Welcome to Pairings

What Did It Take to Become America’s First Female Cabinet Member? The only woman in the room, and the only individual to serve in FDR’s cabinet for his entire term, arrived for her job interview on February 22, 1933 with a very ambitious list.

In the 1930s, these women captured Texas on film—the good, the bad, and the truly ugly.

When First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt met a Texas dust storm in 1939, her encounter gave me an idea for my historical novel, Unspoken

All it took in 1885 to build Houston a city library was a book club, begun by women with a desire for "intellectual culture."

Just like everyone else, we face choices. But the choices authors face aren't exactly like the ones you're imagining.

Quitter's Day has come and gone, and with it, 80% of our 2025 New Year Resolutions. It's not too late for this smoother means to success.

Henry Miller's own Eleven Commandments of Writing helped him maintain his focus on work in progress. Can they help with yours, too?

Here's how four words — Create First, React Later — can help to keep you on the writing track.

Knowing when to stop writing is a lot easier than starting to write in the first place. But it's simple: You just have to show up.

Don’t let fear become the biggest influence in your creative life. Find your commitment to painting and writing by delving into your fears.

Don’t fight it. Creativity is a choice. Once you make it, the ups, and the downs, are the fun part.

Life provides obstacles, but you can choose what you focus on

When you let go, you create space for something else to move in to your life, as Holiday Mathis told me in my horoscope.

Embrace your dual gifts: you can inhabit two worlds, and you can slide between them with ease. It’s just what writers do.

In one short paragraph author Flannery O'Connor nails down her work ethic — one that will motivate your creative soul.

Lifesavers: Stable Relations Nubè and Clara   Anna Blake ©2015 Her heart had been broken , in many places, when she threw herself...

Click to Tweet This Your first novel will always be your favorite, because of your innocence when you wrote it, though it is unlikely to...

Are You Going Under?  ©2014 Jann Alexander Here’s my recipe for getting a grip on your chaos-driven, clutter-filled life. Busting the...

When to Stop Art by Jann Alexander ©2014 Hemingway was notoriously negligent with his drinking, his wives and in the end, his own life,...

#JustPaint Poster ©2014 JannAlexander.com if you’re a painter,  and it’s part of your soul and the way you breathe, you know it, and...