Every career has specific traits that only others in the same profession can relate to, like my husband, who is a service technician in the Tel-com industry. When he’s around other techs, they speak in code, T-1, PRI, and VoIP. When we’re in public he tells me the phone system each business uses, “That’s a… Read more »
Like many writers, I got the idea for my book, A Keeper’s Truth, in a dream, that four am buzz that had me giddy, watching the scene play out in excruciating detail, the characters as real as life, voices clear and strong in my head. Jotting the scene on paper wasn’t a conscious choice, but a necessity…. Read more »
My very first novel got published this month. I have to be honest, typing out that sentence is still really weird. Like when you get married and have to learn to start saying “my husband.” While the weight of this accomplishment is still sinking in, it’s been an incredible learning experience, from the big spark of… Read more »
Sometimes I wish I were Stephen King. Not because of his best-seller, best-beloved author status, or because he can write full time while most of us need day jobs. (Although all of those things would be nice.) It’s because back when he was getting rejection letters, it was the 1970s. He got so many that… Read more »
We all get in funks while writing. When we hit one it’s like a fire slowly dying, deprived of oxygen. When we sit at the same location day after day, it can close in and suffocate the fresh air that tickles our brains and revives our senses. One of the best ways to recharge your… Read more »
One of the most common questions writers get asked is: “How do you come up with your ideas?” Creativity is the backbone of storytelling because without creative ideas there are no stories. You want to have as many ideas, or “sparks” as I call them, as possible. But how do you come up with those… Read more »
I have a confession: I’ve been bitten by the adult coloring book “bug.” Granted that I only have one such book right now, but coloring has become a new favorite hobby recently. And judging from the phenomenal worldwide success of adult coloring books last year, millions of other people have fallen in love again with… Read more »
The first requirement of a love scene is that it forwards the plot and character developments in the story. Especially in a scene of real intimacy, the farther the characters go in their physical relationship, the more it affects them. But, truth time, how can sex move a plot? Apply it to real life: if… Read more »
Whether we call it bravery or courage, today’s subject is defined as “the ability to do something that you know is difficult or dangerous.” It allows us to find the moral or mental strength to face our fears and make unthinkable choices. An admirable trait, indeed – and one that’s often reflected at a higher… Read more »
From my writing desk’s window this morning, I see dull brown grass trimmed with splotches of melting snow, bare trees, and a gray sky. January is hardly the most inspiring time of year, at least not for those of us living in a seasonal climate. Yet that cold and boring outside has its upside: it… Read more »
