By Davalynn Spencer @davalynnspencer I wish I had known my grandmother when she was a young woman with long russet hair and ankle-brushing skirts. I wish I could have seen her dreams, her daily struggles, and heard the defiance in her voice when she said, “I will not
By Davalynn Spencer @davalynnspencer Skyline Drive offers no railing in its climb up the hogbacks just west of Cañon City, Colorado. The narrow road lives up to its name, allowing motorists and hikers to feel as if they are scaling the sky. Some of us don’t like that
By Davalynn Spencer @davalynnspencer “How much of you goes into your books?” As a novelist, I’ve often been asked that question, and it’s tricky to answer. I may scatter pieces of myself among characters, but I’ve never embodied one completely. I can’t say of any book’s cast, “Oh,
By Davalynn Spencer @davalynnspencer Two are better than one, because they have a good reward for their labor. Ecclesiastes 4:9 *The first morning I saw the white-haired couple on the Riverwalk, I nearly stared. Not because of their age, but because of their unified presence. The woman wore
By Davalynn Spencer @davalynnspencer Most of the characters in my books are people I’ve cooked up on my own. Others sneak up on me when I’m not looking, leaving me with the sense that I’ve met them before and just can’t remember when or where. I have a
By Davalynn Spencer @davalynnspencer Things don’t always work out the way we hope they will. Let me rephrase that: Rarely do things work out the way we hope. Or expect. Or plan. Or even pray. Could that be because we’re not listening? I will not divulge how many
By Davalynn Spencer @davalynnspencer Have you ever been asked, “How are you holding up?” Rarely do people mean, “How are you holding up the bank?” or “How are you holding up your socks?” or “You’re holding up the parade.” Ah, yes – the English language. The idiomatic expression,