Simon & Garfunkel’s “Feelin Groovy” has been a mantra for me. The lyrics start out… Slow down, you move too fastYou got to make the morning lastJust kicking down the cobblestonesLooking for fun and feeling groovy I’ve often hummed or sang the tune on the golf course, as I try to establish rhythm in my […]
Happy New Year! 2026 is the Year of the Horse, according to the Chinese Zodiac. Not just any horse, mind you. But the Fire Horse. Even just typing those words makes me feel energetic and bold, which this special sign represents. The Fire Horse also signifies freedom, innovation, and fast action. Strap your boots on, […]
My heart skipped a beat with an email I received from the Ohio Center for the Book back in May. “Congratulations! Your book, Virginia Hamilton: America’s Storyteller, has been chosen by the Ohio Center for the Book to be included in the “Great Reads from Great Places” list for the 2025 National Book Festival of […]
Check out my interview with Laura Maylene Walter from the Ohio Center for the Book! https://cpl.org/podcast-episode/celebrating-virginia-hamilton-with-julie-k-rubini/
“You can’t use up creativity. The more you use, the more you have.” Maya Angelou My friend and fellow children’s book author, Michelle Houts, recently shared pictures of a group of peers in a pottery class on social media. Michelle wrote something about how when writers aren’t writing, we are still creating. When golfing with […]
“When your soul stirs, take attentive note.” So begins a beautiful book that my friend, Gayle, gifted me several years ago. Simply Soul Stirring: Writing as a Meditative Practice has been a wonderful reminder to “be in the moment” both in writing and life. I hope you’ve experienced those occasions where you feel pure joy…where […]
With all due respect, William Shakespeare, but this winter has been anything but full of discontent. Just the opposite. For those of you who have been following our travels in our motorhome, you might recall that two years ago we traveled around Florida. We stayed for a month in Port St. Lucie, renting a lot […]
Hey readers…it’s been a minute, I know. My childhood essays on “How I Spent My Summer Vacation” were filled with adventures in my backyard, and worlds away as I discovered my passion for reading. What seemed to be endless, blissful days playing a variety of traditional games, and not so (Hey, Julie, see if you […]
On the way to the Main Library of Toledo Lucas County Public Library system this past Saturday morning, I enjoyed taking in the scene along the Maumee River. It was a bit cloudy, but the sun was trying to poke out. Then, with a burst of radiance, beams from the sun cleared through the grey […]
The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) released a statement this past week that for the first time in five months, Voyager 1 is returning usable data about the status of its onboard engineering systems. The next step is to work out the kinks so that the probe starts sending scientific data again. In essence, […]
