Writing
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The Best and the Worst Parts of Being a Writer
I can’t imagine not having writing in my life, but for those who romanticize about what being a writer is like, here’s my top 5 best and worst things about choosing to put words to the page and work toward getting books out into the world. THE HARDEST PARTS ABOUT BEING A WRITER THE BEST
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What are Tropes?
If you read or write genre fiction, you are definitely familiar with tropes. Tropes are devices that can create familiarity in a story, move the plot along, and satisfy reader’s expectations, like the happy ever after of a romance novel, or the reveal of the murderer in the whodunnit. I write genre fiction: suspense/thriller and
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Inspiration is Everywhere – You just have to Look
I belong to several writing groups/communities and there are always folks who are stuck in their writing process. Whether it’s writer’s block in the middle of their novel draft, looking for original ideas for their next blog post, or just becoming stuck finding something that gets them excited to write. I’m not usually one of
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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