Amanda LaPera

100,000 poets for change, a worldwide event

Poetry readings begin at 11am.

Tomorrow @ Beyond Baroque Literary/ Arts Center

681 Venice Blvd., Venice, California 90291

Can't attend? You can watch live streaming video by clicking the link below.

http://www.ustream.tv/channel/the-poet-s-soapbox

        Imagine being able to detect depression in the same way diabetes is diagnosed--with a blood test.

   ...

On March 23, this letter was originally published by the Sacramento Bee online.

        Re "State needs to overhaul its dated mental health law" (Editorials, March 18): Thank you for bringing attention to this serious issue. Doctors, law enfo...

This article in the Sacramento Bee sums the issues up nicely:

http://www.sacbee.com/2012/03/18/4344840/state-needs-to-overhaul-its-dated.html

Basically, after the Lanterman-Petris...

Review of Ingrid Ricks’ Hippie Boy

By Amanda LaPera

I’m into true stories and well-written memoirs that give me a glimpse into a life unlike my own. Hippie Boy by Ingrid Ricks is a gripping story that pulled me in from page one. Her adventures with her father are anything but carefree, as much as her character initially beli...

I know I've been MIA for awhile. As it turns out, I never hit the "publish" button on a few of my recent blog posts. Ooops. Well, my mind's been entrenched in the endless editing and revising that's necessary to create a great finished product. Yes, It's hard work, but I'm more than willing to do it.

I came across this blog post today by Lynn Behler, of Behler Publishing. For those writers out there who ...

  

Today, I am happy to report that I have been in communication with my father. While I will not post t...

The future is endless, the possibilities unlimited.

This day is a special day set aside for giving thanks. While I have been saddened to see retailers encroaching on this day set aside for giving thanks, I am reminded that it is all the more important to refocus my energy on what ...

Teaching writing, especially grammar and syntax, is not the easiest job in world. I tell my students that every word must earn its place. This article does a great job at explaining the problem: 

The Four Commandments of Writing Go...

Today I filed a missing person report with my police department and requested that my father be entered into a national database of missing persons. It has been three and a half months since I've had any contact with my dad and as usual, I don't know if he's still alive. A few things...