Why Did I Do It? Starting a new novel was a accident. Why did I begin to haul another book out of midair almost the minute I’d sent this one to be published? There was a whiteboard in my brain, erased and swoops like the water color clouds making upside down commas on the sky today. I was empty of story, the characters are gone to their own lives and readers minds. No longer my…
Who was Jane Austen? I want to write about Jane Austen to plumb the depths of the enigma. The famous author was full of contradictions. Supposedly, she was quiet and obedient, a devout lady of her time, but she longed for the adventure her brothers enjoyed. She was a sarcastic cynic about human relationships who penned romantic comedies that still make our hearts throb. Jane was forbidden as a woman to publish under her own…
The Appeal of Magic & Reading Recommendations The appeal of magical realism fiction — the extraordinary appearing within the everyday — let us escape the ordinary, feel powerful, and believe in dimensions beyond what we can see. Real life has its magical moments, but plunging into a magical novel can sustain heightened feelings. Reading magical realism fiction can allow you to feel love, do something brave, or be wildly generous. Be bigger than your ordinary…
As I work on another time travel story, I find myself thinking deeply about what it would mean for the present to change the past. This is the kind of thing I ponder in my best thinking places — where running water or wind is involved. That’s why I dictate more and more poetry and prose on my phone. I think well in the shower, washing dishes, or walking my dog. Today I found myself…
Writing Love Scenes Some of the most challenging writing is creating compelling love scenes. Originality and emotion are the keys to selling a love scene. Readers will instantly be put off by predictability and cliches. What position does the love story occupy in the overall story arc? In a romance, the love story is the big story. In other genres — women’s fiction, mystery, thriller — it may be a sub-plot. They’d be handled differently…
Is It Romance or Women’s Fiction? The overlap between romance and women’s fiction is a juicy territory. It’s where characters grow deeper, learn more about why love is important, and develop into better human beings. The story may show how they plunge off a looming cliff of disaster but grow wings as they fall. In the overlap between romance and women’s fiction, a story involves the main character’s growth as a person.
Writers in Wartime We’re all watching a shocking invasion unfold. I’ve been following Ukrainians who live with explosions, sirens, and possible sudden flight. One of them is a writer. I’m wondering what I can do to help. This morning, I went to my favorite writing channel on Youtube, the Self-Publishing Formula podcast and watched an interview with Ukrainian science fiction writer Anton Eine. I was moved to see that my favorite writing community is helping…
Why Writers Love the Company of Pets Creative people spend a lot of time alone. For many of us, the silent presence of another being is both soothing and a spur to imagination. Dogs, cats, and their writers — a love story. Do you have a furry, feathered, or finny writing companion? On social media I see so many pics of dogs, cats, and their writers. Also birds and fish. My tiny terrier, Terry, is…
Book 3 in the Timegathering Series Is Out Undoing Time — my time travel novel of love and history — is out now! I’m thrilled to bring out a new book in my Timegathering Series. Each is a standalone, but each builds on the Timegathering world, where you can inherit the gene that enables you to move through time and history. Each book has a larger story than the time travel — for each protagonist,…