Sue Hinkin & Deadly Focus Sue Hinkin, interviewed by Natasha Watts, talks about her debut thriller, Deadly Focus. The chat covers writing realistic, diverse characters, the importance of critique groups and community, and her book signing coming up (with fellow mystery author Becky Clark) on April 20. Raised in Chicago, Sue Hinkin is a former…
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Science Fiction’s Future Past
Sci-fi’s best ideas are in the past. Wait! Before you barrage me with indignant objections, I’m going to claim this idea is way less impertinent—or defeatist—than it sounds. Where do sci-fi plot concepts come from? From everywhere, you say, my sources of inspiration are varied and without bound! Okay, sure, the kernels have many sources,…
First Day of Spring (well, it was)
I’m writing this on the first day of spring, although you won’t see it until the season is a week old. My weekend was the perfect start to a seasonal change. Saturday hiking in the sun, a cool breeze, lots of green showing in grasses and trees, and even a few blooms here and there….
My Good Luck Charm
I love the dream I pursue. I love how deeply I care about my words as they appear on the pages I write. Yet there have been times in my past when I ignored my dream, when I let days, weeks, even months slip by without writing. Once that drought passed, I wrote the third…
How Contests Can Take Your Writing to the Next Level
RMFW’s annual Colorado Gold contest is fast approaching—submissions open April 1st! Have you considered entering? As someone who’s entered several contests, won a couple, lost a lot more, and judged some as well, I highly recommend the experience. Here’s why. You’re forced to perfect your opening. For most of us, the opening is the hardest part of…