

Kate Greenaway: Staying True to Your Own Style
How do memories transform creativity and imagination? For artist and poet Kate Greenaway, childhood memories created a swirl of color,...

Linda Borromeo
7 min read


Gifts From the Sky: Celebrating The Flying Lighthouse Santa
It starts with a low rumble. As the noise grows louder, I shade my eyes and look up at the blue sky. Overhead, the roar approaches and its source comes into view—half plane and half boat. Floatplane near Friday Harbor, San Juan Islands I grew up in the California desert, and I still find floatplanes surprising. These amphibious planes often fly to the San Juan Islands near my home now in the Pacific Northwest. And whenever I see floatplanes, I think of a storied name in light

Linda Borromeo
3 min read


They Never Wearied of Stories: Discover a Surprising Children's Library
Painting by Helen Allingham What can the height of a table tell you? If you walked into a special children's library of long ago, a...

Linda Borromeo
4 min read


Mary Cassatt and the Vanishing Mural
On a cool autumn evening , Christie Edwards faces a life-altering decision. She is attending an awards ceremony at the 1893 Chicago...

Linda Borromeo
6 min read


Christmas Paintings: 3 Turning Points of Freedom for Artist Henry O. Tanner
First Freedom: Escape into the Night She prayed that the night would be kind. Touching her daughter's shoulder one last time, her...

Linda Borromeo
5 min read


A Spanish Princess, a Glass Dress, and a Creative Gamble
Actress Gloria Cayvan (left) and Infanta Eulalia of Spain Cinderella's fairy godmother created glass slippers with just a flick of her...

Linda Borromeo
5 min read


A Narnian Christmas Treasure, a Professor, and Africa
Discovering Narnian Treasure I walked into the fragrance of a hundred Christmas trees. On my way to my cluster mailbox about a half-mile...

Linda Borromeo
4 min read


Grace Darling: Meet a Young Lighthouse Heroine
It always surprised Grace Darling to emerge from the shelter of a walled garden to a world exploding with gray light. She looked up at...

Linda Borromeo
4 min read


When a Viking Ship Invaded Chicago: Tales From the 1893 Chicago World's Fair
"Viking" by Hjalmar Johnssen (1898) vikingship.us A Shimmering World of Illusion One of the delights of writing historical mysteries...

Linda Borromeo
3 min read


Catch Your Family's Stories on Thanksgiving: A Mutiny, a Shipwreck, and a Wheel of Cheese
I'm trying to remember the name of a Star Trek episode. The plot features a civilization desperate to hear new stories, and then the...

Linda Borromeo
4 min read


Hermenia by the Sea: Meet an Intrepid Lighthouse Keeper's Wife
A lone figure walked along the beach after a fierce storm. With her long skirt twisting in the steady wind, she put up a hand to keep her...

Linda Borromeo
3 min read


What Hidden Manuscript Would You Most Like to Discover?
Ann Sotheran, stained glass window. The World of James Herriot, Thirsk. Image Credit: Amanda Slater Creative Commons Attribution-Share...

Linda Borromeo
3 min read


Hat Box Dreams: 4 Ways "Anne of Green Gables" Can Help You Achieve Your Creative Goals
On an early spring day, Lucy Maud Montgomery felt a chill when she opened the door to the clothes room. Although the frost had started to...

Linda Borromeo
5 min read


Keep Discovering: The Wonder of Printed Words
Once upon a time, a shy little girl sat reading at her desk in a combined fifth and sixth grade classroom. Bright Southern California...

Linda Borromeo
3 min read

