Welcome to Pairings

The Narrow View | iPhoneography by Jann Alexander © 2016 Behind the camera lens, you’ve got a choice. Your view can be narrow, focused...

Last week I read two books in two days. Yes, that required putting a halt to all activities beyond eating and feeding the dog. Even...

You’ve finished your epic novel and you’re querying agents. (You haven’t written an epic novel? No matter. Applying for a job? Same...

You voted with your eyeballs for your favorite Pairings this year ( Thank You! ), and your eyes revealed that my posts about the creative...

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

What’s Beneath My Feet: My Aircast Boot | iPhoneography by Jann Alexander ©2015 Ever since I fractured my fibula (left lateral distal...

David Beheads Goliath, 1650  by Guillaume Courtois [ Public domain via Wikimedia Commons ] When you’re nearing the finish line with...

Ah, elixir of life: I Need Coffee by Jann Alexander ©2014 1. Bring your own coffee. There may be none. Even if there is, there will...

What You Need: An Author Platform by Jann Alexander ©2015 “Platform is a very helpful thing.”   — Karlyn Hixson, St. Martin’s Press  ...

Broken is from a 1980 road trip I made across the U.S., and gives me a chance to pair my photo with my favorite quote from literature.

When a sudden virus kept me sidelined on Mother’s Day and for a few days thereafter, I turned to the only antidote that relieved my...

If you have ignored these three simple , but essential, chores to maintain your blog’s health, you’ve ignored them at your peril. The...

Tangled Web by Jann Alexander ©2015 “Oh, what a tangled web we weave / When first we practise to deceive!” — Sir Walter Scott,  Marmion...

Lily Pads Afloat by Jann Alexander ©2015 Lily pads mysteriously afloat Their long tendrils an unseen connection to Nutrients and life...

You can express yourself much more elegantly, and much less violently, with some alternatives to a common idiom of murky origins. How...

The thing I’ve discovered about writing a novel like A Habit of Hiding is that its presence is always with me. Even when I’m not writing...

Look closely at the logos on the writing machines chosen by famous men for decades. Why trust your precious words to anything other than...

. . . with your words. Pull out your favorite pen, and write a note. Let this picture show you the way on Wordless Wednesday: Surprise...

1000 Voices Speak for compassion today, thanks to Yvonne Spence – Credit: #1000Speak Small acts of compassion can make a difference....

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...