As I begin the process of marketing the launch of my third book, I look at what I did right and wrong with the previous two launches. Authors can no longer rely on the publisher to market their books #bookmarketing Click To Tweet To get your book out there before readers you must do it […]
Archives for June 2016
A Wake-Up Call
One of my dearest friends, someone who is active, youthful, and full of love and generosity scared all of us to death this week. She complained of feeling flu-like, swelling in her knees and generally tired. Next, she broke into a rash. The long and short of it was she was attacked with Rocky Mountain […]
Flash Fiction Corner: A Simple Thank You
Sometimes all it takes is a simple thank you… #mystery #flashfiction Click To Tweet Mary let out a loud huff. She waddled over to the lounge chair and collapsed. Kay sat nearby with her book up to her nose and pretended to be reading. If she glanced at her sister for even a second, Mary […]
Creating a Narcissistic Personality When Creating Villains
Many of the villains in the books I read are narcissistic personalities #writingvillains #amwriting Click To Tweet These are people who display a lot of cunning and very little empathy. They may appear as sociopaths, but their tendency to want recognition for their bad behavior suggests a tendency toward a narcissistic personality type. The Norwegian […]
Five Tips for Character Development
As writers we are fascinated with people. Why? Our characters reflect real people. As such, they must act in realistic ways. We can’t have them do things that are “out of character.” We can dig deep inside ourselves and our experiences to create the people who fill our books or we can use other methods. […]
My #BookReview Five Quarters of the Orange–5 Stars
Joanne Harris, best known for Chocolat, writes about village life in France better than anyone #amreading Click To Tweet In Chocolat she created a magical place, full of interesting characters with all kinds of flaws. In Five Quarters of the Orange she does the same. But, this time, she adds quite a bit of mystery […]
What Works and What Doesn’t Work in Writing Fiction
As I’ve studied the art of fiction writing, I’ve learned that it is much more an art than a science. What works one day is proved false the next. What readers eat up today, they toss aside tomorrow. Clearly the art of writing fiction takes patience and a willingness to push the envelope. I’m reading […]
The Creation Myth (For Cat Lovers)
All my fellow cat lovers must read this! #cats #catlovers Click To Tweet The Creation Myth On the first day of creation, God created the cat. On the second day, God created man to serve the cat. On the third day, God created all the animals of the earth to serve as potential food for […]
How do you know when you’re done?
Artists tell me it’s hard to know when a painting is finished. One told me that if she works on a painting for too long, she ruins it. This reminds me of my writing. I tweak and tweak and then tweak some more. Was it better before the last tweak or after the first tweak? […]
