Buried Secrets. Don’t know about you, but the title makes me think of some archaeological mystery. I could almost see Amelia Peabody with her parasol standing over workers, demanding they be more careful. “Emerson, I think this poor mummy was shot! That’s not possible! They didn’t have guns. Great, Continue Reading
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1 Super Easy Way to Plot Your Novel on the Run
The cursor blinks--endless, relentless. That blank page stares at you, taunting, haunting. Head in hands, we sit there, begging our brains to work. But nothing... nothing. N.O.T.H.I.N.G. (or so I'm told). There are a million solutions out there for the malady. Authors write long books about Continue Reading
Sequels I Want to Write: or my literary ADD
We all have our faults--those little things that make us unique. Some of us are just more unique as others. Add that to a unique name, a unique lifestyle--my whole life--and a unique almost everything else, when you add in those faults, it gets a mite... much. Me, I'm riddled with faults. Since Continue Reading
7 Guilty Pleasures (Why does that just sound wrong?)
Romance novels. That's what the industry calls them. People have other names for the "real" thing. You know, like "bodice rippers." I've heard that one a lot. I have my own names for them. Or, rather, I came up with a few as a cathartic way to deal with today's blog post. How about "Blush Continue Reading
3 Icky Words: Sorta, Anyway
"Seeds." Such an innocuous word. However, if I want to make a friend of mine squirm, all I have to do is say, "Seeds." Seriously, the gal almost turns green. And it's all my fault. Look, some people have trouble with words like moist or cervix. I happen to have friends that squirm at both of Continue Reading
Unraveling the Tangles of Common Writing Rules:
The note on my manuscript read: "You're telling us about this. Show us." And I had no idea what that meant. I remember reading articles, asking questions, reading more. Rewriting--and rewriting again, only to have the next comment arrive. "This is very passive." Huh? In school, Continue Reading
E-books vs. “Real” Ones: one author’s perspective
"There's just something about an eReader. I love to inhale the subtle scent of... plastic. They make me happy seeing them all lined up on the... counter. Charging. On a rainy day, nothing beats a fire in the fireplace, a cup of your favorite hot beverage, the sound of rain pattering against the Continue Reading
The Soundtrack of My Writer’s Mind
There are a few memos I didn't get as a writer back when I started. No. Seriously. I missed a few. Things like, "writer's block" and "tortured souls". Yeah. We're supposed to have those things. Who knew? Not me! Oh... and we're supposed to have these elaborate soundtracks for our books. No Continue Reading
Questions That Plague Me (or something like that)
I was always an inquisitive kid. Oh, who am I kidding? I'll be asking irritating and irrelevant questions until the day they slap duct tape over my mouth in the nursing home and shove me out a six-story window. But I'll be asking, "Wwwwhhhyyy....????" as I fall to my death. Trust me on Continue Reading
Ever Wonder Who Wins Giveaways with What Entries?
Well, I'm going to tell you this time. I'm going to tell you what entries became the winning entries! I mean, why not? It's fun information, right? I mean, did your newsletter sign-up get you the prize? What number was it? Were you the first entry? The last? A generic middle? (Note:: Continue Reading
Hobbies? You Mean There’s Life Outside Writing?
What? When I was five, I made a purse. That sucker was hideous, but I made it. Sometime around that same age, my mom taught me to make "broomstick lace" by crocheting onto a broom handle. And yeah, we used a real broom handle. We were thrifty in those days. Sure wish that idea had rooted Continue Reading
Who’s My BFF? This guy!
In this week's blog post, we're supposed to do, "Meet My Best Friend." Well... (note: links in this post may be affiliate links which will give me a small commission at no additional cost to you!) I kind of feel stupid. You see, I saw the whole "Meet my best friend" and went, "Um... how do I Continue Reading
