Writing
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Five Craft Books I Like
I’m a sucker for a good craft book. I can spend hours nerding out on writing advice, highlighting all the juicy nuggets of wisdom throughout the pages. I’m sure I’m keeping the post-it companies in business with the number of sticker tabs I use as I read each new book. That being said, not every
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My Writing Spaces
The spaces where I choose to write greatly influence my productivity and creativity. And yes, I said spaces because I have an indoor and an outdoor writing area. I’m lucky enough to have a bedroom in my home that I turned into a writing space with room enough for all my office supplies, notebooks, craft
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The Villain in my suspense/thriller
My first book, a domestic suspense/thriller, came out about ten years ago. It was the first novel I ever completed, and I was blessed to have a wonderful manuscript evaluation and edit done by successful author M.R. Henderson. https://www.authorsden.com/visit/author.asp?authorid=184958 After entering several contests, the e-book was first published by a small press from New
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Plotter or Pantser (or something else)?
I can’t tell you how many workshops, classes, and writing group discussions I have participated in where the question Are you a Plotter or a Pantser has come up. Well what exactly are these two approaches to writing? A PLOTTER approaches their writing by taking a considerable amount of time to plan their story and
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Why I Write Suspense/Thrillers
First it was Trixie Beldon mysteries, then Nancy Drew and the Hardy boys that got me hooked on mystery and suspense. Soon I was devouring Agatha Christie books. But when I found Mary Higgins Clark’s Where are the Children, I was hooked. Once I finished her first book, I waited impatiently until the next one
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Vetting Agents: How I’m Doing It
So You’ve got your query letter and synopsis fine-tuned. Your first fifteen pages sparkle. You’ve done your revisions from beta reader feedback. Your book has been through a developmental edit, a line edit, a copy edit, and a proofreading pass. Finally, you feel ready to start querying agents. But…where do you start? Here are the
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My Traditional Publishing Journey Round 2
I published my first book, suspense/thriller When Love Won’t Die, about ten years ago with a small press, Splice Publishing. Splice was the second small press to put out my book as the first press folded before the paperback version even hit the shelves. I will be forever grateful to Splice for taking me on
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Drafting versus Revising
DRAFTING: The exciting phase For me, starting a new book is exciting. From the onset of my first ideas for a story and characters, to mapping out plot points, scenes to include, and possible endings, I find getting down that first rough draft feels like an adventure. I focus on one scene at a time