When you read this I’ll be on my way home to Florida. Since I’m clearly in a car and not at my computer I thought I schedule a blog from a previous September to share with you instead. I found this one, published first in September 2011 when I was finishing One Mountain Away,  and it seemed so appropriate. Once again I’m…

Back in March I told you about my struggles finding a title for my book in progress. Here were some of the contenders: Really, Truly Sisters Life After Love More Than Sisters Sisters Once Removed Joined At the Heart Well, really? Now that I look at them, I can see why my editors weren’t doing back…

“Under certain circumstances, urgent circumstances, desperate circumstances, profanity provides a relief denied even to prayer.” Mark Twain Sooner or later, in this age of email, Amazon reviews and Twitter, today’s novelist will turn on her computer and discover that an unhappy reader is complaining about her language.  The emails follow a pattern. I read your book and found XX word(s)…

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…

I’m moving again. Yes, I know I moved recently. Luckily this time I’m only moving steps away. After trying to finish The Color of Light in the prettiest room in the house, (the room where everyone convinced me I could do my best writing), I learned a valuable lesson. Pay attention to your instincts, or the perfect study,…

Here in the United States Thanksgiving came and went this past week. On Thursday I sat at the dining room table with my husband, my brother, my sister-in-law eating the feast we had prepared. I might as well have set two more places. Because as far as I was concerned the two major characters in my…

Okay, I’ll admit it. Zoltan’s question intrigued me. I saw this silly booth at the seafood restaurant where I ate Friday’s lunch during the 2014 Novelist’s Inc. conference this past week, and I knew I’d found my next blog post. Truth is if I had to encapsulate everything I learned at myriad workshops,”What is your future in publishing?” really was…

Tomorrow I head across the Sunshine Skyway to the Tradewinds Resort on St. Pete Beach  for the Novelist’s Inc. conference. Through the years I’ve been a member of various writer’s organizations but the one I’m still involved in is NINC. Novelist’s Inc. is the only writer’s organization devoted exclusively to the needs of multi-published fiction…

Brainstorming 2014! My brainstorming buddies just drove away in a car overflowing with luggage and  ideas for new books. Topping this off? Characters and scenes for works already in progress. Now comes the work of putting the ideas to good use, weeding or tossing them, whichever proves to be most valuable. Serena Miller, Casey Daniels/Kylie Logan, and…