Once upon a time, I taught cartooning and storybook illustration to elementary school children. At our first class meeting, I came prepared with a variety of fruits, vegetables, and inanimate objects like a stapler, a bottle, and a cup. I lined these objects up on a raised box and invited the children to tell me…
It’s a common lament among writers: Why is genre important? Can’t I just write whatever I want and let the marketplace figure out how to classify it? Or perhaps: My work is a mix of genres. I don’t want to be pinned down. I like to mix it up. Let’s look at why genre is…
I would very much like to finish, edit, and publish a novel in the coming year. In between writing and publishing flash stories, short stories, creative nonfiction, and teaching modules, I’ve been working on two novel-length stories. Truth be told, ‘working on them’ is a misnomer as I have continued to edit or expound upon…
Last year, I had an opportunity to read my work aloud at the book launch for Bizarre Bazaar, RMFW’s 2022 anthology. I was an accomplished public speaker before the pandemic, but after two years of nothing but Zoom events, I felt a little rusty. This experience forced me to relearn how to read my work…
Romance as a genre is always rewarding in the simple fact that it, well, most of the time, ends up with a happy ending. I always enjoy seeing two people fall in love despite all odds. And who doesn’t love that fluttery butterfly feeling you get from a first kiss? Not to mention the fact…