Here we are, nearing the end of the craziness that is 2020, and I honestly didn't think I would commit to writing for National Novel Writing Month. For one, I have kid doing remote learning, which is 120% more challenging than I imagined it would be. I cannot count the number of times I have … Continue reading NaNoWriMo 2020
Recently I began reading a new book from one of my favorite authors. I had been looking forward to this book because it was revisiting 1800's London and the author had done a beautiful job describing that time period. I also love the fantastical elements of the world she created. Urban fantasy is fascinating to … Continue reading Casting the Book
A while back I finished my 3rd and I'd hoped final revision of Song of Bones/Melody of Bones/that dragon story I always wanted to write but kept putting off. My stubborn brain insisted it was complete, that I had told the story the best way I knew how, and that it was time to set … Continue reading Chagrin – Tempering the Writer
From Achilles to Captain America, Perseus to Luke Skywalker, our stories have been saturated with soldier heroes. We play them in our video games, we read them in science fiction; super soldiers who have the strength to fight when others fall behind. AVAILABLE September 8, 2020 We love them because they fill us with hope. … Continue reading Embracing the Super-Soldier Cliche
https://www.iau.org/public/themes/pluto/ When I first started the Tapped series, I made the conscious decision that I didn't want to set my science fiction in "a galaxy far, far away" with planets we only just now are discovering. While doing that may have afforded me a little more freedom in writing those planets, imagining what they might … Continue reading Researching the Galaxy
Life is funny. It's even ridiculous from time to time, and I take particular joy in placing such moments in my fiction. From Megan waking up to an unknown cat nestled against her, to Trenna obstinately reassuring her daughter that domesticity was never her strong suit, to my newest WIP where a stubborn dog gets … Continue reading Humor
This month, we have been invited to post a snippet of our work in lieu of our round robin discussions. However, I don't have anything seasonally appropriate just yet. Instead, I am going to be brazen and shove a rough draft up here. This is from my current work in progress, which is tentatively titled … Continue reading Snippets and Things – December 2019 Round Robin
To be honest, I use the events of every day happenings in my novels all the time. I thrust unfortunate events like locking one's keys in the ignition or stabbing one's hand onto my characters because I find it endlessly entertaining and because it helps unite the reader to my character. Maybe you've never stabbed … Continue reading Verisimilitude – June Round Robin
Dear Reader, If you've picked up one my novels I hope you are either enjoying it, or loved it so much you have long since finished reading. I understand not every novel is going to be loved by the people who pick it up, but I hope that somewhere in the journey I touched on … Continue reading Dear Reader… (May 2019 Round Robin)
I know this goes against the age-old adage not to edit your book as you write, but to keep going until you're finished and THEN edit but... I totally don't do that. Normally, I write the first 3/4 of the book and then go back, edit and take notes on what I've got so that … Continue reading Prepping for Submission – March Round Robin 2019
