Jessica McCarty, Author

Every generation has things unique to them. For instance, I could toss out words like rad/radical, cool, awesome, excellent , bodacious, and anyone my age would be able to translate. These words bring several movies to mind: The Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Wayne's World, and Bill and Ted's Excellent Adventure . Here are a few other things only 80's and 90's kids can relate to . . . "Dangerous" toys. We road our bikes without helmets. Slap bracelets. You literally had to slap yourself with it to put it on. And, of course, you didn't just put it on. You put it on several  times in a row. Skip-its. A heavy plastic ball you strapped to your ankle. You swung that leg in a circle and attempted to jump over the ball with your other leg. No danger there. Pogo balls. A donut shaped plastic ring encircling a rubber ball. You stood on the plastic ring and jumped. Jumping on a rubber ball. Yeah, that's a good idea. ...

My Advice for the Graduates 1. Be a lifelong learner. A healthy person is constantly growing. You're a living, breathing thing, like a plant. Keep feeding that brain of yours. 2. You don't have to know it all right now . When I was in school I remember teachers drilling into us that we had to know what we were going to college for before we even entered high school. One rebel teacher told us, most people have something like seven different jobs in their life. You may not end up doing what you went to college for. So calm down. 3. Big dreams take big investments. You want to be a marine biologist? Great! But don't think because you have a degree you're going to be sailing around the world tomorrow. Be prepared to start on the lowest rung and work your way up. 4. In the wise words of my father-in-law, "You always have a choice." Maybe a four year degree isn't for you. Maybe you can only afford a two year degree at a communi...

Welcome, spring! As I sit here, it's storming, watering my tomatoes and zucchinis. I don't have a green thumb, yet that hasn't stopped me from acquiring a potted plant and a mini garden. These pretty orange flowers were hand picked by my nephew. They definitely cheer up my dining room. We'll see how many of these plants I can actually keep alive!🤣 ****** Nature journal: I got this idea from a nonfiction book I picked up a couple of weeks ago. Please excuse my very rusty, amateur drawing. Hopefully I'll find some plants to dry/press for my journal as well. ****** Verse of the week: Philippians 4:13   (AMP; emphasis mine) I C A N do all things [which He has called me to do] through Him who strengthens  and  empowers me [to fulfill His purpose—I am self-sufficient in Christ’s sufficiency; I am ready for anything and equal to anything through Him who infuses me with inner strength ...

      I thought it would be fun this week to share the first words I wrote for A Desperate Love . These paragraphs didn't make it into the book but remain some of my favorite writing from that time. Originally, I started out with a dream sequence of sorts, focusing on what I highlight throughout the book; Olivia's nightmares and her desperate search for Tristen.      A few fun facts:      *I wrote the entire book at a small table (that I drug up from a cobwebby basement corner) in two large notebooks.      *I wrote the whole thing in first person, changing it later (don't ever do that).      *This very  first appeared in a "free writing" notebook I wrote in at random. Enjoy!      The early light of dawn, it always draws me. Before the sun even peeks over the horizon, the dark begins to lift, turning the sky soft pinks and blues. It's there that I feel you. It's there that I remem...

How was your Easter, friends? I had a great time with this handsome man and my family. I made brownies from my "new" 1950 edition Betty Crocker Cook Book. I'm going to assume they were good. And by assume I mean my family ate them all  before I got to taste test them. I'm taking that as a compliment! (And an excuse to make them again.😋) After dinner the fellas tossed a frisbee while my nephews tried to catch it, running and laughing and being way too short to ever reach it. There was the customary egg hunt. My niece and nephews are finally old enough that they get what's going on. My favorite thing was my sis asking my niece why she wasn't playing with the boys afterward. "You love to play outside," she said. My niece responded, while opening yet another candy, "I do, but I like chocolate better." Me, too, peach! Me too!🤣 ****** Book I just finished: The Caged Queen  by Kristen Ciccarelli ...