After more than thirty years of writing genre fiction, I will finally be able to answer “yes” to that irksome, miserable question that all would-be novelists get at cocktail parties, “Are you published?” On November 2, 2016, I signed a contract with Five Star (Cengage/Gale) for publication of my historical romance, Love’s Last Stand. Yes,…
Category: Blog
Yada Yada Yada: Give Your Characters Distinct Voices
Just like real people, your characters have unique personalities, backgrounds, and worldviews—they should also have unique voices. Newbie authors often miss this lesson, and as a result, all 15 characters in their novel end up sounding exactly like the author. Here’s how I took my writing to the next level by giving my characters their…
WOTY & iWOTY Guessing Game – Answers to All Your Burning Questions
Over the past few weeks, we’d provided five separate questions that our lovely WOTY & iWOTY finalists answered. Today is the day you learn all! Shannon Baker – A Colleen Oakes – B Robin Owens – C Bernadette Marie – D Stephanie Reisner – E Wendy Terrien – F Ready? Here we go: What is…
Launch Week
Okay, I’m writing this on Launch Week, so my mind is focused on trying to juggle normal life, extra life events (which are part of normal life) and the launch of my second thriller, RED SKY. The book officially came out on June 13th, so most of the “heavy lifting” for launch was done in…
#Gravity and a Toast to Science Fiction
In the song written by John Mayer and Mike Perry—Gravity—John explains that the words are about making sure you (still) love yourself, making sure you (still) have your head on…because it’s easier to mess up than it is to stay here (successful).” Another explanation I heard about this song is “…staying up even when you’re…