Daughter #4 works for the CIA. No, that isn’t why I don’t use her name; it isn’t that CIA. And her name is Sara Marian Deurell and she writes! Also: edits! She works for Corn Island Archaeology, a totally awesomesauce archaeology and cultural resources consulting services firm. CIA is, as Charlie jokes, “Inta ev’ahthang.”

I be doing Story-A-Day May again this year. If you want or need help with story prompts or how-to-publish-your-own-ebook advice, check out Julie Duffy’s Story-A-Day shop. It’s not just for May!

I do love me some design porn, although buying a used wreath at the Goodwill is about as Martha Stewart as I get. But I like to look at the pretties, so I hit Design*Sponge every now and then to get my fix.

Charlie and I had a … discussion … the other day about all right vs. alright. He asked me how I determine when to use each one. I told him it was very simple for me: all right is two words. It’s always two words. There is no such word as “alright.” He wanted to debate the point, but I said I realize many people consider “alright” a word, and that it has a subtle but real difference of usage, but if he wants to know how I determine when to use “alright,” the answer is, “I don’t.” I said, “Bank as in ‘the edge of a river’ and bank as in ‘bank the fire’ are two different usages, but we don’t spell the words differently.” Grammar Girl agrees with both of us, but mostly with me.

BONUS RECOMMEND: That Grammar Girl article is on a super site called Quick and Dirty Tips. Annnnnnnnd — GO!

A WRITING PROMPT FOR YOU: A character has a … discussion … with a loved one.

MA