I was in a book marketing group for self-published writers that started to dwindle in numbers. When the leader announced her decision to eliminate the group, we received an email from one of the participants. It said that he truly enjoyed the group and how sad he was...

This week I pulled out my Kindle and read three self-published novels. As I’ve mentioned before, I love supporting other self-published authors. Plus, I always gain something from the reading experience… inspiration or a...

Last week, a friend, who’s an excellent writer, submitted a short story that didn’t land with our critique group. But when the author spoke about her submission, we all perked up. Her premise was unique and compelling, the...

Have you ever wondered why some writers get stuck in the writing and revising loop and they never level-up and put their work out into the world? I was on a Zoom call yesterday, and a writer friend and I realized simultaneously that our critique group members weren’t...

Yesterday I listened to a podcast about the eleven kinds of high achievers. If you’re interested in this topic, you can find the episode on Trish Blackwell’s, The Confidence Podcast. She even provides a quiz. After taking said...

Being that today is Mother’s Day, writing about my mother seems fitting. I’ve written about her before, and if you’ve read some of those posts, you already know that she was my everything. You also know that she wasn’t a writer herself, but she was a huge reader. Her...

Yesterday I saw the play Something Rotten! If you ever get the opportunity to see Karey and Wayne Kirkpatrick’s show, you should.  It’s super entertaining. Not only is it funny, but it’s also filled with tap dancing and a ton of Broadway and literary references....

Having put my move behind me, I’ve prioritized my writing again. This means I’ve been reevaluating my writing practices, including my critique groups. I am currently a member of two critique groups. Both meet on Zoom. Prior to COVID, that wasn’t the case. One group...

Writing is one of the first things I do every morning. I always work on my novel right after I shower, walk my dog, and grab coffee daily. I prioritized it. At least, I used to. But about four months ago, my husband and I decided to move from our two-story house to a...

I naturally write dark stories about people, usually women, who do unforgivable things. Because of this, my novels can make readers uncomfortable, as they offer no happy resolution to the protagonist’s dilemma.  I’ve always owned the darkness of my books. If someone...

I am currently writing a magic realism novel about an elderly woman, a bottle collector, who believes that the souls of the town’s flood victims are trapped inside her bottles. The premise is definitely out there, but the story itself was inspired by a real person....

Today is Valentine’s Day. That being the case, I feel as if I ought to be praising romance novels. The Notebook. Gone with the Wind. Pride and Prejudice. Jane Eyre. But the truth is, although I liked Twilight and theBridgerton books, and I recently watched a romantic...

I often listen to writing podcasts while walking and getting my steps in. Last week, I stumbled upon an episode about pacing that featured a TV producer-turned-military-romance writer who used two pen names. One for clean romances that she wrote in twenty-one days,...

Right now, I am prepping to sell my house. Granted, I’ve moved a lot due to corporate relocations. That said, I’m no stranger to the whole packing up and decluttering process.  But as you can imagine, I haven’t had much time to write lately. This has been rough....

I’m currently reading a novel called THE CARRINGTON AFFAIRS. This Indie book by Susan Gooch tells the story of an Arkansas politician’s affair from three different perspectives: his wife’s, his mistress’s, and his love child’s. If you like dramas about wealthy...

Truth be told, I’ve avoided writing about this topic because I haven’t wanted to come across as petty or whiny in my blog. But I’m taking a cue from Sarah Werner, whose honest podcast, WRITE NOW, has resonated with me immensely, and I’m coming clean.  I am...

Last week, someone asked if I could teach them how to write a novel. I hesitated, not because I don’t love talking about craft, but because novel writing is slippery by nature, especially in the beginning. That uncertainty is part of what keeps me coming back. A first...

Every writer hears it sooner or later. “Why this book?” “Why that genre?” “Why not write something lighter…or more marketable…or more useful?” Sometimes the questions come from well-meaning readers. Sometimes from fellow writers. Sometimes from people who haven’t read...

Over the holidays, my husband and I went to see Marty Supreme. I loved it. He did not. The movie’s frantic pacing left him overwhelmed, while I was thrilled from start to finish. That difference got me thinking about how pacing can make or completely derail a story....

Most indie authors, including me, obsess over reviews. We stress about getting them fast. We worry that without them, our book will disappear into the Amazon void. We read advice claiming we need 20-30 reviews for trust, 50 for viability, 100+ for sales. Then other...