Can You Abide Another Post about Titles?
Drum roll, please. It’s that time of year. TITLES TIME. Last week I learned that my new book proposal has been approved. No one asked for changes. Oh, except one little thing. Yep. The title, which I loved, which I’ve hoarded for years in hopes I’d find the right story to deserve it, was immediately…
Read MoreSunday Inspiration: Desiderata
This week when I learned that Leonard Nimoy had died I was immediately reminded of a day in the 60s when I heard him on an afternoon talk show reading this wonderful prose poem. At the time it was thought to have been written in the 1600s because it had been included in a book of…
Read MoreThe Writing Process 2015: Practicing Patience
Have you ever had the fun of waiting for the okay on a project? My mother was filled with sage advice and sayings. “Patience is a virtue” was one of her favorites. Clearly that sentiment is not without challenges. For instance how many men and women are hopelessly practicing patience, waiting stoically for something to change in a…
Read MoreSunday Inspiration: 18 Rules for Life
These 18 Rules for Life are often attributed to the Dalai Lama, the leader of Tibetan Buddhism, but they are actually adapted from Life’s Little Instruction Book, by H. Jackson Brown, Jr., a book of advice from a father to his son as he goes off to college. These rules work for everyone, no matter what…
Read MoreControversial Topics: What Affects Your Reading Choices?
When in doubt for what to write about, write about controversial topics. I’ve heard the above advice so often that I can’t attribute it to anyone. The point, of course, is to get more people to read your novels or blog posts. The result can be lots of contentious discussion with an emphasis on the “lots of.” I…
Read MoreSunday Inspiration: “All you need is love…”
Sing along with me… “All you need is love, la, la, la, la, la. All you need is love, la, la, la, la, la. All you need is love, love, love is all you need.” These are some of the best known song lyrics in the world — thank you Beatles! — and they are…
Read MoreThe Lies We Tell
This morning I asked my Facebook Reader’s Page what they would like me to blog about. The answer was lies. Facebook has a secret new algorithm to determine which page posts our followers will see. The new method involves cases of microbrews, a smoky room, a table filled with uninhibited Gen-Xers and dice. Sometimes my posts go to more…
Read MoreSunday Inspiration: The Journey of Purpose
I love it when I come across something that is so inspirational that it goes right to the heart of what it means to be human. Take a few minutes to watch this video by The Journey of Purpose, and you will not regret it. There are four participants, all of whom led or lead…
Read MoreThe Writing Process 2015: Letting Ideas Simmer
Are you reading along with my Writing Process 2015 posts? If not, I’ll catch you up quickly. This year I’m going to post occasionally as I write a novel due late this fall. I’ve talked about sniffing a story and the difference between flesh and flash as I ponder what my next novel should be. When…
Read MoreSunday Inspiration: Amber’s Smile
Becoming a goddess doesn’t require any degrees of higher education or formal training of any kind. Becoming a goddess only requires a big heart and a passionate spirit. Take for example Jim Russ and his daughter Amber. Amber lived in a wheel chair here in Sarasota for all of her brief life of 21 years due to…
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