I have a new theory. Editing is overrated. I mean, we're all about being "real" these days, right? People get all bent out of shape with the nice perfect blogs with the gorgeous magazine quality pictures and nary a stray hair or dirty sock in sight, right? People want to hear about how you Continue Reading
General Information
Blogging: the Ugly Truth
You know what? There's a lot out there about "how to blog." I didn't read much of it when I started. Someone made a blog for me, and well, I started writing. I didn't read how to appeal to readers and all that stuff. I just wrote what was burning on my heart that day. Sometimes it was something Continue Reading
Lazy Saturdays…
I've always wondered about the idea of a "lazy Saturday." See, when I was a kid, people didn't have very many "lazy" weekend days at all. Saturdays were for catching up on work. They did things like yard work, housework, or projects. Moms would take the kids out to buy new shoes while dad washed Continue Reading
Horrors!
Ten years ago, if you had asked me what genre I'd never write, I would have instantly said, "Science fiction." Why? Well, because my only experiences with Sci-fi were things like Star Wars, Star Trek, and similar works. Not my favorite things. Ok, that's a bit of an understatement. I couldn't Continue Reading
Z-eke
One of the first minor characters I ever created was Zeke Sullivan. He evolved from a name into a dear man. He doesn't get a lot of "face time" in the Aggie books, but he's still there even when you don't see him. You can almost feel him in the background, ready to lend a helping hand if asked. Continue Reading
Y-esterday
It's not just a Beatles song, you know! How often do you hear the phrase, "It seems like just yesterday..." So, I thought I'd do a nice list of "yesterday" memories... Yesterday I put on my hand-smocked mouse dress and went to my first day of kindergarten. Yesterday I learned to ride a bike Continue Reading
X Marks the Spot…
Cartography--the study and making of maps. When I began the Wynnewood series, one of the first and most important things to me was to have a proper "fantasy map." After all, what is a fantasy book without a good map, right? Finding my amazing illustrator, Craig Worrell, was a gift from God via Continue Reading
W-hy
It's not a question I hear often. Usually people ask what I write or how I do it. They ask where I write or when (either time of day or time period). However, few people ask "why?" I wondered about that. Wonder. That's another word. I'll get back to it. So, when someone asked recently why Continue Reading
V-alimar
I have a five book series planned for my next fantasy saga. The series is called Guardians of Valimar. It took forever to find just the right name for this land I've created in my mind, but while my husband was in the hospital and I spent so much time sitting alone at tables in restaurants, I Continue Reading
U-nctuous
I'm planning a book for this summer. It's going to be a 30 day project. Already it is very well plotted and ready to go, but I have one character that I need to work on a bit more. In an allegory--Pilgrim's Progress perhaps-- her name would be Unctuous. In case you don't know which definition I Continue Reading
T-ennyson
No, not the poet. My character. I was sitting here wondering what I'd do with T when I remembered a very short opening to a book idea I had and the main character's name was Tennyson. So, I thought I'd just post that little opening. Funerals are seldom jolly affairs. Movies like to depict Continue Reading
P-lotting, Plodding, and Publishing
Whoever would have thought that I'd be one of those obnoxious writers with a "How to write a nove with three easy steps?" Not me. Yet, as I stare as the plan for this blog post (all in the mind... don't freak out. I'm not that organized or forethoughtful), it occurs to me that this is really what Continue Reading