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Your Write Path Workshops Now Scheduled for September! Save the Dates
I have a full slate of workshops schedules for September: Fiction Writing Essentials, Self-Publishing with KDP (Kindle Direct Publishing), and extended Guided Autobiography Workshops. You don’t need to register now, but save the dates and stay tuned. – Mark
Guided Autobiography 6 Week Online Workshop
Starts Wednesday, September 4, 10:00 am eastern
Register here -
Health Beat: Coping with the Summer Heat
By Mark McNease
Tomorrow is the official first day of summer, and the temperatures here in New Jersey are proof of it. After some very comfortable months, the heat and humidity are increasing steadily, and we’re headed for our first heat wave of the summer (defined as three days or more of above-90 degree temps).
It’s been okay so far here in the countryside where we live, but this morning I had to pull out the bandanna I wrap around my head when the humidity gets drippy. And I watered the vegetable garden early this morning before a trip out of town.
We have two cats and I always think about them, too. They’ve survived before and they’ll survive again, but always keep lots of fresh water for them and hire a pet sitter if you go away.
And now … some tips and reflections on the dog days of summer.
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Savvy Senior: Long-Term Care Benefits for Veterans and Surviving Spouses
By Jim Miller
Dear Savvy Senior,
I understand that the Veterans Administration has a benefit that can help veterans and spouses with long-term care costs. We recently had to move my elderly father into an assisted living memory care facility, and my mother will probably need care too in the near future. What can you tell me?
Searching for Aid
Dear Searching,
The Veterans Administration (VA) does indeed have an underutilized benefit that can help wartime veterans and their surviving spouses pay for a variety of long-term care costs.
This benefit, called “Aid and Attendance,” is a special pension that’s paid on top of existing VA pensions for eligible veterans and surviving spouses. In 2024, it pays a maximum of $2,727 a month to married veterans; $2,300 a month to single veterans; or $1,478 a month to a surviving spouse. The money is tax free, and can be used to pay for assisted living, memory care, nursing home or in-home care services.
Currently, around 156,000 veterans and survivors are receiving the Aid and Attendance benefit, but many thousands more are eligible who either don’t know about it or don’t think they qualify.
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Workshops Now Scheduled for September! Save the Dates
I have a full slate of workshops schedules for September: Fiction Writing Essentials, Self-Publishing with KDP (Kindle Direct Publishing), and extended Guided Autobiography Workshops. You don’t need to register now, but save the dates and stay tuned. – Mark
Guided Autobiography 6 Week Online Workshop
Starts Wednesday, September 4, 10:00 am eastern
Register here -
One Thing or Another Podcast #72: A Conversation with Wendy Cole, Transition Mentor
I knew Wendy when we both worked at the same place several years ago in New Hope, PA. I’d often wondered where she went and what she was up to. And now I know! She was generous enough to share her past, present and future with us, and I’m delighted to have her as a guest on the podcast. – Mark/Editor
Knowing who you are, and not BEING who you are: this is the starting point of every Transitional situation. You KNOW who you truly are, in every aspect, but the outside is what matters. That is what people see. Taking that first transitional step is TERRIFYING. It’s the stress: stress of the journey, stress of the mental weight, stress of worrying about the outside world… The physical transition is the easiest part; it’s getting through the mental transition that holds us back.
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Health Beat: Stiff Competition (And How to Loosen Up)
Narration provided by Wondervox.
By Mark McNease
Six weeks ago I fell in the yard, spraining my ankle and causing a small fracture in my fibula. One of the things I immediately noticed was an exaggeration of my already stiffening walk. It’s a common effect of aging we all see among those of us above a certain age: walking with a more side-to-side gait, possibly bent over some, or even a sort of waddling. It’s not just, or always, from being overweight or having joint and bone issues.
There are many causes off the stiffening that occurs as we age. Let’s take a look at some (and check out my post about stretching HERE).
Why We Get Stiff As We Age
If you are over 50, you might have noticed that your joints are not as flexible as they used to be. You may feel stiff and sore when you wake up in the morning, or after sitting for a long time. You may also find it harder to do some physical activities, such as gardening, climbing stairs, or any kind of athletic activities. Why does this happen? And what can we do to prevent or reduce stiffness in your body?
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One Thing or Another Podcast #71: Author Dave Hughes on Finding His Way Into Fiction
What goes around comes around … and it’s another great interview with author, columnist, and renaissance man Dave Hughes. We’ve been friends for nearly a decade, and I’ve taken a lot of inspiration from Dave’s post-corporate-job life (I try not to use the word ‘retirement,’ since it needs to be retired!). Join me in a chat with Dave about two of his big ventures: RetireFabulously.com, and his more recent headlong dive into fiction with his ‘Gay Tales for the New Millennium‘ series, with its fifth book, Karma Train from Kansas, having just pulled into the station.
Dave Hughes has written four gay fiction novels, Maybe Next Year; Instant Adult; Open Books, Closed Sets; and If I Seem Quiet…. These are the first four books in a series of six called Gay Tales for the New Millennium. His first short story, Cruise Virgins, is available free to subscribers of his newsletter. Chronologically, it fits between Open Books, Closed Sets and If I Seem Quiet… .
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One Thing or Another Podcast #70: Author Nev March Pursues Her Passion with Fourth Novel in Historical Mystery Series
I’m delighted to chat with author and fellow Mystery Writers of America (NY) board member Nev March. After a successful business career, Nev picked up her passion where she’d left off: writing superb historical fiction steeped in the sounds, sights and sensations of old Bombay. Join us for a conversation about her books, her writing, and her plans for the future.
Author Nev March is the first Indian-born writer to win Minotaur Books/Mystery Writers of America’s Award for Best First Crime Fiction. Her debut novel Murder in Old Bombay was an Edgar and Anthony finalist.
After a long career in business analysis, in 2015 Nev returned to her passion, writing fiction and now teaches fun courses on creative writing at Rutgers University, Osher Institute. A Parsee Zoroastrian herself, she lives in New Jersey with her family. She volunteers with local non profit Shine and Inspire and the Zoroastrian Association of Greater New York, ZAGNY. She is President of the NY chapter board of the Mystery Writers of America. She also writes screenplays for TV and film.
Nev’s books deal with issues of identity, race and moral boundaries. Her sequel, Peril at the Exposition is set at the 1893 World’s Fair, during a time of conflict that planted the seeds of today’s red-blue political divide. In Captain Jim and Lady Diana’s third adventure The Spanish Diplomat’s Secret they face a strange, otherworldly foe who causes Jim to question the nature of justice.
Nev is presently writing book #4: Diana’s brother Adi is accused of murder! Nothing less would drive Captain Jim and Diana back to the rigid social hierarchy of Bombay.
Nev is seeking representation from an agency a strong screen rights team and connections to film/TV production
Comments, questions or suggestions? Contact Mark AT YourWritePath.com
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Coming Soon from Your Write Path: Doing It All – A Self-Publishing Workshop Intensive
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Fall Writing Workshops and Classes Coming This September!
I’m furiously working on a full roster of workshops, extended workshops and classes to offer starting September. Subscribe at YourWritePath.com and stay updated on all of it!
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Health Beat: The Benefits of Going Barefoot
Narration provided by Wondervox.
I’ve been ditching the socks lately and it feels great. I can move my feet around more freely, and I don’t feel any distance between my skin and the floor. It’s especially nice at my writing desk, when I can curl my toes up and type!
There has always been something attractive for me about going barefoot, and I don’t mean the way it looks! I mean the way it feels. I can tell immediately what the surface I’m standing on feels like, whether it’s grass or the tiles on the kitchen floor.
Our culture tends to frown on being barefoot, as if our feet are somehow dirtier than our socks or shoes. I’ve made this assumption myself for most of my life, but the past year or so I kept wanting to be barefoot. Part of this is because I never feel like I have a good grip in socks, as if I’m going to slide onto the floor with every step. And part of it is because I instinctively feel more grounded: my feet are free to experience the sensation of whatever they’re touching, and I’m not worried about slipping and spraining my ankle (again).
So I’ve been ditching the socks lately and it feels great. I can move my feet around more freely, and I don’t feel any distance between my skin and the floor. It’s especially nice at my writing desk, when I can curl my toes up and type!
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Working This Hard Has to Be Fun
