Lizbeth Hartz

The Spark of Short: How Poetry and Lyrics Can Recharge Your Creativity

As a writer, I know the feeling of staring at a blank page, willing inspiration to strike. But what if I told you that some of the most potent doses of creative renewal can be found in the smallest of packages? Yes, I’m talking about the magic of short-form writing, including poetry and lyrics. These…

Bridging Love and Afterlife: Firehouse Ghost III

Tonight. Vic shuddered. Am I ready? Will Liz be ready? He focused his entire consciousness on Liz. Her thought penetrated him: I love you so much, Vic. Part of me wants Jaku to kill my body so I can go with you. Vic’s expanded heart shrank into a small, sore lump. “You won’t be allowed…

Whispered Connections: Firehouse Ghost II

Despair gripped Vic in a vise and whisked him to Jaku’s side. The murderer smirked as he polished the barrel of his .357. “Boom!” He mimicked the loud sound of the gun discharging. “I’m gonna waste that bitch.” He chuckled, imagining the terror on Liz’s face as he jammed the gun against her head and…

Firehouse Ghost: Unveiling the Other Side

Vic Lazzarini’s ghost scowled at the short, fat-bellied fireman cringing in his jail cell. “Jaku, you sawed-off, lily-livered sneak!” Vic shouted. “Murderer!” He threw what would have been a bone-crunching punch if it hadn’t gone right through the punk’s head. Jaku’s hairy nostrils twitched, his pin-prick eyes darting around the jail cell stinking of urine…

A Braided Essay: These Dreams of Love III

I Become – Part 3 Twelve years before I fell in love with Barry and a year to the day after Vic’s death on Valentine’s Day, 1985, I felt wrung out with grieving and despairing of ever finding the kind of love I’d found with Vic again. That morning, I awoke in the wee hours,…

A Braided Essay: These Dreams of Love II

I Become – Part 2 After telling Sasha I would talk to my father, I was relieved when Mom said Dad didn’t want to talk to me. We didn’t know how to talk to each other adult to adult, only father to child, me being the child who wasn’t supposed to talk back. Leaving my…

A Braided Essay: These Dreams of Love

I Become – Part 1 Back in the ‘70s, soon after graduating from college in California, I joined my mom and dad on Oahu and became a lonely little bird, my song squelched inside the gilded cage of my parents’ military home. Sorely missing my college friends’ comradery, surrounded by uniformed Air Force officers, I…

Letter to the Ghosts of Jaku’s Murderer’s Thumbs

What squashed you, Thumbs? Your bully of a boss, Jaku, certainly couldn’t have compressed you playing volleyball, because the only body part Jaku exercised was his mouth—his liar’s lips flapping fast as a hummingbird’s wings. Oh, wait a minute. I’d forgotten about his sticky fingers, which also grabbed wallets, keys and jewelry his coworkers forgot…

Island Fever, Kitties and Hope

Friends, there is so much to be grateful for as Christmas rolls around. Where did the year ever go? Things have been hectic as Barry and I searched Oahu for many moons, looking for affordable rentals that would accept our two precious kitties. Challenges have been accepted and overcome. Love has grown fuller and flourished.…

Excerpts from my new mystery short story and my old memoir

Hip, hip, hurrah! An anthology titled “Island Fever” (I came up with the title 😊) is slated to be published on September 1, 2022. Eleven of us authors each agreed to write a mystery short story set in Hawai’i that includes some sort of fever. Several wrote about Covid, one about Dengue, and I wrote…

150th Arbor Day: How to Help

The good news this month is that Friday, April 29th is the 150th Arbor Day, a day where communities across America (or individuals on their own) get together to make the world a better place for future generations by planting trees. Many other countries celebrate Arbor Day (though some do it on different dates). I…

Pep Talks from Kindergarteners: Passing on the Torch for #WATWB

This month marks the 55th, and final, edition of the We Are the World Blogfest. Though at times it’s been hectic to get a post together to share some good news, I’ve always had fun with the task (that didn’t feel like one at all once I dived in). As well, reading the good news…

Take 2 Sunny Days and Call Me Next Week – #WATWB

Ah, the great outdoors. Arguably, there’s little that ails us that a day in the forest can’t heal. I’ve long revered the healing powers of nature. The good news this week is that now the Canadian government is acknowledging the benefits of nature on human health, too. I’m pleased to inform you that some of…

Protect Your Brain from Dementia Through Exercise – #WATWB

While on my monthly mission of searching for good news to share a la We Are The World BlogFest (#WATWB–their goal is to counteract the bad news in the feeds), I came across some news that gladdened my senior’s heart for two reasons. First, that the brain chemistry of folks on the far side of…

Changing Human Poo into Organic Fertilizers, Green Energy, and More – #WATWB

I believe that saving the environment and the health of people and animals includes saying no to using toxic chemicals on animals, plants, and land rather than natural substances. So when I went searching for good news to share for this month’s We Are The World Blogfest (#WATWB) the article below was a natural (excuse…

Build a Wall and the Wind Will Come – #WATWB

When my mom was growing up in rural Missouri, a person was considered “windy” when they talked too much. When it comes to helping the environment, however, harnessing the wind for energy (rather than coal-based fuel) is a great and fruitful thing. Witness the creativity of entrepreneur Joe Doucet, who tells us, “Anywhere there’s a…

Angel Heros Abound! – #WATWB

Ever since a dear friend saved my life, I’ve carried a torch for him, and admired others who, like him, give unselfishly to help others.

7 Things Cats Can Teach You About Joy – #WATWB

It may seem counter to every-surface-level-thing you know about a cat’s personality (generally speaking), but the good news this week is that cats have lots to teach us about how to be joyful, healthy and content in life! Yes, cats can be ornery, standoffish and demanding at times, but they truly shine when it comes…

In the Silence: Accessing the Inner Guru – #WATWB

The last blog, Finding my Way Inside and Out, tells of the recent struggles that led me to the following endeavors – and ultimately, paved the way for today’s good news. Check it out! In hopes of increasing my focus, I’ve started practicing meditation again. Most of the time, though, when I sit down, close…

Finding my Way Inside and Out

When Barry’s misdiagnosed broken hip and sudden, unexpected hip replacement surgery a month later plunged him into pain and complications, I fell into fear. Anxious thoughts imprisoned me: What if he doesn’t get better? How could I possibly live without him? Am I making the best choices to help him heal? Thoughts of our joyful…

Got the Digestive and Depression Blues? Discover Healthy Eating – #WATWB

Lately, I suffered from indigestion (acerbated by too much junk food and too few fruits and vegetables) tying knots rather than placing butterflies in the stomach. Combined with depression, my indigestion turned into a gut-wrenching experience! So a few days ago, I went searching for some good news about something that had the potential to help…

Finding Ways to Connect – #WATWB

As of late the world can seem a bit disconcerting, but in searching for some good news for May’s post, I came across an article, and then the website of one Kyra Peralte. Kyra’s an inspiring young woman who wished to connect and learn about other women’s experiences during this unusual time of isolation during…

Celebrating Trees – #WATWB

Ah, trees. They provide us with food, oxygen, shade and so much more. Being a staunch champion of the environment, I love trees. I was excited when I realized that this month’s good news post would fall on Arbor Day. Through the years, my posts have reflected my love of trees. One of my favorites…

Hawaii’s Keiki (Children) Heroes Tackling the Pandemic #WATWB

While searching for good news for this month’s We Are The World Blogfest (WATWB), I came across some lovely quotes about children: “Children are likely to live up to what you believe of them.” — Lady Bird Johnson, Former First Lady of the United States “When I approach a child, he inspires in me two…

Food Rescues in Freezing Austin and Chicago: Two Stories for February’s #WATWB

I’ve heard it said that a crisis brings out the best in people, but not just any people. So which ones, you might well ask? Kind people, the ones who give a darn about those in need, like the couple in the Austin, Texas story, and the restaurateur in the windy city of Chicago. Here…

Aloha, Hawaiian Style—Helping Kids Learn No Matter What – #WATWB

Kuuleialoha Gaisoa, of Unlimited Construction Company on Kauai, was determined to help her working parents and their kids during the pandemic, so she created an exemplary on-site, safe school the kids could attend while their parents worked. She isn’t sure how long she’ll keep Unlimited School going, but she thinks it’ll be open at least…

Free Online Mindfulness Lessons for Kids and Parents Courtesy of Actress Goldie Hawn — #WATWB

For this month’s We Are The World Blogfest (WATWB), I went looking for good news about helping the kids. Researchers say young people’s mental health is adversely affected by restrictions imposed by Covid19, that they are experiencing increased anxiety, stress, loneliness, and depression. Fortunately, I discovered an inspirational story about actress Goldie Hawn’s MindUp program. Not…

Talking and Touching (Even Virtually) Help Protect Against Alzheimer’s – #WATWB

While searching for Good News for October’s We Are The World Blogfest (#WATWB), I was heartened to read that engaging in social interactions helps combat Alzheimer’s in the elderly. When COVID hit early this year, “social distancing” was touted as the way to keep people safe. Personally, I thought that a more appropriate term was “physical distancing,” since…

Yoga Training for Health and Healing – #WATWB

On this last Friday in August, once again, it’s time to offer up a healthy dose of encouraging news, because it’s such great mental medicine. Thank you, #WATWB (We Are The World Blogfest) for creating this positive initiative. Searching for an inspiring monthly offering uplifts me and never fails to reveal good news. Good news…

Planting Positivity – Hats Off, Masks On to India – #WATWB

When searching for Good News for July’s We Are The World Blogfest (#WATWB), this story from India touched my heart. What an amazing display of ecological consciousness and effort, combined with deep-hearted giving and safe Covid 19 practices. Not only are 2 million people planting 20 million trees over an area bigger than Texas and…

Love in the Lost and Found

In January, 2016, my 94-year-old mom, Ruby, fell in her bathroom in Tucson, Arizona. A blood clot traveled from her hip, still bruised and sore from two falls the previous week, to her brain, causing a massive stroke. Minutes after the ambulance crew wheeled Mom into the hospital, my brother, John, who’d moved to Tucson…

Strengthen Your Respiratory System with Yoga – #WATWB

During the 70s and 80s, teaching Hatha Yoga to community college students on Oahu made me a more limber, relaxed, and spiritually aware person. Together, the students and I practiced the asanas (yoga positions) while slowly breathing from the diaphragm, breathing in when extending the body backward, breathing out when folding forward, our lungs like…

A Quick Cure for Anxiety and Depression – #WATWB

Lately, I’ve been reading a lot about people who, quite understandably, feel depression brought on by the effects of Covid 19. Forced into social distancing, some that live alone face endless loneliness. Many face a harrowing financial and family crisis, what with physical distancing, loss of jobs and/or income, suddenly having to juggle more tasks—homeschooling…

An Alternate Intro: Angel Hero, Murder in Hawai’i, A True Story

Recently, in an online creative writing class taken through the University of Hawai’i, I wrote an alternate “About the Book” section for my true crime memoir, Angel Hero, Murder in Hawai’i, A True Story, and posted it. I received such positive feedback from a classmate (footnote #1 – please see below) that I just had…

Giving Care

Having discovered that April is poetry month, and thinking about how blessed I am to be here with Barry in our little cottage, and with our 3 outdoor rescue kitties, inspired me to write this poem and post it now. I hope you enjoy reading it as much as I did writing it. Giving Careby Lizbeth Hartz…

May Love Spread More Quickly than the Virus – 2 Videos and 1 Essay – #WATWB

I awoke this week to a newsletter emailed from talented author Elizabeth Jarrett Andrew, my former online teacher of “Writing the Spiritual Memoir.” Elizabeth’s uplifting essay and a prayer of gratitude video that she shared with me (suitable for all religions) moved me so much I’m sharing both, as well as a “Count on Me”…

“Living Room Concert” on 3/29/2020 to Benefit Coronavirus Fighters – #WATWB

Talented musicians often come together to benefit those in need and this Sunday is no exception. The only difference is the coming together is virtual this time, in deference to the need for physical distancing in the wake of Covid 19. Elton John will be the host of this star-studded show which includes such talents…

“Waggle Dancing” Bees: Scientists Decode More Than 1,500 Dance Moves – #WATWB

While searching for Good News to post for this month’s We Are The World Blogfest (#WATWB), I came across a posting by the Global Good News Service at: https://globalgoodnews.com/science-news-a.html?art=15800208253382430. According to The Global Good News Service: “On 16 February 2020, Newsweek reported that “the meaning of more than 1,500 honey bee ‘waggle dances’ were ……

Jim Allison: Breakthrough – #WATWB

I’d been chomping at the bit to watch the documentary titled Jim Allison: Breakthrough since I first found out about Nobel Prize winner Allison in March of last year. Enthralled by this modern-day hero, I wrote a blogpost about him for the We Are The World Blogfest (WATWB) in April, 2019. In case you don’t…

Goodbye, 2019! Hello, 2020.

Did you know our New Year’s celebration comes from the feast of the Roman god with two faces, Janus? One face looked into the past, and the other turned to the future. Romans made promises to Janus, and now we make promises to ourselves in the form of New Year’s Day resolutions. Speaking of resolutions,…

We Have Giveaway Winners!

Congratulations to our awesome contest winners! It was such fun seeing some of you compete and more fun learning something interesting about you. This was my way of saying thanks for being here and I thought it’d be a good way to get to know you a little better. I appreciate *all* of you! I…

Breakthrough and Love #WATWB

In honor of the abundance of Thanksgiving, I’m offering two good news stories. My first offering is a follow-up announcement to a previous story. Seven months ago, in April of this year, I wrote a blogpost about 2018 Nobel Prize winner Dr. Jim Allison, an immunologist who discovered a cure for cancer. Back then, I…

Gratitude Giveaway / Facebook Contest

I wanted to do this Facebook contest to thank you all for being here, as well as to learn a little bit about you. In the spirit of aloha, gratitude and connection – THANK YOU – and good luck! *To enter:1) Like this Facebook post2) and comment on it: What are you secretly awesome at…

Coma Patients Helped by Mahamrityunjaya Mantra #WATWB

A scientific study conducted in an Indian hospital concluded that the powerful Mahamrityunjaya Mantra, chanted repeatedly to coma patients with severe brain trauma, increased their survival rate by more than twenty-five percent. How is this possible? According to an article titled Neurosurgeons Studying Impact of Mahamrityunjaya Mantra, only if we can think of life and…

A Free-Roaming Cat Family and Me (Part 5)

My cat family lived contentedly outside. The only times we touched were when Mama Kitty cautiously rubbed her furry back against my leg. She trusted me to feed her and her offspring, now longer than she is, but not nearly so rolly polly. I guess she ate as often as she could get me to…

Gates, Dreams, and Feral Chickens

Suddenly, I awoke from a dream: I look through my sheer living room curtains. Barry’s BMW and my Hyundai sit side by side in the darkened garage. The streetlight shining in front of our house illuminates a man between our cars walking toward our house. He doesn’t look threatening. I don’t know him. I’d recognize…

A Free-Roaming Cat Family and Me (Part 4)

During frequent downpours in our rainy mountain valley, the cat family stayed dry. Mama Cat moved them from patio to under the house when they turned six weeks old. They were safer there, sleeping on top of boogie boards and ice chests and Barry’s and my cardboard boxes. I’m glad this is Mama Cat’s last…

A Free-Roaming Cat Family and Me (Part 3)

Part 3 Before the cats appeared, I’d hung a bird feeder in a Madagascar Dragon Tree. This changed the ecology of the down-sloping backyard overflowing with strawberry guava, tangerine and banana trees, ferns, and anthurium plants (which my mom used to call “little boy flowers”). Dozens of rice birds, cardinals, and a few wild green parrots…

Swedish Activist Greta Thunberg: Fighting the Good Fight for Climate Change #WATWB

The good news about climate change is that it’s still not too late to reverse it if the people of the world all pull together. The best news about that is, we have incredible young activists marching, protesting and fighting to get people to do just that. Climate control is the top priority of the…

A Free-Roaming Cat Family and Me (Part 2)

Part 2 On a cool February morning three and a half years ago, I carried a bucket of towels and T-shirts to hang on the rope clothesline spanning the length of the patio. Hearing a rustling sound, I looked down. Wedged between the wheelchair and a chair protected by a plastic mattress cover, three baby…

A Free-Roaming Cat Family and Me (Part 1)

Part 1 In 2016, three emaciated cats that were barely bigger than kittens hunted geckos and rats under million dollar homes on this quiet mountain street. They optimistically raced up trees, trying to catch birds perched in shade trees in the overgrown backyard of the sixty year old house where my fiancé Barry and I…

An Amazing Comeback for the Kākāpō Parrot – #WATWB

A second chance is always warranted, right? Good news! This week, we’ve found a great story to bring you about the encouraging comeback of the kākāpō parrot, a chubby, dancing (yes, you read that right), flightless bird that has been on the verge of extinction for quite some time. Due to various factors such as…

An Inheritance of Kindness – #WATWB

In a world that often seems cold, calculating and manipulative, a simple act of kindness can mean so much. Thankfully, it doesn’t take a lot to brighten someone’s day with a kind word or gesture. After all, what does it cost us but a moment of time to smile at a passerby or ask after…

Follow Your Dreams

Dreams are today’s answers to tomorrow’s questions. –Edgar Cayce Did you ever dream about insignificant things that actually happened later? I once dreamed that a plastic planter hanging from a tree outside my window broke and the plant inside it splattered on the ground. The next morning, the planter fell. Sometimes, I wake up from…

The Good Drones – #WATWB

Despite their somewhat shady history, drones are quickly being proven by scientists to be incredibly useful at collecting particular types of data – and can actually be used to save lives. One such way is collecting data in storms. A recent article provides a fascinating insider’s view at how a group of U.S. researchers are…

How to Extricate Yourself When a Sociopath is Targeting You

Suddenly, it hits you. Something’s wrong. Why did you miss it? Because you’ve been mesmerized by the charming stranger who flattered his way into your life recently. Maybe you caught him in a lie. Maybe he insists your best friend isn’t good enough for you, and you stop hanging out with her. Maybe he brings…

How to Recognize a Sociopath

“This above all, to refuse to be a victim.” –Margaret Atwood, Surfacing So how do you recognize a sociopath? With great difficulty. If only they wore a scarlet “S” on their foreheads! Unfortunately, there’s no mark distinguishing these predators from normal people. How do you avoid being a victim and keep yourself safe? Learn what…

Tree-Planting Drones Reforesting the World in Record Time #WATWB

My good news this month is that science and technology have found a powerful new way to help remedy the world’s dire climate change situation. A huge contributing factor to global warming is deforestation. According to National Geographic, between 1990 and 2016 the world lost 502,000 square miles of forest due mainly to a combination…

Narcissists and Sociopaths – A Facebook LIVE Event

I hope you’ll all join me for this upcoming LIVE event, especially those that have suffered at the hands of these challenging personalities. Narcissists and Sociopaths Thursday, May 16th7pm Eastern / 4pm PacificFacebook LIVE w/Lizbeth Hartz Like the Facebook page to be notified when the event begins. Join Lizbeth as she offers useful tips on how to handle…

Scientist Jim Allison wins 2018 Nobel Prize for Cancer Cure #WATWB

I bring you the story of 70-year-old Texan Jim Allison, a harmonica-playing scientist who theorized that the immune system could fight off cancer, in celebration of this 23rd anniversary of the We Are The World Blogfest. Although he faced skepticism from medical researchers and disbelief from pharmaceutical companies, he didn’t let that deter him from…

Turning Ocean Trash into Prosthetic Limbs for Kids That Cost Only $45 #WATWB

In early April, 2018, Chris Moriarity was struck with inspiration for a project that would help with ocean pollution and also make prosthetic limbs. Although he and his wife Laura believed they could tackle both issues and come up with one solution, they had no idea how to proceed. Just two weeks later, they had…

A Year after the Parkland Shootings

On Valentine’s Day 2018, Nicolas Cruz murdered 17 people at a high school in Parkland, Florida. Bonding together in the aftermath of this terrible tragedy, the students confronted their grief and pain and turned it into activism. They organized the March for Our Lives (MFOL) movement. In March, hundreds of thousands of people gathered together…

Good News About Love and Compassion #WATWB

In my search for good news about love, I came across an article on the website of Jim Hopper, PhD. that, as a caregiver, gives me great hope and pause for reflection. Titled Mindfulness and Meditation: Kindness, Compassion & Love, the article gives us a roadmap for cultivating these qualities. In discovering and practicing new…

My Last Valentine

Barry’s nickname, Ashtar the Magnificent, came about because of his psychic—he called it psycho—ability. I only had to be in the same room with him to feel better. I wrote briefly about falling in love with my partner Barry 13 years after Vic died (a coworker hunk I’d secretly been in love with), toward the…

soc 101 doesnt feel shows you what you want to see

Revenge, Fear and Self-Preservation

Brian Smith, like most of the firemen at the department, feared Jaku. After swearing me to secrecy he told me that the firefighters laughed at Jaku’s stories to appease him, but they all knew better than to believe the outrageous sexually oriented lies he’d told about me. Brian said the guys knew Jaku lied whenever…

Liar Liar: How a Sociopath Lies to Manipulate and Control

It happened in October of ’83, a few weeks after I transferred from the Army Fire Department into the alarm room on Whaler Air Force Base. I’d just finished my initial two weeks of dispatching training on day shift, and was working the midnight shift solo. I’d turned the lights down low to keep an…

Can Hundreds of Thousands of Tweets Help Save a Saudi Teen’s Life? #WATWB

Barricaded in an airport hotel room in Bangkok on January 5th, her passport seized by Saudi authorities, 18-year-old Saudi teen Rahaf al-Qunun desperately wrote her first-ever tweet in Arabic, “I’m the girl who ran away to Thailand. I’m now in real danger because the Saudi embassy is trying to force me to return. I’m afraid.…

The Ghost of El Tejano

The first time something otherworldly happened to me, I was four years old. Drawn like a magnet to a desert ironwood tree in Tucson, Arizona, I wrapped my little arms as far as they’d go around the big knobby trunk. I’ll never forget the energy like electricity slowly snaking through me. I felt so alive.…

An Epiphany on Epiphany

Living in the countryside of central Spain in the early sixties felt magical for 8-year-old me. I still remember our home address: Patrocinio (he who gives his protection), Gomez (man) Tres (three), Canillejas (a region 5 miles northeast of Madrid). Although roving bands of gypsies traveled in tattered wagons through the countryside, these fast-change artists…

Four New Year’s Resolutions from Seth

I’m a longtime follower of the teachings of the entity called Seth, channeled through writer Jane Roberts, his words transcribed by her husband Rob Butts. I continue to embrace Seth’s core teachings that consciousness creates matter; that each individual creates his or her own reality through their thoughts, beliefs and expectations; and that the “point of…

Five Fabulous Folks Who Created Positive Changes in 2018 #WATWB

On 23 December 2018, while digging for positive news stories, I uncovered an inspirational story reported by CNN’s Impact Your World. Throughout the year, CNN brings us stories of average people who’ve discovered extraordinary ways to help others. Although their backgrounds and circumstances are different, their motives are the same: to create positive change and…

A Christmas Miracle

On the afternoon of Christmas Eve’s eve, in 2012, when Barry and I lived in a condo complex in Mililani Town, I was hanging out with the neighborhood kids—mostly girls, a couple of boys—at the new jungle gym outside B building. The girls, would-be gymnasts all, jumped and twirled and did amazing flips on the…

Holidays Are Happy, Right? Kindness as Comfort for Grief

The chubby man’s mirrored goggles reflected sunlight as he skillfully performed an underwater flip in the Nuuanu YMCA pool, barely stirring the surface of the water at the east end of his swimming lane. His yellow fins and flaccid arms propelled him swiftly toward me. I hoped he’d be friendly. Swimming pool rules dictated you…

The Good News About Science; Outsmarting Fake News #WATWB

I came across a hopeful article in the New York Times saying that science can provide accurate news to counteract the fake news threatening to engulf us. Good news indeed! We are increasingly assaulted by “alternative truths.” Climate change is a myth, according to many, despite plentiful evidence to the contrary. The mass shootings in…

When Your Gut Tells You Something’s Wrong with a Coworker, Listen

The meanness of Jaku embarrassing his friend so readily, pricked me like a pin jabbed into my heart. Ouch! What kind of friendship allowed for this? Why did the two hang out? Was it a case of opposites attract? That pinprick was my first, faint inkling that something was wrong with Jaku, the man that…

A Glimmer of Hope in the Aftermath of Gun Violence #WATWB

Welcome to the 18th installment of the #WATWB (We are the World Blogfest.) We participants in the monthly posting (last Friday of the month) strive to link to an inspiring story that shows love, humanity, hope, and/or brotherhood. Our talented cohosts for this month are: Eric Lahti, Inderpreet Uppal, Shilpa Garg, Mary Giese and Roshan…

Paranormal Passions & Palm Readings

Saturday, October 20th, 10am – Noon Paranormal Passions & Palm Readings with Lizbeth Hartz Event Flyer: Download PDF Blaisdell Season’s Best Arts, Crafts & Gift Fair in Honolulu, Hawaii Cost: $3 General Admission, FREE Author Chat & Autographs, FREE Mini-Palm Reading w/purchase Come out and meet me at the Sisters & Misters in Crime booth in the Blaisdell…

How One Woman and Her Nonprofit Are Saving Our Forests #WATWB

We are the World Bloghop seeks to share uplifting, good news with the world on the final Friday of each month. Special thanks to our fabulous co-hosts for September: Eric Lahti, Inderpreet Uppal, Shilpa Garg, Sylvia Stein,and Peter Nena. Searching for good news today to post for the We Are The World Blogpost (WATWB), I…

Grateful for the Kindness of Three Strangers

On time (for a change) this morning, I tried to head to my Tai Chi class. But my car battery was deader than one of the geckos my three cats chase in the back yard. My magnificent significant other, Barry, gave me a jump so I could drive to class. But we noticed something odd—my…

Speak, Love, Last – A Non-Fiction Short Story – Part 7

Winter turned into spring and my feelings for Vic blossomed like summer roses. I tried to keep them hidden but I couldn’t conceal what was happening inside of me. Something was thawing. The ice floes protecting my heart were melting in the sunlight of my desire. Anxiety picked at me. Maybe I wasn’t Vic’s type.…

Ingenious Way to Keep Dementia Patients Hydrated (#WATWB)

What with Hurricane Lane wreaking havoc on Hawai’i’s weather, I forgot today was the day to post good news for We Are the World Blogfest. So I was scanning good news and came across this one that’s near and dear to my heart, because I help look after a hundred something lady with dementia. It’s…

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Speak, Love, Last – A Non-Fiction Short Story – Part 6

The pain of Vic blaming me for something I didn’t do hit me hard. I barely made it to the bathroom before my tears fell. After collecting myself, I hurried back to the alarm room. The relief fireman, my pal Danny, asked, “How come your eyes all bloodshot?” “I thought Vic…Vic was my friend,” I…

Photo of Firemans Trying to Safe House on Fire. Firefighter Emergency Extinguish Water on Big Old Wooden House on Fire

Speak, Love, Last – A Non-Fiction Short Story – Part 5

“The course of true love never did run smooth.” A Midsummer Night’s Dream, by William Shakespeare. *** A few months later, Vic told me Molly had moved back to L.A. “Was it because of the oil thing?” “Nah. She rearranged my apartment. I told her she should’ve asked first.” “Well, yeah. Did she say why…

Speak, Love, Last – A Non-fiction Short Story – Part 4

The longer I knew Vic, the more his positive outlook charmed me. On a slow afternoon in the alarm room, I poked fun at a short fireman who told tall tales about his amazing rescues. In his typical, generous style, Vic said, “Aww, the sawed off little dude’s just trying to act big.” “You’re…

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Speak, Love, Last – A Non-Fiction Short Story – Part 3

“Love recognizes no barriers. It jumps hurdles, leaps fences, penetrates walls to arrive at its destination full of hope.” Maya Angelou *** Part 3 of Speak, Love, Last continues below. A few months after I despaired of resurrecting my connection with Billy, I transferred into a new job, gladly escaping from a run-down Army fire…

Speak, Love, Last – A Non-Fiction Short Story – Part 2

“What is love?” was the most searched phrase in Google in 2012. Psychologists say people need to pair up with partners who possess high self-esteem and mature, compassionate love in order to prevent erotic Eros from burning itself out. In this author’s experience, that’s about right. Part 2 of the non-fiction short story Speak, Love,…

Speak, Love, Last – A Non-Fiction Short Story – Part 1

I wrote my memoir Angel Hero, Murder in Hawaii, A True Story to honor Vic, a courageous firefighter whose unconditional love transformed me. I wrote the nonfiction short story Speak, Love, Last to expand on what I wrote in my memoir about the love that grew between Vic and me after I quit “pussyfooting” around,…

Doctors’ Orders: Pass the Fresh Produce and Pass on the Pills WATWB#

All too often, the negativity and hatred expressed in social media and the news assault our senses. Since focusing on hatred only begets more hatred, We Are The World Blogfest (#WATWB) urges us to banish the darkness by lighting lamps. In that spirit, we focus on love and positivity. Many an oasis of love and…

Book Club Discussion Questions for My Memoir, Angel Hero, Murder in Hawai’i, A True Story

On June 2nd, Sisters in Crime (SinC) Hawai’i prez Vicki White shared this message from the national SinC organization with members like me: “It’s time to gather submissions for the July Book Club Central Booklist. This month’s theme is Mystery from Sea to Shining Sea (mysteries set in different states).” Since my murder mystery memoir…

Toby Cat Walks Into Our Hearts #WATWB

All too often, social media and news are filled with hate and negativity. So how do you banish the darkness they bring? You don’t focus on them. Instead, you light lamps, hoping to bring love and positivity forward instead. This is the 13th installment of We Are the World Blogfest (#WATWB). Our fabulous cohosts for…

March for Our Lives #WATWB

Social media and news in recent times has been filled with hate and negativity. Just as you cannot fight darkness, only light lamps, Hate and Negativity cannot be fought. You need to bring Love and Positivity forward instead. I bring to you the We Are the World Blogfest, along with these fabulous co-hosts:Belinda Witzenhausen, Sylvia…

A 911 STORY THAT WILL PLUCK YOUR HEARTSTRINGS #WATWB

Social media and news in recent times has been filled with hate and negativity. Just as you cannot fight darkness, only light lamps, Hate and Negativity cannot be fought. You need to bring Love and Positivity forward instead. I bring to you the We Are the World Blogfest. Thank you to this month’s co-hosts Shilpa Garg, Peter…

Military vets deliver supplies across Puerto Rico #WATWB

Special thanks to the We Are The World Blogpost cohosts this month, Shilpa Garg, Simon Falk, Lynn Hallbrooks, Eric Lahti, Damyanti Biswas and Guilie Castillo. It lifts me up to be part of this journey. Puts me in mind of the old song “Accentuate the positive, eliminate the negative…” But now on to the main…

A Blind Runner and His Very Good Boy#WATWB

Social media and news in recent times has been filled with hate and negativity. Just as you cannot fight darkness, only light lamps, Hate and Negativity cannot be fought. You need to bring Love and Positivity forward instead. I bring to you the We Are the World Blogfest, along with these fabulous co-hosts: Special thanks…

Lowes, Generators, and Heroes: We Are The World Blogpost #WATWB September 29, 2017

Aloha nui loa from Hawai’i, worldwide friends. Like you, I believe that when we let our love lights shine, we banish the tortuous shadows of hate and negativity. In this spirit, I offer you links to a news article, which shone a light in the darkness for me. Here’s hoping it will banish some of…

Lizbeth’s We Are The World Blogpost #WATWB

Aloha nui loa from Hawai’i, worldwide friends. Like you, I believe that when we let our love lights shine, we banish the tortuous shadows of hate and negativity. In this spirit, I offer you links to a tweet and a news article, both of which dissolved the darkness for me, at least for a spell.…

Surprise! A New Format (Podcast or Radio play)

I just signed up for the Insecure Writer’s Support Group. On September 6th, I’ll be posting about an experience I had in a recent online Writing Boot Camp class taught by the fine folks at Creative Nonfiction, when my excellent teacher Rhonda challenged us to write in a new genre.

Two Incendiary Firefighting Memoirs

Dennis Smith’s Report from Engine Co. 82 and Lizbeth Hartz’ Angel Hero, Murder in Hawai’i, A True Story are both memoirs about firefighters. One big difference is the setting: Smith’s in New York City, Hartz’s on a military base in Hawai’i. How accurate is Angel Hero? Every detail is true except for names, dates, and places—a necessary…

Only Love, Part 1

Wouldn’t it be fabulous if you could rewrite a heartbreaking event in your life so it would turn out the way you wanted it to happen? This short story is based on true events described in my murder mystery romance memoir, “Angel Hero, Murder in Hawai’i, A True Story,” but fictionalized to have a happier…

Only Love, Part 2

“What is love” was the most searched phrase in Google in 2012. Psychologists say you need to marry self-esteem with a mature, positive love in order to prevent erotic Eros from burning itself out. In Liz’s experience in this story (and in my memoir Angel Hero, Murder in Hawai’i, A True Story), that’s about right.…

Only Love, Part 3

This third installment of my short story, “Only Love” is partly truth (the part that’s taken from my memoir Angel Hero, Murder in Hawai’i, A True Story) and partly fiction. *** Vic the blue-eyed Adonis considers me safe because I’ve got a boyfriend, so I don’t mention my breakup with Billy. The grapevine has it…

Only Love, Part 4

Liz and Vic are still “talking story” about Vic’s conflict with Molly. Liz longs to speak her truth, but that old Devil fear squelches her voice (just like He did in my true crime romance memoir, Angel Hero, Murder in Hawai’i, A True Story.) “Getting even doesn’t sound like you, Vic. It sounds more…

Only Love, Part 5

Here’s the final episode of my short story “Only Love.” Although the ending’s fictional, under better circumstances, it could have been, should have been what happened. ***** Hesitantly, Vic says, “Uh…if you ever need it…,” he pats his shoulder, “…my shoulder is…well, it’s strong enough for you to lean on.” “Thanks.” I swallow hard, long…

Dr. Christopher T. Gregory, Chiropractor Extraordinaire, is Back!

Recently, I was delighted to discover that Dr. Christopher Gregory, the only chiropractor I have gone to for the past 27 years except for a few adjustments from his brother Charles, is back in practice at his Piikoi office after recovering from a long illness. Now adjusting on Tues, Thurs and Saturday afternoons, Dr. Chris’s…

Honoring our Heroes on Memorial Day

The National Memorial Day Concert is an American tradition honoring the military service of our men and women in uniform, their families, and those who have made the ultimate sacrifice for our country. Did you watch the 90-minute concert live on Sunday, May 28th, 8:00 p.m. ET? If you missed it, it’s not too late…

Hear ye! Hear ye! A Mystery Anthology Is Born!

DARK PARADISE, Mysteries in the Land of Aloha, a compilation of 17 Hawaiian mystery short stories (one of them my short story Palm It Off On Murder), has been in the planning stages for two years. I’m thrilled to announce that, on Monday, April 3, the Facebook page DARK PARADISE goes live. Editor of the…

J is for the Jupiter Mount: Reflecting an Attractive Personality

Mounts are significant in the study of palms because the influence of mounts causes different lines to form and develop. Named after the planets, mounts reveal their special features. Interestingly, the planet which is more prominent in the horoscope is also prominent in the palm.1 I’d like to thank the talented professionals from which much…

Join Us For A Cup Of Java And Mystery

JOIN US – for the Sisters in Crime book signing. Meet the authors, hear their stories and get a copy of their latest books-signed. For the 1st 5 books purchased, each day, we’ll buy you a cup of coffee. The authors: Dawn Casey on the left, Vicki White (new SINC President) in front of the…

Left Coast Crime Conference 2017: Honolulu Havoc

I’m happy to say I’ll be attending and presenting at the “Honolulu Havoc”, the Left Coast Crime Conference in Honolulu on March 16-19. I’m excited to be meeting some fabulous new authors and look forward to reconnecting with old friends from the Sisters in Crime Honolulu Branch, who worked so very hard to make this conference happen. To…

In Memorium of My Beautiful Mother Ruby

My mother lost consciousness one year ago tomorrow. Somehow I’ve made it to one day short of 365 days—she had a massive stroke on Jan 17th, 2016—without hearing her soft, soulful voice (except for occasionally listening to a saved voicemail phone message my brother Mike sent me). Mike and I phoned her every day, me…

A Hodgepodge of Poems from the Heart

A Medley of Poetry While wrestling today with what to write for Susannah Conway’s Blogging from the Heart assignment, the idea to write poetry pounced on me. So I pulled out some old poetry and spiffed it up, and scribbled down some new. And then, as is my wont, I edited and reedited, and now…

Hawai’i Changes the Law on First-Degree Murder Again – Part 1

While attending a Sisters (and Misters) in Crime meeting during May of this year, the topic of first-degree murder in Hawai’i raised its grisly head. Actually, I raised it. My intentions were good. I wanted my fellow SINCs (Sisters in Crime) to get their facts straight when they wrote about murder. Since I’m the only…

Hawai’i Changes the Law on First-Degree Murder Again – Part 2

On Wednesday, July 6, 2016, two months after my Sisters in Crime Meeting at Makiki Library, the law changed yet again. That’s when Governor David Ige signed a bill into law that broadens the offense of first-degree murder once more. From 2013 to 2016, the offense has been limited to rare cases in which there…

Kwill Publishing Company Launches Angel Hero July 22nd!!!

Hallelujah! Hip, hip, hooray! Today is Publication Day for Angel Hero, a true tale of crime and courage and love that lives past the grave. I’m sitting at my computer in this vintage redwood house in the green hills above the University of Hawaii, listening to songs I wrote honoring a firefighter I grew to…

Upcoming publication of my book Angel Hero, Murder in Hawai’i, A True Story

Dear readers, I’m announcing the upcoming publication of the third edition of my e-book Angel Hero, Murder in Hawai’i, A True Story. This new version will launch on 22 July. Also (drumroll) a demo of my song Angel Hero is being recorded in Nashville (using the lyrics I recently updated) by talented Azalea Music Group.…

Fabulous Kirkus Review for Angel Hero!

In December, I received a terrific review for my book Angel Hero from Kirkus (whoo hoo!) Here’s the link in case you want to go there directly: https://www.kirkusreviews.com/book-reviews/lizbeth-hartz/angel-hero/, but I’ll also publish it below. In their review, Kirkus designated Angel Hero a novel and gave it a wonderful review. However, this second edition is actually…

Writing a Fictionalized Memoir, Part 1

An author friend of mine, Laurie Hanan, got me a gig speaking at a local library recently. Because my book Angel Hero is a fictionalized memoir, the librarian asked me to talk about writing one. I worked long and hard on my 15-20 minute speech before I came up with this version, which I’ll post…

Writing a Fictionalized Memoir, Part 2

The word memoir comes from the French word memoria, meaning reminiscence. A memoir is a nonfiction, or factual, collection of memories an individual writes about that took place in his or her personal life. It is a subcategory of an autobiography but with a narrower focus. A few definitions: an autobiography is nonfiction, written by…

Writing a Fictionalized Memoir, Part 3

For writers who do not invent dialogue, or make up events, or combine characters, but who do fictionalize details, a third category is necessary. If the writer tells the truth about events that actually occurred, uses genuine dialogue, and only changes details such as dates, names of places and people and their appearances, an appropriate…

Writing a Fictionalized Memoir, Part 4

Before writing a memoir, you should pinpoint your reasons for writing. Want to publish for an audience beyond family and friends? Then you need to understand where your work fits in. Will there be a market for a book like yours? Can you present your experiences in such a way as to appeal to a…

Sisters in Crime, Ray Bradbury, and Me – Part 1

Knowing I would be one of four mystery authors to participate in a panel discussion at a Sisters in Crime meeting at Makiki Library in September, 2015, I’d done my research. In a small hot area enclosed by bookcases, twenty or so of us Sisters (and Misters) in Crime pulled our chairs close to round…

Sisters in Crime, Ray Bradbury, and Me – Part 2

What did I want more than anything else in the world? To love a Prince Charming who also loved me. What did I have to armor up against, and go to battle with, in order to find love? My squelched voice, which became even more stifled when a killer searched for me after murdering my…

Sisters in Crime, Ray Bradbury, and me — Part 3

Before settling on the title Angel Hero, two titles I came up with were God Solves the Case, and Detective God. I didn’t choose either one because both sounded like a trivialization to me, sort of like taking The Creator’s name in vain, even though both titles were apropos of my experience. God did solve…

A Local Hero in This Land of Aloha

“Here’s to all the strong ones who don’t care if they win, the kind I’ll never see again” ~ Steve Winwood lyrics from his song, “Slowdown, Sundown” In my book Angel Hero, I tell the story of Vic, a real-life hero who lived on Oahu. Vic, a courageous firefighter and dear friend I had the…

First Chapter, Angel Hero, as Poetry

Thanks to the feedback from readers who said they liked the Angel Hero prologue poem I posted on Halloween, I am posting the next two poems. These touch on the events of the first part of Chapter One. First Part Chapter 1, Setting the Scene Minutes before midnight, couldn’t see much, moon hid…

The First Christmas Tree

Barry and I are visiting Barry’s 97-year-old mother Rosalani (Lani for short) for a few months. She is a charming, educated woman who was a gifted writer in her younger years. I brought my little Christmas tree from our home for Lani to enjoy. She liked it except for the blinking tree lights. “The tree…

Book Story Poem

During these past couple of weeks, on a whim, I wrote three story poems that relay the events at the beginning of my memoir, Angel Hero. The inspiration to attempt this came from famous fantasy writer Ray Bradbury, one of my favorite authors. Like Ray, I believe that writers should only write about what they…

Resurrection Song, Second Version

In 2004, when I was writing song lyrics, I had the good fortune to hook up with talented singer/songwriter Shelley Miller. On a shoestring, without the aid of a recording studio, she transformed my lyrics into a medium-tempo folk song, created the music, and sang my Resurrection song beautifully. In less than two weeks, she…

Angel Heroes Song, third version

I wrote the lyrics of the song Angel Heroes (music and arrangement by gifted local musician John Valentine, demoed by Azalea studios in Nashville in 2005, and CD cover by my friend Phyllis Ha) as a tribute to my formerly dearest friend and present angel hero Vic Lazzarini, the protagonist of my memoir Angel Hero. …

Poems Dedicated to the Angel Hero

During the last few weeks, I poured over notes from a class I took about social media in hopes of finding ways to publicize my memoir Angel Hero. But the time it took to try and hoist myself up the social media ropes left me with little time to return to my daily writing routine.…

How To Keep Your Writing Cooking

MG McClintock, author of “Bastard Sons of Ireland,” tells amusing anecdotes about famous authors’ rituals to keep themselves writing. Benjamin Franklin soaked in the bathtub. Truman Capote wrote lying down. Maya Angelou used legal pads, sherry, cards, a Bible and thesaurus while lounging in a hotel room. Shakespeare picked up his pen, turned around, rolled…

Mystery Writer Woes

“Know how your story will end before you begin to write it…think over various solutions to your character’s problem, remembering that she has to solve the mystery herself.” Joan Lowery Nixon Sounds good, Joan, but I’m clueless about how the mystery novel I’m trying to plot will end, or even what it’s about. So I…

Present Moment, Wonderful Moment

Yesterday, the impulse to unclutter grabbed hold of me. I sorted through stuff Barry and I hadn’t used for five years or more, and made piles of unwanted books and magazines, frayed clothes, and chipped kitchenware. I discarded torn, stained, or broken items and donated usable items to charities. Winnowing through my files, I discovered…

Resurrection Song (first version of two)

This version of “Resurrection” was born after I told a talented young singer/musician, Megan Petrie, the story of Vic, Jaku, and me. I often talked to her when she made me smoothies in a health food store I was fond of visiting in Haleiwa Town on Oahu’s north shore. Even though Megan was busy getting…

From Book to Blog

Killer, not filler, posts are the ones I strive for. That’s why only one or two posts make it into my blog most months. It takes tons of time to find a fitting topic, write a draft, let it set, edit it, and write and edit some more. As I often do when seeking a…

After Birthing a Book Blues

Forty five years ago, in spite of shaking in my shy shoes beneath the bright lights shining on my high school stage, I enjoyed donning different identities and acting out bit parts in theater productions. But on the first morning after the last curtain call, the post-production blues invariably set in. The magic vanished, daily…

Virtually Grounded

On May 21st, I beamed as I read a recent five-star review for my book Angel Hero on Amazon. “Darkly Disturbing but Spiritually Uplifting,” wrote Hypnotist 101. “An exquisitely woven thriller, this excellent and compelling novel uses first-person narrative to great effect.” Hypnotist 101’s book about publishing on Amazon had helped me, so I’d praised…

Book Author Butterflies, Part 1

On May 7, eleven other writers and I took turns standing behind a podium in front of some fifty folks seated around tables in a large room. We read from our poems, short stories, novels or narratives for five minutes max. The excerpt my writer’s group had helped me select sizzled with suspense. In the…

Book Author Butterflies, Part 2

“I’m reading an excerpt from Chapter 9 of Angel Hero.” I hoped my voice wasn’t shaking. “Dark clouds extinguished the starlight and spewed out rain as my borrowed Ford with bald tires skidded along an unlit stretch of highway. “Everything’s going to be fine,” I whispered, and chanted “Om” again and again. “A flash of…

Back to My Adventure

Missed the 1st part of this story? Read my last post here. “The greatest oak was once a little nut who held its ground.” ~ Author unknown The tree-house man led me to an Indiana Jones style hanging bridge, constructed of ropes and wooden slats, which spanned a tree-filled valley far below, and connected the…

An Adventure

“A head full of fears has no space for dreams” ~ Author unknown Today, burned out on writing, I looked away from my monitor, through the living room window of my fiancé Barry’s and my old redwood home at a rainbow arcing across the sky north of Honolulu. A steep mountain street beckoned me. I often…

Publishing Day and Finding Your Writer’s Voice

Hip hip hoorah! My first book, Angel Hero, a true crime and love memoir, goes live today on Amazon. Special thanks to my publisher, Mighty Quill Press, a private label publishing company that made my dream of finding a publisher come true. This small press looks for authors with fresh, engaging voices making the transition…

TRUE CRIME - TRUE LOVE MEMOIR

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