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Juggling Projects & New Author Photo
I’ve been writing books for a while, but I’ve never been writing two novels simultaneously, while also shopping out a completed manuscript (my 6th book, titled The Letters in the Books). I’ve been working all summer on these projects, and it’s taking more discipline than ever as I juggle these three stories. I’m not complaining. I love it. It is so much fun to be able to get lost in storytelling—to invent characters that mirror real life people. Additionally, the two projects I’m working on take place in the past; one in particular is historical fiction. I also just joined BookBub and am about to investigate BookFunnel. Marketing never sleeps…
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Sentimentality Run Amok
I can’t help it. It happens every time. Every single time. Even though I live and breathe baseball vicariously through my husband, who works for the ballclub, when I go to Camden Yards, it’s as if I never left. Be forewarned: take me to Camden Yards, and I get sentimental. With the pandemic seeping into every aspect of our lives, I haven’t been to the ballpark in a year and a half. On Friday night, our family enjoyed a lovely outing and got to spend time “at the yard,” as Orioles fans like to say. Luckily for us, the team had a big win Friday night over the Nats and…
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Summer Reading Roundup Thus Far
Good morning, sunshines! I hope you’re enjoying your summer and getting to spend some time having fun with friends and family and sneaking in a little reading. Today, I’m going to review the books I’ve read so far this summer; each will be short and succinct. Fair warning, however—I’m a pretty gentle reviewer because I know what it takes to write a novel. When someone pours their whole heart and soul into their creative writing and it takes time to do so, I have a difficult time being overly critical, but I will share my overall feelings about the book. I recommend all of them. The Giver of Stars by…
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Fiction Friday: How writers begin a new story-with something weird in their heads
Before I share this weird “thing” that’s in my head, allow me to explain. So…I’ve completed one novel and am presently shopping it out. I’m also 5,000+ words into writing my next one, a novella, which will only be 30,000 words. I’ve had this “hit the pause button thing” happen to me before with Inn Significant. With that novel, I had the bones of the story, but something was missing. While I worked on other novels, I continued to figure out where the plot of Inn Significant was going, and I finally pieced it all together. It took me a few years to figure out just what that missing ingredient…
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Hold Fast to Dreams: An Update!
We all dream of seeing our book go out into the world and having people enjoy reading it. I’m proud of the work I’ve accomplished as an indie author. And I will be proud of the work I produce going forward if I stay in this lane. It’s never easy, but there are tremendous rewards. Meeting people, seeing the support of your local community, and hearing from people who’ve enjoyed your books keep me motivated. My goal is to write books that offer hope and to write better and better books each time. To those of you who have followed along on my journey, THANK YOU. To those of you…
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How Debbie Macomber Inspired Me
Last week, at the last minute, I signed up to join a Zoom call through the Baltimore County Public Library with author Debbie Macomber. It was the best thing I did for my writing career last week, and I’ll tell you why. If you don’t recognize the name Debbie Macomber, you may in a minute. She’s a bestselling author. Her genre is women’s fiction/romance. Her stories have been picked up by the Hallmark Channel (if you watched Cedar Cove, that’s Debbie’s brainchild, as are some of the Christmas movies on the network, including Trading Christmas, Mrs. Miracle, and Dashing Through the Snow). Her books can be found everywhere—at libraries, bookstores,…
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Is the Power of Positive Thinking Real?
Remember the book called The Secret? It’s a book in the self-help genre written by Rhonda Byrne that basically states that the law of attraction is real—that positive thoughts or energy attracts other positive thoughts and energy. It goes further to express that the power of positive thinking can help you achieve what you want or imagine and will it into existence. Some may believe these things are possible; others may not. I am in the camp that believes it can happen. But then again, I’m a pretty positive person. I don’t think I could be a teacher if I were not. Earlier this year, and after many years of teaching…
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The Way to a Character’s Heart
Confession: When I’m diving into characters and trying to get at the heart of them, I sometimes write poetry as my characters to get inside their heads. For example, if a character faces heartbreak or loss or a hardship, along with character sketches, I may write a little poem or two from various characters’ perspectives. It would be as if they would write the poem themselves. I’ve always written poetry for fun, and I enjoy writing poems that uncover emotion. And while I’ve only published one small collection of poems to date in The Postcard, I continue to write them and keep them to myself…just for these purposes. Today, I’m…
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The Cicadas Are Coming! The Cicadas Are Coming!
To mimic Paul Revere, we all know the following: “The cicadas are coming! The cicadas are coming!” In Maryland, they’re already here. Who remembers the 2004 onslaught of the cicadas? We were living in Ellicott City at the time, and I remember my toddler and four-year-old playing in the back yard and being terrified of the insects. The Brood X type, with their menacing red eyes, had crawled out of the soil. My friends, it’s been 17 years, and they are crawling out again. Apparently, billions of these things have fed underground all this time, primarily on tree roots, only to emerge now. This particular Brood X type is found…
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You Won’t Want to Miss “The Scoop”
One of the best aspects of social media is the ability to connect with people in your hometown and general area. My years of posting on Instagram have connected me with some great people, and last week, at the ribbon cutting for a new bookstore called Park Books and Literacy Lab, I got the opportunity to chat with Ryan Sneddon from Naptown Scoop. Both Ryan and I were at the bookstore covering “the story.” He was reporting on it for Naptown Scoop, and I was covering it for a local magazine. (I’ll share the story once it’s published). But the fact is, Ryan and I have been “connected” via Instagram…
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One of My Favorite Scenes
*** I’ve been decorating a little bit today for the holidays. I’m feeling terrible, still trying to deal with a chronic health issue, but I’m trying to remain positive and optimistic. Evert time I break out my Christmas decorations, I always think about a particular scene in my first novel, Beneath the Mimosa Tree. The scene unfolds at the holidays after ten years, when two former lovers and next door neighbors are reunited. After years of not speaking and feeling anger and guilt over a mistake that was made, the two come face-to-face in the driveway as Annabelle and her family return from getting a Christmas tree. Michael, home from…
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What Are You Missing Most Right Now?
Here’s the question: WHAT ARE YOU MISSING MOST RIGHT NOW? Most of us are probably missing the freedom we used to have to travel, being with those we love without social distancing, and seeing the world. Plus, as I am working on my syllabus for feature writing, I typically instruct and assign an article about travel writing. This morning I woke up realizing I may have to take this assignment out. How can I expect the students to travel and write about their local travel in these present circumstances? This semester is going to be unusual enough without now having to rethink assignments. I’m going to have to get creative.…
