When the Florida Weekly comes out on Wednesdays, this household looks forward to reading it. In addition to a cover story on a local trend that ranges from demographics and wildlife to ecosystems and the economy, the newspaper lists arts, music, and food events in South Florida. Nina likes the crossword puzzle; Bob, the restaurantContinue reading “Rising Weekly to a Writing Challenge”
Author Archives: Patti M. Walsh
She’s Resting on My Laurels
When I received notice on August 1 that my middle-grade novel Ghost Girl is a semifinalist in the 2021 Royal Palm Literary Awards competition, I immediately added the honor to my resume and the badge to my digital accounts. Sponsored by the Florida Writers Association, the annual awards recognize “extraordinary writing” in about 30 genres.Continue reading “She’s Resting on My Laurels”
The Pink Slippers
“The Pink Slippers,” by Patti M. Walsh, will be published in “Footprints,” the Florida Writers Association’s collection book, in October 2021. “Cathie?” Surprised that my neighbor had hailed me by name on such a cold evening, I pivoted toward his raspy voice, then hesitated. Mindful of the thin layer of ice beneath my feet, IContinue reading “The Pink Slippers”
Gobsmacked by Guernica
Reading Rummikub—Like a Cat
When Bob and I visited our friends Vince and Nancy for an evening of Rummikub, we got sidetracked from the rules that Nancy was patiently laying out. She told us that there are 106 tiles in the game—104 numbered ones in four different colors, and two jokers. The goal is to meld tiles into groupsContinue reading “Reading Rummikub—Like a Cat”
Galloping Across America
Cancel Patrick?
While the world at large plans to turn itself green on the 17th in honor of Saint Patrick, Nina focused on a different perspective of Ireland’s patron saint. I caught her perusing Wakes Rites, The Ancient Irish Rituals of Finnegans Wake, by George Cinclair Gibson. (Don’t go adding an apostrophe to Finnegans—more on that inContinue reading “Cancel Patrick?”
Prato Pistoia Mardi Gras Parade
The Krewe of Prato Pistoia rolled through the neighborhood on Mardi Gras, February 16, 2021, with 34 carts, 3 bicycles, several dogs, and 1 community patrol officer to the delight of hundreds of revelers at driveway gatherings.
King (Cake) for a Day
Even though there are no Mardi Gras parades in New Orleans this year, there is one in our neighborhood. So Nina decked herself out in beads and did a little research. She’ll tell you that if you want to know anything about Mardi Gras, there is no better source than the Arthur Hardy Mardi GrasContinue reading “King (Cake) for a Day”
The Assignment and the Fetish
Nina was beyond confusion. She had just read my story “The Fetish,” and demanded to know what on earth do a voodoo priestess and a missing man have in common with Uncle Tom’s Cabin? I could have told her that many American slaves were influenced by the Caribbean practices known as voodoo that date backContinue reading “The Assignment and the Fetish”
What the Cats Are Reading 