Everyone has heard that common writing advice about getting your butt in the chair, yet so many writers struggle to do just that. If you’re anything like me, you’ll recognize this typical scene that plays out in my house constantly. My husband comes into the living room and shuts off the TV while I am… Read more »
I’ve been thinking a lot about death lately. I suspect that’s a somewhat universal pastime given that we’re on what will hopefully be the tail-end of a global pandemic. But it’s also because my debut novel, The Wolf’s Curse, is narrated by a Grim Reaper-like character. I’m often asked why I chose to tackle such… Read more »
Talk is cheap. Rather than words, supply your characters with romantic gestures to back up their sweet little nothings. Your reader will love your character’s creative actions and so will an agent who considers your manuscript. A reader plucks your romance novel from the shelf to lose herself in a world she can only imagine…. Read more »
The comma is confusing and controversial. Seriously. In 2018, a Maine dairy company had to award $5 million in backpay to drivers—all due to a missing Oxford comma in their contract. If you want to make sure a missing or misplaced comma doesn’t ruin your manuscript, keep reading. Commas are one of the hardest punctuation… Read more »
Hey kids! Thanks for checking in, genius writer. I worry. I worry because you never call nor write. Texting counts as writing these days. But you never text me. You send your grandmother your TikTok posts. Me? I get nothing. So, why should I, the author of four books, a fifth and sixth forthcoming, share… Read more »
As I sit here writing about how to be a full-time author AND take weekends and evenings off, creating that perfect work-life balance, there is some real irony in the fact that it is currently Saturday afternoon. But to my defense, it is just a few days before I release a new book. While September… Read more »
October is a scary month. Not only do we have Halloween, but we’re also all realizing that the end of the year is coming up fast, and that’s frightening in itself. But as writers, we have a whole other set of fears. From battling imposter syndrome to self-publishing, there are a lot of difficult aspects… Read more »
I love a good mystery! And I especially love a good historical mystery. Who killed the Princes in the Tower? (Hint: It was not Richard III.) Did Princess Anastasia survive the murder of her family? Was Elizabeth I really a virgin Queen, or did she allow herself to be seduced by the dashing Robert Dudley?… Read more »
Nothing excites me more than a new writing project. It’s one of the reasons why I’m in this wonderful profession of stringing beautiful words together to form an idea or a tale. It always starts with my heart jumping, adrenaline pumping, soul soaring high and then just like that, I have amazing prose and a… Read more »
Agonizing dread arrests most writers at the prospect of revisiting their old work – especially an essay collection. Our revision reflex activities and work that was due but (at least in your mind) not necessarily done is suddenly in need of a fresh coat of paint. We obsess over what we could have said, done,… Read more »
