus weeks on the road. Thanks to all of...
Emotions Are Our Choice!
Choosing Your Emotions Instead of Letting Them Choose You As seen on the Huffington Post You may have read my essay about my marital crisis...
Advice From the Now Writer Me…to the Then Writer Me.
By Laura Munson (in several incarnations) Published in Author Magazine Okay. You know those words that you fling into the ocean and the sinking sun...
Writer Psychology 101: Filtering Critique
For many years prior to being published, I honed the skill of asking for help. It’s never easy, but one writer told me a long...
The River
Paperback of THIS IS NOT THE STORY YOU THINK IT IS coming in April to a bookstore near you! As many of you may know...
Gratitude on Ice: A Montana Lesson (ode to a crampon)
I’m going to bullet-point the last hour of my life, just for shits and giggles. Mostly the former. • 10:00 Depart house to drive teenaged...
Forget a Pulitzer– I’m a Cartoon Character!
Wow– I think my ego just exploded! Thanks to Jen Sorenson from Portland for coming out to our neck of the woods and composing such...
Horses in the Herd
This time of year in Montana, I feel like the world just needs to crack open like an egg with a chick in it that...
Made You Laugh
My grandmother used to say that God has a sense of humor. And sometimes, I really think that’s true. Yesterday, I asked my kids to...
Seasonal Depression No More
This time of year people go a little bit crazy around here. It’s been grey. REALLY grey. For a long time. And we live in...
Snow Bathing– January in Montana
“That’s it. I’ve had it,” I declared just yesterday when I, as my children say, ate crap in my icy driveway and fell with a...
Boozing the Muse
Originally for Author Magazine Fitzgerald. Hemingway. Steinbeck. Faulkner. O’Neil. Poe. Kerouac. Bukowski. Capote. Dorothy Parker. Katherine Anne Porter. And so many many others. Why is the...
Two Kinds of People
This piece was inspired by Susan Bearman’s fab blog called Two Kinds of People. She is holding a contest and for the writers out there, take a...
Children’s Books
I did a poll on Facebook the other day. Here was the question: What are your three favorite children’s books? Within an hour, 50 people...
Mother’s Nature.
Two people died on our ski mountain last week in tree wells. One was 16, the other was 29. If you’re not familiar with the...
Being a Princess
A word on being a princess for iVillage. I invite you to go there to comment. Thanks! Princess by Laura Munson When my daughter was...
What Does it Mean to Let Go?
Living the New Year Moment by Moment as seen on the Huffington Post For me, it took 14 unpublished books, my father’s death, and a...
One Man’s Trash…
When we were kids, a person my parents held in highest esteem gave us some Christmas ornaments. They were red balls with Santa’s caps, felt...
The Agony of Submissions– One Writer’s Rant
I write regularly for Author Magazine, which you should DEFINITELY check out if you’re a writer or if you love reading or if you love...
I Like Skiing
One of the things I love about blogging is that you put yourself out to a global community, and you find kindred spirits. It’s so...
A Tale of Two Cookies
Ever since I posted that I’m not much of a baker, I’ve gotten emails from readers sharing their favorite holiday cookie recipes. And as, by...
Letter to a Young Blogger
Recently a blogger wrote to me asking for advice, feeling desperate and raw the way that every writer feels. I get a lot of letters,...
Holiday Baking Panic
As I’ve written before on this blog, I am not much of a baker. Mostly it’s because I’m too stubborn to follow directions (I know,...
Life List
I was speaking recently to a well-known writer about success. “It’s all about the work,” she said. She then proceeded to list all her accomplishments....
A Nest in the Hand…
Every year we go to this Christmas tree farm and cut down a Frasier fir. We make a day out of it. We listen to...
Mt. Saint Laundry
A few things have gone amuk around here and with two working parents and no extra help save for what two kids can do on...
Begging the Bear
I went for the smell of wild roses pulsing in the vanilla of Ponderosas. For the June blues and purples: penstamon, flax, lupine, geranium. I...
The Raw World of Memoir
I hear from a lot of people who were particularly touched by the chapter in my book called “MY FATHER’S BLUE DUESENBURG.” It makes me...
Thanksgiving, The TSA, and Two Cabbies
A Thanksgiving story for you. You all are a blessing to me and I am grateful for you. Thank you for your stunning support this...
Not Another Coffee Table Book. Munch.
I love this book. I am drawn to books about artists. I want to know how other people, whether they were painters or sculptors or...