It’s Time to Share the Private Side of My Life
As a professional with an artistic product, I need to spread the word about the novels I write. But I’ve always felt self-conscious about promotional messages, either on social media or this website. I don’t want to annoy you, my reader, and I don’t want to create more commercialism noise.…
Which Wax Figure Will Star in my Next Novel?
I just turned in the follow up to The Forgetting Flower to my publisher. Keep your fingers crossed for me. I hope the team greenlights it soon. In the meantime, I’ve thought of several ideas for a new novel but I’ve struggled with which one to focus on next. The…
The Perfect Way for Me to Celebrate Galentine’s Day
I have watched every episode of the show Parks and Recreation, many of them twice. And yet I never remembered Leslie Knope talking about Galentine’s Day. What is Galentine’s Day? Well, as Leslie says, it’s ladies celebrating ladies. A day, right before Valentine’s Day, when you recognize those special female…
My October To-Do List: Media Activity in a Fun Flurry
As the month comes to an end, I’ve been reflecting on my October to-do list: what I accomplished and what there is left to do. While I finished a bunch of things, I still have items on my July to-do list that aren’t crossed off. But I also tackled stuff…
Emily Carpenter Writes the Strong Woman
Emily Carpenter is the bestselling author of the suspense novels, Burying the Honeysuckle Girls, The Weight of Lies, and Every Single Secret. She took the time to speak with me about her novels, what writers influenced her, and why she writes multi-dimensional protagonists. She also offered her advice for emerging…
What I Learned from the 30-Day Blogging Challenge
A month before The Forgetting Flower came out, I took on a 30-Day blogging challenge: publish posts on my blog for 30 days straight. It was a difficult exercise. I had to come up with decent content every day and even though I planned out my topics ahead of time,…
The Best Book on Writing Emotion in Fiction
There are a lot of books that will teach you how to write fiction. And the best ones not only address the craft of storytelling but the issues beneath the story's surface. A main character's wound, the overarching theme, internal versus external conflicts. But the key to a really compelling…
Anne Lamott’s Advice on Finding the Truth
Bird by Bird is an outstanding craft book for writers. Novelist and memoirist Ann Lamott covers the various aspects of writing: the nuts and bolts of craft to broader, more abstract issues. She talks about the importance of getting the sh*tty first draft on paper before diving into the mechanics…
