Could you retire?

Could you retire?

A couple weeks ago I wrote about the impression Kathleen Gilles Seidel had on me when I and Pru Warren interviewed her on our podcast, The Writers’ Block Party. She is such an incredibly strong voice in the world of Romance. She’s not only written Rita winning books,...
Atticus Review, uh-oh!

Atticus Review, uh-oh!

I love new software. I love playing with it, testing it, and finding its limits. So when I heard about Atticus, which I did many months ago when it was still in beta, I thought I’d wait until they came out with the official version to really put it to the test. Well,...
Thinking of Why and What we write

Thinking of Why and What we write

The wonderful author Kathleen Gilles Seidel just said something to me and my podcast co-host, Pru Warren, that really grabbed me. We were talking about writing and publishing when she first started out thirty years ago. For those of you who don’t know, Kathy wrote...
Repeated Motifs

Repeated Motifs

Today I’m going to share with you a concept that you’ll probably all remember studying in your high school or college literature classes: repeated motifs. It sounds very high-brow and perhaps even high-fallutin’ but, in fact, it’s a really neat way of getting across a...
Five Endings To Avoid

Five Endings To Avoid

Last week I talked about beginnings, so this week it makes sense that I talk about endings. There are a number of ways you should NOT end your book. I’m going to run through a few of them and make recommendations for good alternatives as I do so. Now, usually, I write...
Great Beginnings

Great Beginnings

What is it that takes your reader from their comfy chair and places them into the world of your story? What makes a reader lose themselves in a book? It takes a great beginning. Is that beginning made of action? Is it character? Is it setting? What is it that is going...