Category: Uncategorized

  • Still Here…

    Just stopping by to let you know I haven’t abandoned you. I’m just still super-busy with editing projects, as well as caring for my granddaughter, Harper. I have more things to say, and I’ll say them when I can. Meanwhile, read the archives, write your books, and eat lots of [insert your favorite food here].

  • One of the Greats

    I haven’t posted here in a while, and I suspect it will be a while yet before I give you a helpful writerly post. But I have posted on my other blog, the creative writing one. It’s a tribute to the man who, along with his wife, inspired my love for stories: my father. Feel free…

  • A Contest For You

    I’m running a Goodreads contest over on my Stolen Things website. Oh, you didn’t know I had a webpage for my novel? Yeah. I haven’t told many people about it yet. Stop on by and enter for a chance to win an autographed copy of Stolen Things. And tell all your friends about the contest.…

  • How to Be a Better Writer (In Three Easy Steps)

    Step 1. Read. Step 2. Write. Step 3. Go back to Step 1. I”ll be back with a slightly more thoughtful post soon. Meanwhile, have fun getting stuck in this loop.  

  • 12 Ways to Fix the Boring Part

    You have a brilliant opening paragraph. I mean Pulitzer Prize brilliant.* But somewhere around page [insert number here], the story begins to drag. I mean dead-body-up-a-steep-hill drag. Never fear, I’m here to help. (Not with the body-dragging. I have a bad back.) Step One: Get a 12-sided die. (Ask your table-gaming friend. If you casually refer…

  • Next Table Please

    The writer community is a lot like a high school cafeteria. Not because of the food (although your w.i.p. diet of Cheetos and Dr. Pepper does bring back fond and/or frightening adolescent memories), but because of the cliques. For the purpose of this blogpost, we’ll use a different term: Tables of Earned Privilege. Chances are…

  • In the Company of Strangers

    If you want to be a successful (i.e.: published, well-read, income-producing) writer, you’re going to have to get comfortable in the company of strangers. I’m not talking about the strange fictional people who inhabit your novel, I’m talking about the In Real Life kind. You know, those ugly bags of mostly water* you bump into…