WORD BY WORD: Holy Shitake Mushrooms, Ya’ll!

Lorraine Norwood
2 days ago
6 min read

Updated: 19 hours ago

Well, holy shitake mushrooms, ya’ll! I am thrilled to share the news that The Solitary Sparrow has been selected as the Women’s Fiction Writers Association (WFWA) STAR Award Winner in the General category!

I'm gobsmacked and overwhelmed! But more than that, I am so proud to be among the smart women writers in WFWA who work on their craft with hope, persistence, and diligence. There are so many obstacles in this crazy profession, sometimes it's hard to be dedicated, to have a belief in yourself and your work, to once again sit in the chair and face that dark screen or blank paper. Winning this award has inspired me at a very low place in my personal life (more about that next month). It would have been easy and understandable to give up at this point. But my wonderful writer friends keep asking, How is that second book coming? What happens to Meg? When are you going to be finished?

Simply put, I cannot let them – and YOU – down, even though writing a book feels like being pregnant!! It lasts a long time and people are always asking when it will be born. But now, after winning the Star Award, I feel the validation which I needed. There's a long road up ahead but I can do it, thanks to WFWA and its incredible members. And thanks to you, my loyal readers.

FINALISTS FOR THE STAR AWARD

Please take a look at the other finalists in the General Category of books in the Star Award. Their books are fabulous. I know because I read them:

The Tender Silver Stars by Pamela Stockwell

LINK TO AMAZON

It’s 1972 in South Carolina, and change is in the air—but not fast enough for Triss, who wants to be come an attorney. Her powerful grandfather insists she marry instead. After a life-altering mistake, Triss's world begins to unravel. Everlove, a rule-following daughter from a working-class family, faces her own upheaval when a single choice upends everything. When the two women meet, their unexpected friendship pushes each to imagine a new future. Can they rebuild from the ruins—and forge paths no one expected?

A Sea of Spectres by Nancy Taber

LINK TO AMAZON

Raina is a talented detective focused on fighting traffickers on Prince Edward Island—and she’s next in line for a promotion. But first, she must spend a week on a Coast Guard ship. One problem: Raina hates the sea. The ocean triggers a haunting force—the phantom ship—and its cold flames call to her. As she investigates a missing-person case, Raina unearths the legacy of her Acadian ancestors: Madeleine, who resisted expulsion in 1758; Celeste, who reclaimed what was hers in 1864. Each woman’s powers were tested—and now it’s Raina’s turn. Told across three generations, this debut is a breathtaking mystery steeped in magic, history, and legacy.

THE SOLITARY SPARROW VIDEO

I made a video trailer to get the word out about The Solitary Sparrow. It was so much fun working with my team: Lou Torchio and Sarah Swandell, who brought passion and talent to this project. And YOU are the first to enjoy the video. I wanted you to see it before I put it out in the world. So, watch for it on Instagram, Facebook, Pinterest, and TikTok soon!

WHAT I'VE BEEN ENJOYING

NOVA (PBS) is releasing a new series called HUMAN and it’s absolutely fascinating. At one time, about 300,000 years ago, nine (9!) species of humans wandered the planet. Today only our species, Homo sapiens, remains. Where did everyone else go? How did we end up as the last humans standing? What happened to Neanderthals, Denisovans, and other human species that shared the world with us? This is a thoroughly engrossing series which will leave you amazed at our climb to top of the human ladder. Did we fight with the other inhabitants and win? Maybe not. Hint: DNA research now shows that some of us carry 2% Neanderthal DNA. Think about how that might have happened.

One of my favorite shows, SECRETS OF THE DEAD, returned this month to PBS. This season, episodes include Ancient Rome's legendary Colosseum, the long-lost temple of Cleopatra, and the secret letters of Mary, Queen of Scots decoded. Cracking the Queen's Code, Premieres Wednesday, Oct. 16. In early 2003, three amateur codebreakers announced they had successfully decoded the secret correspondence of one of the most tragic characters in European history: Mary, Queen of Scots. Encrypted letters detail the exiled queen’s efforts to free herself from imprisonment and gain advantage over her rival, Queen Elizabeth. Now, after four centuries, Mary’s urgent pleas are revealed. Sounds exciting!

*Gary Oldman as the acerbic spymaster Jackson Lamb*

Slow Horses debuted in 2021 and as usual I’m late to the party, but it took me a while to decide to pay for Apple TV. Slow Horses is the reason I took the leap and it’s worth it. Headed by the brilliant Gary Oldman as Jackson Lamb, a dirty disheveled character who makes me glad we don’t have Smell-O-Vision, Slow Horses tells the story of the losers who inhabit Slough House, a place where MI5 spy-rejects are sent to live out their shame. BTW, Oldman just received a knighthood for his extensive services to drama. While knighting Oldman, Prince William told the Slow Horses star that when he sees the actor on screen as MI5 agent Jackson Lamb, he wants to “give him a good wash”.

WE'VE LOST A REMARKABLE WOMAN

The great primatologist and conservationist Jane Goodall died October 1, 2025, at the age of 91. The news really hit me hard. Goodall was my greatest hero. I wanted her to be immortal, to keep traveling, speaking, pushing for better environmental care, and basically just making us all feel better about being human. Her death has left me bereft, as if The World’s Wise Woman has died, and we are left hollow. Like so many women of my generation, I fell in love with Jane Goodall after she appeared in National Geographic Magazine in 1965. I was taken aback at her youth, her courage to commit to a dream of living among chimpanzees in Africa at the age of 22, her courage to live in the jungle (snake infested and full of dangerous insects and diseases according to my imagination), and most of all, I admired her ability to stay the course with her chimpanzee research despite the protests about her age, beauty, lack of scientific experience and lack of college degree. She did it her way, to paraphrase Frank Sinatra.

Along the way, Goodall revolutionized field biology and discovered things that blew the lid off long-held “truths” about animals versus humans. Her groundbreaking research unveiled many social and emotional connections between humans and apes, transforming primate science. She was the first person to observe that chimpanzees used sticks for tools, had social lives, displayed emotion, and had distinct personalities, observations that were at odds with prevailing scientific beliefs.

Later, as she turned to conservation, she earned many accolades. Despite the awards, she never gave up. Indeed, she was still traveling, still spreading the word, and still advocating for animal and environmental rights when she died in California on a speaking tour. She showed compassion for all living creatures and set an example for all of us to follow. In an interview later in life, Goodall reflected on her work with a kind of bemusement, as if she couldn’t quite believe what she had attained: "When I look back over my life,” she told the Guardian newspaper, “it's almost as if there was a plan laid out for me – from the little girl who was so passionate about animals who longed to go to Africa and whose family couldn't afford to put her through college. Everyone laughed at my dreams. I was supposed to be a secretary in Bournemouth."

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