Author, Editor, Parent, Librarian
This past Saturday, May 18th, I presented at REFORMA Colorado's annual conference. REFORMA is the National Association to Promote Library and Information Services to Latinos and the Spanish Speaking. For those not in the know, the conference was a wonderful source of information and connection for libraries and non-profits wishing to serve this community. It's... Continue Reading →
Excited to share the cover of my forthcoming book, available through ALA Editions Fall/Winter 2019. So my publisher, ALA Editions has given me the official go-ahead to share my cover design! Isn't it beautiful? Although written primarily with the library market in mind, the case studies of culinary literacy programs in action can be used... Continue Reading →
Warning! The scenes that follow are not suitable for all audiences. Because 'tis the season, I've spent some quality time browsing Halloween animatronics online. Why not? What else are you doing with your Tuesday nights? Anyway, here are my top thirteen favorite horror animatronics...if I only had $50,000 to spend on this sort of thing.... Continue Reading →
As an art lover, I dream of owning original Kahlos, Boschs, Carringtons, and Varos. Alas, I am but a librarian author so it's doubtful that will ever come to pass. And so to feed my artful addiction, I collect books, objets, and prints. And online, I curate my favorite bits into a Pinterest board entitled... Continue Reading →
Sometimes even in our own countries, looking for information can be a challenge. Imagine the experience of living in another country – where even your assumptions about where to look for something are dead wrong. You go one place – the internet, for example – only to discover that a website isn’t at all how... Continue Reading →
It’s here once again – that time of year when we reflect on what we’ve done this past year and think about what we want to do the following. Some people write down New Years Resolutions. Others clean and simplify. And yet others plan. This year I’m doing a combination of all three. Although our... Continue Reading →
While in South America, my sister and mom alternately check my PO box. Here's what came in today's mail: For those of you in the know, you get how huge this is. For those of you not in the know, let me explain. L. Ron Hubbard, other than being known for Scientology, was first and... Continue Reading →
It usually starts with a phrase or a complete sentence. This will come to me out of nowhere, or sometimes inspired by one of the many "what if" questions I ponder throughout the day. Everything I see is potential fodder for a story. How did that crack in the wall get there? Why was that... Continue Reading →
Here's something fun to read this holiday season: Released as part of a Holiday Sci-fi-tri-fecta, my flash fic story in Space Squid. A Cheater’s Guide to the 10 Questions (Reprinted from the Underground Citizen Advisor, August 1, 2084) By Hillary Dodge Before you take the test, there are a few things you need to know. There... Continue Reading →
Here's a presentation on job hunting skills that I shared with a friend of mine's library science leadership class. It was an end-of-semester class and her students were great - excited and bubbling with lots of good questions. If you likewise have a question or want to share a tip of your own, please post... Continue Reading →
Halloween is a fun time of year to explore the darker side of the imagination with kids. To that end, I traditionally perform a "Spooky tales" storytime for the preschool age group. Today I'm going to share what I did in my storytime this past Friday (day before Halloween). I'll skip over my opening and... Continue Reading →
March 26, 2017 This story will be much better told if I don’t relate the outcome at the beginning. It began with a campsite. And what campsite it was! A rolling field of green tumbled with mottled stones stretched a long way down to the mud-slicked rocks at the water’s edge. Gently lapping waves washed... Continue Reading →
This is a photo of a typical residential street in the capital city of Santiago. Because I’m from the U.S., I’m going to use that as my point of reference when describing the differences between the Chilean residential street and one in the U.S. This following picture is taken in the neighborhood in which I’m... Continue Reading →
If you could give career advice to your younger self, what would you say?
Because this is a topic close to my heart, I thought I'd share a list of beautiful books I've encountered that include multiracial families. With all the recent publicity around transgender and same-sex families, I feel like this simple concept gets lost in all the diversity hub-bub today. I guess it's no longer a surprising... Continue Reading →
Mark and I were interviewed by Marinel M. de Jesus for her nomad lifestyle podcast, On My Way: From a Lawyer to a Mountain Nomad. Listen to the full interview here.
Here's an interesting topic that I explored as a guest post for Baby Hero, a fair trade organic baby clothing company. The importance of a healthy lunch is obvious: it fills us up and keeps us going. But in the mix of our busy lives, midday meals can become stale and boring. We find ourselves... Continue Reading →
What was the worst piece of writing advice you’ve ever received? Why was it so wrong for you?
It's easy to get wrapped up in someone else's drama. Heck, that's why we read books, isn't it? But when it comes to your professional community, I think careful consideration of the known facts alongside tempered but honest reaction is best. So I'm going to take a librarian's stance and post some thoughts on how... Continue Reading →
The average Brit checks their smartphone 221 times daily and has their eyes (and hands) glued to the device roughly 3 hours each day (itproportal). According to a very scientific conversion formula, that means that Americans must check their phones exactly 3,554 times daily, spending nearly 18.74 hours on their devices. That seems legit, right?... Continue Reading →
You have a day entirely to yourself. No deadlines are pending and you can do whatever you want. How do you spend your day?
I've seen many terms for "process mapping" including value stream mapping, narrative journey maps, or business process architecture. In essence, these varying techniques are all similar in one basic respect: They are techniques for visually mapping out the steps to a process or procedure. The purpose for doing such is tri-fold: to obtain an overview... Continue Reading →
For the hardworking professional, it can be hard to "turn off" at night and get the rest we truly need. Try out these tips for ways to wind down before your head hits the pillow: 1. Jump Around As simple as running around your house or dropping some crazy dance moves to your favorite song,... Continue Reading →
I don't have to tell you - zombies are everywhere. I do not mean to say that the zombie apocalypse has begun (although that would certainly make for an interesting post). I mean to say the obvious - for the past few years, they have been and remain super popular. For zombie fans, this is... Continue Reading →
