Years ago, I submitted my first novel to a list of agents who specialized in my genre, sure they’d love my quirky clever book. I’d edited, re-edited, and run it by people I trusted–it was dressed for success. At that time, I didn’t realize that finding an agent was like putting a hood on a …
When I teach professional development classes, by far the topic that surprises attendees the most is the legal use of online images. And they’re not alone. On my blog, in educator forums, and in the virtual meetings I moderate, there is much confusion about what can be grabbed for free from online sites and what …
For the next few months, weekly writing tips will include word choice suggestions. That includes: colorful and original descriptions pithy words and phrases picture nouns and action verbs writing that draws a reader in and addicts them to your voice I keep a collection of descriptions that have pulled me into the books. I’m fascinated how …
This is inspired by Jennifer Cohen over at Forbes who wrote a wonderful article on “5 Things Super Successful People Do Before 8am” (few of which I did, though I can claim #5). She includes chores like exercise, eat a healthy breakfast, map out the day–all great ideas, but not pithy enough for the average …
October 24th – November 7th My wonderful son is changing his duty station from Okinawa, Japan to Fort Dix, Maryland. To celebrate his return to the US, we are taking a 3,700+ mile road trip across the country, from California to Maryland with a stop over to see my daughter, also in Maryland. We have … Continue reading
If you’ve read any of Mae Clair’s books, you know they are exciting, non-stop action, clever with twists you don’t expect. I haven’t read Things Old and Forgotten yet but it’s in the queue and I know I’m going to love it. To understand why I’m so confident about this one. Check out my reviews … Continue reading
November 1st-30th–National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo to those in the know)–is when anyone who’s ever considered writing a novel tries. Words pour from pens like an avalanche in the Swiss Alps with the goal of finishing a novel in a month. People stop watching TV, making dinner, visiting social media, and worrying about COVID–all in … Continue reading
NetGalley continues to deliver great reading material. Here are a few more I received from them that I loved: Chet and Bernie–a detective series you won’t want to miss, told from the dog’s perspective Striking Range–working dog Robo solves another crime Under Pressure–working dog Hawk and his partner must solve another crime; he makes sure … Continue reading
During my promo for my latest prehistoric fiction, Laws of Nature. one of my wonderful hosts posted this article I wrote about how I use a venerable favorite PowerPoint in my book marketing. In case you missed it, here’s a revisit: *** As an Indie author, I not only write my own books but do … Continue reading
The A to Z Challenge asks bloggers to post 26 articles on a themed topic. It’s supposed to be every day except Sundays during the month of April but I find that too busy and decided to post mine ‘about’ once a month. Yes, it’ll take me a couple of years. Sigh. My topic, like the … Continue reading
I shared this article on an efriend’s blog during the launch of my latest prehistoric fiction, Laws of Nature. Here it is in case you missed it: I didn’t start out writing a trilogy. It was supposed to be a story and then it got long, longer, and finally ended up enough for three books. … Continue reading
This post is for Alex Cavanaugh’s Insecure Writers Support Group (click the link for details on what that means and how to join. You will also find a list of bloggers signed up to the challenge that are worth checking out. The first Wednesday of every month, we all post our thoughts, fears or words … Continue reading
I’ve read many of Luciana Cavallaro’s Greek-centered historical fiction. They are always authentic to the times and dramatic in their plot and characters. Luciana has a new series coming out called Coin of Time, a fast-moving series about tracking down a ancient coin with mystical powers before it can fall into the wrong hands. I … Continue reading
I’ve updated this from last year’s post: Surprisingly, 15-20% of the population has a language-based learning disability and over 65% of those are deficits in reading. Often, these go undiagnosed, written off as “s/he doesn’t like to read”. If this sounds familiar to you, maybe before you became a writer you struggled with adopting the … Continue reading
