Jo Maeder

Author

MASKS FOR LIFE: Wearing a mask is liberating. I’m not saying good-bye for good to mine yet.

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It took me a nanosecond to embrace wearing a mask when the pandemic hit. Aside from deterring all airborne infections and reducing the risk to others, it checked these boxes: • No one sees my “phony smile” • No one sees me talking to myself • No one sees my Resting Bitch Face Nor did […]

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QUICKIE Q&A WITH ACTRESS HOLLY ADAMS: The art of audiobook narrations (and a peek at OPPOSITES ATTACK’s version)

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Holly Adams, narrator of Opposites Attack, isn’t just a voice actress. She works in contemporary film, easily tackles Shakespeare, teaches how to be a clown, walks on stilts, and more. Earphone and Independent Audiobook Award winner, and Audie Finalist, I was thrilled to have her inhabit the multi-cultural cast of my novel set in Provence […]

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OPPOSITES ATTACK: THE AUDIOBOOK. A long journey and rebirth

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Bonjour! Summer is here and the thrill of new travel odysseys beckon. I’m thrilled to share that my culture clash novel set in the South of France, Opposites Attack, is finally an audiobook. For various reasons, the project kept dying on the vine like Viognier grapes in a drought. And then, life burst forth. There’s even […]

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2020: The Ups and Downs, a New Year’s Eve Invitation, and Wedding Photos!

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A Year Like No Other How many times in 2020 did you say: “What a year!” I hope you didn’t lose a loved one to Covid-19 or meet with financial ruin. Surely, someone reading this has and you have my deepest sympathies. Please keep reading. I have something to invite you to at the end that might be […]

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Q&A: Jill McCorkle on dolls, dollhouses, tiny objects and what they have to do with writing and life

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    “I have always loved dolls. And yes, there are still within the love, those that have creeped me out!” – Jill McCorkle Jill McCorkle is a bestselling, award-winning author of unforgettable novels and short stories. She was a Briggs-Copeland Lecturer in Fiction at Harvard, where she also chaired the department of creative writing. […]

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How My French Work Exchange Journey Led to a New Life and Love

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Hotel de Cours de Thomazeau in Castillonnes, France. A few years ago I stumbled on the blog Enjoy Living Abroad and began a vicarious journey through Karen McCann and her husband Rich. In 2004, these intrepid Americans decided to live one year in Seville. They’re still there. If you’ve ever dreamed of living abroad or […]

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Chapter 1 of Zerk ‘Em and Pull the Push Rods: A Wry Squint at Aviation in the Mid-20th Century

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“Something went terribly wrong,” the stranger said. “Katie’s been in the hospital since her operation last month. She wanted me to call you. She’s on a ventilator and can’t speak.” Katie was my father’s widow. After George Weitz died in 1985 at age 75, the British Katie, almost two decades his junior and not prone […]

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The Tale of the Squirrel-proof Bird Feeder

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Let me explain why I was so determined to outwit the squirrels stealing birdseed from the wild birds I’d attracted to my yard. Of course they didn’t see it as stealing. It’s their natural right to snarf up anything they can. And boy are they smart. Ultimately though, I won this war. I was having […]

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Life Works in Mysterious Ways: How losing my last sibling gave me more than just a new perspective

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I once wrote an essay for AOL about getting through Mother’s Day when Mom is no longer here (the essay is no longer here as well—so much for everything living forever online). Now I’m faced with Mother’s Day without my brother, Art. Every day without him has been hard, but we always shared memories of “Mama […]

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When A Video of Someone You Know Goes Viral (in a bad way)

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It was bound to happen. Someone I knew and consider to be a nice person behaved badly, a bystander made a video, it went viral, this person lost their job and now must mentally wear the scarlet letters IPH (Internet Public Hanging). I don’t want to leave a clue to their identity by saying “he” […]

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