One of the things I like most are the questions I get from readers about my characters or my process. Megan G sent an email last year that addressed both! I thought I'd share it. Megan wrote: ... one more thing, do you always write your books in chronological order? For me, it's hard to write Continue Reading
5 Eco-Friendly Things Writers Love (or should)
I was writing along the other night, working on Cassie from The Vintage Wren, when it occurred to me that modern writers are an eco-friendly lot. After all, many of the things that are a part of the modern writer's toolkit are digital! So, I thought I'd spell a few out--just to make Cassie feel Continue Reading
She Doesn’t Have to Settle: A look at relationships
I read a Facebook post the other day. In a group of people discussing planning methods, she spoke up. The post went something like this (going on memory but not trying to remember details to provide some semblance of privacy): I had a fight with my boyfriend. It was ugly, and he almost hit me. So, Continue Reading
Run with Endurance the Race Set before YOU
Run. Running. Race. The words make me wince. There's a reason for that. I was thinking about it today while I walked at a brisk pace along the treadmill at the gym--and everyone else ran. Then this post came to mind, and I decided to resurrect it from my old blog. Let’s start with my Continue Reading
Book Review: A Memory Worth Dying For
When I received the invitation to review A Memory Worth Dying For from CelebrateLit, I had to try it. I mean, who doesn't love a good mystery. And Joanie Bruce writes a good mystery! I hadn't read her first book, so I started with Marked For Murder. When I figured out who it was right away... Continue Reading
Winning Without a Word: Works for Men, Too
What is this "winning without a word" thing? Let me set the scene. 1985. Ninth grade. Peniel Christian School. Noel, Missouri. By the time we got to I Peter 3, it was May and getting pretty muggy every day. Our school room was in the church basement, so it was fairly comfortable down there. Continue Reading
Why Don’t You Get a MacBook?
I'd have to say it's the number one question people ask when they find out that I use a Toshiba laptop instead of a MacBook. If my laptop glitches at all, they say, "You need a Mac." If I lose some of my work, through fault of the laptop or not, I hear, "It's probably a virus. You should get a Continue Reading
Blueberry Cupcake Mystery: A Book Review
When I had the opportunity to review The Blueberry Cupcake Mystery for CelebrateLit, I jumped at it. C'mon, a whodunnit in a bakery in the heart of Amish country? Sign me up! I'd never heard of author Naomi Miller and new nothing of the series, but it sounded intriguing! Written somewhat Continue Reading
Art or Fan-Fiction? Does It Matter?
If a picture is worth a thousand words, then a thousand words should create a picture, right? And if those words create that picture, then the one writing creates art with the sweep of a pen or pencil on paper much like the artist paints his masterpiece with a brush and paint. (Note: links Continue Reading
Life’s Pendulum: Why do we hop on for the ride?
As a child, I sat mesmerized by the pendulum on the grandfather clock my Uncle Oscar made for Grandma. My father talked about the cool crank used to wind it and how the weights would drop lower and lower every day until day seven when it had to be rewound or it would stop. Then, he'd start singing, Continue Reading
The Family Storyteller (and it isn’t who I thought it was!)
The storyteller. If you said those words to me as a child, I would have immediately thought of one man--Grandpa Fullerton. The man was a genius with words. Now, honestly, when he began telling a story, there was a good chance you'd hear the "what should have happened" mingled with what the "did" Continue Reading
It’s Not Easy Going Green: How Characters Can Irritate
Green Schmeen (whatever that means): Something happens to authors when we begin a new novel. We see words, scenarios, situations--we see them all in entirely new ways. Take the word "green." When I was a kid, if you said someone was "green" it meant they were new, unsophisticated, and likely from Continue Reading
