Welcome to Pairings

Inspiration strikes in strange and unexpected ways. But when it doesn’t strike, there are three tricks to juice it along.

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.

Inspiration comes from many places. No use pretending it all comes out of our heads with no other stimulation. We rely on influences.

There’s a saying in real estate, that it’s all about location. Location. Location. Location. It’s just as true in writing historical novels.

Satisfaction in Maine by Jann Alexander ©2017 I spent an entire week in one of the most divine places on earth, coastal Maine, but I...

Tuesday, November 8, 2016, is Election Day. In case it’s escaped your attention, there’s an important election on Tuesday, November 8. ...

On a walking tour of Dürnstein,  in lower Austria, my iPhone 6s in hand, centuries were evident on every building. Every stone was...

Danube Palette by Jann Alexander ©2016 While I was cycling in Austria on a mostly overcast day, the sun laid down just enough light to...

How many times have you  been set to make a photo, but there’s something in the way? Think of it not as a barrier, but as an opportunity...

Take the annual Weird Austin Homes Tour and see for yourself. Weird Homes Welcome | iPhoneography by Jann Alexander ©2016 Welcome. Let’s...

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

Life is lived in the details, so your camera must always be ready to be your eyes. But it helps to be ready at the right time. Here’s...

If you believe, as I do, that life is lived in the details, your camera must always be ready to take in what you can’t. Melk Abbey...

When You Can’t Change The View Water Over The Dam by Jann Alexander ©2016 Change Your Perspective Another Perspective: Water Over The Dam...

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...

Mind in a State of Wine | iPhoneography by Jann Alexander © 2016 It’s been that kind of week. You know the kind. You’ve worked out hard...

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...

For every action, there is a reaction. Which makes choosing the right actions pretty important, even when the actions are pretty...