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Caution: Mermaid Crossing
This blog (including pages of interest as an author/speaker/workshop presenter)
is a companion to my upcoming collection of essays titled,
Caution: Mermaid Crossing, Voyages of a Motherless Daughter - Passing through a sea of adversity,
she overcomes a life unimaginable by crossing into the world of ethereal beauty and mermaid magic.
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Day 1 - Jet Lagged and Jubilant
From Santa Barbara to Roma via Barcelona was a 24-hour journey door-to-door. Some of this was due to the advice I received from Santa...
Valerie Anne Burns
Sep 28, 2022
Please Excuse Excessive Email Faux Pas
My sincere apologies for filling up your inbox. Blogs were moved over from my old blog site to Wix in this process of set-up and ,...
Valerie Anne Burns
Sep 12, 2022
Just Around the Corner is Another Special Journey
I'm visualizing myself in Rome wandering the beautiful cobblestone streets just like the one in the photo. I'll pause to take in the...
Valerie Anne Burns
Sep 4, 2022
I'm Ready to Fly Away
It's time for a change. I'm ready to fly the coop. I have been working my tail off and find myself in a daze. I need a break and Rome...
Valerie Anne Burns
Aug 21, 2022
Why Are We Going Backwards?
How do we remain hopeful in these unprecedented times? Personally, I am not coping well. Everyday and everywhere, there is tragedy,...
Valerie Anne Burns
Jul 17, 2022
A Writer's Life
As I’ve muddled my way through and, at times, flowed through my writing life, it’s obvious that I’m on a roller coaster. Rejection,...
Valerie Anne Burns
Jun 18, 2022
Revision for Hope in Spring Carries On
Spring arrives regardless of a dead-dry drought Even as gusty winds ignite imposing flames. April only knows to bring hope into our...
Valerie Anne Burns
May 8, 2022
Limbo, Chaos, and Cats
Lucia Fortuna Since I was a very little girl, cats have been my refuge and a source of deep affection. After losing my mother at the age...
Valerie Anne Burns
Mar 27, 2022
Where is the Muse and Better News?
There's a reason life has been known to be a roller coaster ride. It certainly has been that for me. I find the muse, I find the joy, and...
Valerie Anne Burns
Jan 14, 2022
The Journey to Being Published in Chicken Soup for the Soul Series
One of the more difficult things for a writer to do is hang in there, to persevere amongst all the rejection. The percentage of rejection...
Valerie Anne Burns
Oct 20, 2021
What the Hell is Happening?
(End of August blog with a strong build-up need to express!) How does one take it all in? Oh how I yearn to be a Pollyanna by nature. But...
Valerie Anne Burns
Aug 20, 2021
Sorry, No Longer Accepting Breadcrumbs
It took such a long time to realize that I deserve a lot more in life than breadcrumbs... an embarrassingly long time. It was in therapy...
Valerie Anne Burns
Jul 14, 2021
Your Bed
For this month's blog, I'm sharing a published essay in HerStry Literary Journal from my book, Caution: Mermaid Crossing, Voyages of a...
Valerie Anne Burns
May 20, 2021
Reminiscing About Italy Has Been a Favorite Way of Distraction During Covid
Reminiscing About Italy Has Been a Favorite Way of Distraction During Covid Lerici in Liguria, Italy--October, 2019 (Poem about returning...
Valerie Anne Burns
Mar 8, 2021
Amber Glow
For this month's blog, I'm posting an original poem (plus a bonus poem) from my City College Creative Writing Class. Amber Glow is...
Valerie Anne Burns
Feb 24, 2021
How Do We Stay Sane in Trying Times, Especially Solo?
Lilly Pond Zen Moment--Summerland, CA I'm still trying to figure this out every day. There seems to be a perpetual delay in major areas...
Valerie Anne Burns
Nov 20, 2020
Birthday Blog 2020 ~ What a Difference a Year Makes
While I won't reveal my age, I can say life is passing by faster than I'm comfortable with. Last year on my birthday, I was in Firenze...
Valerie Anne Burns
Oct 5, 2020
Endlessness of Current Times and the Comforting Endlessness of the Sea
There is a feeling of endlessness in my orbit...perhaps felt in the world, very likely in this country and perhaps by you. I'm in a...
Valerie Anne Burns
Jul 19, 2020
Is Anyone Listening?
Does anyone else feel as if the world has been flipped on its axis? Does anyone, perhaps those that are in self-quarantine completely...
Valerie Anne Burns
May 23, 2020
Masked and Zooming
By Tuesday night (4/14) after excessive Zooming, Google meetings, WhatsApp face-time for far too many hours and far too many weeks, a...
Valerie Anne Burns
Apr 17, 2020
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