Authors to Read When Times Are Tough

Last week my Read Along With Emilie Richards Facebook Group agreed that we needed a list of authors to read when times are tough. Yes, times are tough right now, more so for some of you than others. Depending on circumstances some of you aren’t reading at all, but some of you are finding that reading gives…

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What Did We Learn From Our Winter?

Today, Tuesday, is the first day of spring. Can you tell? No? I’m not surprised. As I write this, the northeast United States is preparing for yet another nor’easter–the fourth this month. Severe storms with the threat of tornadoes are predicted for the South. Coastal rain and higher-elevation snow will spread across the Pacific Northwest. Heavy rain…

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What Did We Learn From Our Summer?

For a novelist some ideas have wings. Others sink like a stone. As a novelist I frequently come up with ideas that, after closer examination, are discarded in the “What were you thinking?” circular file. Sometimes the idea might be good for someone more equipped to tackle that subject or setting. Sometimes it might be…

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Checklists and Why We Should Use Them

Every Saturday I get an email from blogger Amy Lynn Andrews titled the Useletter. The Useletter is always filled with great tips for people who use computers, including software and new ideas along with a little chit-chat. I can’t say I actually look forward to many of the weekly/monthly newsletters that I’ve signed up for, but Amy gets…

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These Are a Few of My Favorite Websites

This week I’m in California visiting family, so while I’m gone I’m going to send you on a scavenger hunt. Luckily there’s nothing to actually scavenge except fun and ideas. Like many of you I’ve found some great ways to waste time on the web. I’ve also found some great ways to improve my writing and…

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List for Leaving: Are You Ready to Go?

I’ve decided there are two kinds of people, those who are always ready to move on to the next experience, and those who hang on until they’ve squeezed every drop of happiness from the last one. Of course there are also those hovering somewhere in the middle. Which means there are really, oh seven billion plus…

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Five Things I Learned This Summer

The Old Farmer’s Almanac claims that summer doesn’t end until September 22nd when the autumnal equinox signals the sun crossing the celestial equator. For me, summer ends when the Chautauqua season ends, which happened yesterday. At our weekly Sunday evening service,  the end of the 2013 season was made official with a ceremonial three taps…

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With the Greatest of Regrets, I Cannot . . .

The New Year is a time for resolutions. I bet you made some, right?  Mine were pretty simple. Spend more time exploring my new homes and less time staring at computer screens. Do you think that means less writing? Nah. It just means that I’m going to fill my personal well more frequently, which should…

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Lists: Can We Judge a Book By Its Cover Title?

If you read my blog regularly you’ll have noted by now that titles are crucial to me.  They are crucial to my publisher, too.  Unfortunately we don’t always agree about what’s crucial to sell a book and keep an author happy. I’ll confess that in hindsight I can see that some of my ideas have…

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Lists: Mysteries That Haunt Me

Life is just filled with unanswered questions, isn’t it? Some people see the world as one big mystery.  They might be content the’ve found part of an explanation, but they are always certain a complete answer is hovering just outside their reach. “Sure, after careful research I built my house out of stone, but now I…

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