Ever have a bucket list item become a reality? Ever have two of your wildest dreams come true simultaneously? That was me in 2018. I had always, always dreamed of becoming a published author, and in 2017, I marked that off the bucket list when Macmillan published my YA Fantasy, TRAVELER. I longed to be on a high-level author panel, and was hopeful an invitation would open up somewhere. TRAVELER’s sequel, DREAMER, had just come out when a fellow author approached with an offer I had to pinch myself as… Read more Three Years Ago Today I Was A Panelist at Comic-Con →
Tropes: you love some – you hate some. And the truth is, tropes appear and reappear in stories for a reason. From the classic Cinderella story to the innocent maid winning the true-loving heart of the bad boy, a trope that is beautifully fleshed out, creatively spun, or turned on its head can rocket a story to greatness. Likewise, a badly written or tiredly overused trope can result in a book being thrown into the dreaded DNF (Did Not Finish) pile, and a trope that personally grinds your gears can… Read more Let’s Talk About Tropes We Hate →
I am neck-deep (and often going under) on the edits of my next first draft. Of course, another story idea just waltzed into my head and started playing hockey with my grey matter, but that’s how it always goes for me. So into the story file with that one while I wrestle the other. In the meantime, we’re finalizing interior, print cover and eBook format for BLUE, as well as book trailer development. I should have some goodies to share with you soon, and we’ll be having ARC giveaways for… Read more What’s Up Wednesday →
I used to be one of those people who would never, I mean absolutely never listen to an audiobook. I knew I’d never have the same level of enjoyment. I loved visualizing as the words came off the page (or my Kindle) and filled my head. I couldn’t imagine hearing it. That wasn’t reading! It would surely lose much in the process. And then . . . I experienced a devastating brain injury that put me in the hospital for a month, and on short-term disability for nearly half a… Read more Print vs. Audio – Where Do You Stand? →
I’m in the middle of first run pass pages for BLUE right now, and still clutching my heart over at this gorgeous interior setup. Check it out! Once again, a big shoutout to Stephanie Anderson with Alt19 Creative for her interior layout and front cover design. I cannot recommend her enough! Pass pages give you a chance to read your book the way a reader will experience it. It’s very easy to go a bit “word blind” after staring at the same manuscript over countless hours and several months. Seeing… Read more What’s Up Wednesday →
I am ankle-deep in what is shaping up to be the most challenging book I’ve ever written. I say ankle-deep because I was hoping to be knee-deep by now and that’s just not a reality at the moment. There’s way too much going on with his book, and a lot of it in areas of writing that I consider to be “weak” for me. It’s important as a writer that you acknowledge your own strengths and weaknesses. The only way you become a better writer is by embracing and leveraging… Read more Know Your Strength & Weaknesses →
I participated in a twitter pitch event earlier this week, and lucky me! I got a great big ❤️ from two different indie presses. I was hoping to find a new agent, but an indie press is just fine with me, so I immediately headed over to their webpages to get a feel for the both of them. The first thing I look at on an indie press is the quality of their book covers. Sadly, I’ve seen a few indie presses with book covers that look like they were… Read more Check Your Submission Guidelines – Thoroughly →
We all know 2020 was a rough year, and writing-wise, it was a mixed bag for me. Overall, I managed to: Finish 2 YA manuscripts Draft a new YA manuscript (and complete NaNoWriMo) Query 3 YA manuscripts Write and publish 2 romance novels Write and publish 3 romance novellas Publish a romance novella collection All during a pandemic while dealing with a special needs child virtually learning next to me while I’m working from home at the full-time day job. It’s been a challenging year, but damn. I’m proud of… Read more New Year, New Goals →
