I sometimes get asked why I wrote War of the Seasons: The Human. Today seemed like an appropriate day to answer that question. If you own a copy of my book and you look at the dedication you'll see it's "For Will." Who was Will? William Harrell Snell was born on March 26, 1990 and died in a car accident on Aug 4, 2008. This was the memorial I wrote about Will a week after he died: I first met Will in the Spring of 2003. I was walking down Elm St in Swansboro, NC. I was looking for a place to rent, since my apartment in New Bern was in the ghetto and there had been a drive-by shooting, and Ron (who was currently stationed in Pensacola, FL) was not comfortable with me living there alone any more. I stopped at a home (204 Elm st) that had a man working on a bike outside. His name was Jimmy, and I asked him if there were any homes for rent in the area. He said he didn't know, so called for his wife, Beth to come out side and answer. Beth came out, and we were introduced, and was very shortly followed by a young, gangly looking boy. That was Will. ☺ We talked and socialized, and I met Laura too (her daughter) & Beth took my name and number, and said she'd call if she thought of anything. Well, she called not 30 minutes later and said she couldn't bare to think of me living all alone in the ghetto, and would I like to move in with she and her son Will? (her daughter was at school, and her husband lived in their home in Columbia, SC, and Beth was renting that house since she was an activated Naval reservist). Of course I said yes! Living in a charming 100 year old home, on the water in Swansboro, NC with a sweet woman and her adorable son was about a million times better then living alone in the ghetto. I started moving my things in the next day. Will and I clicked instantly. He was so much like my litt [...] Thanks for reading! Please leave any comments on the site: http://www.waroftheseasons.com/
You might be asking yourself (because I know I'm certainly asking myself), why the heck is this author/Marine/mother/wife writing a fashion blog? Aren't there like a bajillion fashion blogs out there? Why do we need another? We probably don't, and I don't think I'm a 
Special Agenda? Not really - Congress wasn't in session on this day, so I decided to go for a more casual, yet femini 
But before I go off on a tangent let me just say that YES I LOVED THIS FILM. It was probably one of the best film adaptations of a book I've ever seen. Everyone played their parts perfectly, and Effie Trinket stole the show for me! I cannot wait for Catching Fire! Now back to costumes. The Hunger Games trilogy, aside from being a set of books that both my husband and I adored, were also the first books our daughter loved - they were her "gateway books" if you will, and she is always reading now. You have no idea how happy this makes me (or perhaps you do :) ). As soo as she finished reading The Hunger Games she asked me if I would make her a Rue costume. Um YES. Given that she was 12 years old, Rue's exact age? HECK YES. SO, one weekend before Christmas I whipped out a Rue costume for the Youngling, a Katniss for myself, and Peeta for my husband, because why NOT make it a family affair? 
And it just so happened that we spent Christmas right near where they filmed the movie in North Carolina, so of course we HAD to get pictures. 
SPOILER ALERT *STOP READING IF YOU HAVEN'T SEEN THE FILM OR READ THE BOOK*[...] 
You might be asking yourself (because I know I'm certainly asking myself), why the heck is this author/Marine/mother/wife writing a fashion blog? Aren't there like a bajillion fashion blogs out there? Why do we need another? We probably don't, and I don't think I'm a 
Special Agenda?Yes! Given that it was the day before St. Patrick's Day and the last day of the work week is typically more casual (because Congress is usually not in session) I wanted to wea 
You might be asking yourself (because I know I'm certainly asking myself), why the heck is this author/Marine/mother/wife writing a fashion blog? Aren't there like a bajiollion fashion blogs out there? Why do we need another? We probably don't, and I don't think I'm a 
That said, my personal style is constantly evolving (i.e., when I was 16, to me the height of fashion was jeans, Birkenstocks, and a Beatles t-shirt... okay I'll be honest, some days this is still the height of fashion for me). 
Now, what I wear is driven in part by the situation. For example, I am currently working on Capitol Hill as a Marine Liaison Officer for the House of Representatives. I wear a uniform one day a week instead of everyday - this means I wear a lot of professional civilian clothing. Still, I try to show my own flair and personality in my clothes, while still maintaining a professional appearance appropriate to my surroundings. Oh, and I absolutely LOVE thrift stores, vintage, used, handmade clothing, clearance sales, you name it. In fact, I get a bit ill if I pay full price for anything. Bleh. So yes, it IS possible to look great without spending half your pay check doing it! You've got to go by the old adage (my friend Caitlin told me about): 
My, I've gotten younger and cuter... Attending StellarCon as an invited guest was instead of a paying attendee was both surreal and a bit like coming full circle. Eight years ago when my husband and I were stationed in Eastern North Carolina I'd first heard about StellarCon from my friend, 
So to come back eight years later as a guest author and find myself on a pan