Below are the writing-related links I tweeted last week. The Writer’s Knowledge Base search engine, designed by software engineer and writer Mike Fleming, makes all these links searchable—try it for searches on plotting, [...]

I hope y’all will bear with me as I explore yet another productivity-related post this week (yes, I really am obsessed.) It’s on my mind a lot right now. :) A couple of [...]

One reason why I think traditionally-published writers are slow to make the leap to being dual-published (traditionally and self-published) is because the learning curve for self-publishing is so very high. Here are my [...]

I’m continuing on with the productivity theme this week. :) That’s because I’m revamping some of my mindset to get more writing done. I’ve always been pretty good about resisting perfectionism during first [...]

I read a post from Inkygirl, Debbie Ohi, which really resonated with me the other day. Debbie is an author and illustrator. She’s also very active online and is well-respected in the writing [...]

I have many hats—one a cloche with a fan of feathers for when I write mystery (don’t you think it makes me look mysterious?), a sunbonnet for western fiction, a fedora for nonfiction, [...]

I’m speaking this Sunday at a Sisters in Crime meeting in High Point, North Carolina from 2-4. I’m looking forward to the talk because I’m most comfortable with writers. Although I probably should [...]

Below are the writing-related links I tweeted last week. The Writer’s Knowledge Base search engine, designed by software engineer and writer Mike Fleming, makes all these links searchable—try it for searches on plotting, [...]

There’s a festival of music, rides, art, and food that Matthews, North Carolina, is regionally known for. It’s always on Labor Day weekend and it’s called Matthews Alive.  Every year there are over [...]

I always take emails that I get from readers very, very seriously. Actually, I listen to them just as much as I do to my editors. And I watch market trends, too, especially [...]

I just finished reading a book for my book club: Monster by Walter Dean Myers. The 16 year old protagonist, Steve, is on trial for murder. He’s portrayed as a terrified and nearly [...]

I’ve always heard that it’s important to learn something new every day. But lately, I feel like I’ve been learning fifty new things a day, trying to keep up with publishing and social [...]

I frequently hear about the quiet life of writing and wonder if I’m just the weird writer in the group. Writing, for me, isn’t really a quiet, still, activity. For one thing, I’m [...]

Blog Tours – A Low-Cost, Low-Stress and Actually Fun Way to Help Your Book Find Readers I had never heard of a blog tour until my novel Love in Mid Air came out [...]

Below are the writing-related links I tweeted last week. The Writer’s Knowledge Base search engine, designed by software engineer and writer Mike Fleming, makes all these links searchable—try it for searches on plotting, [...]

My friends are, generally, nice people, but they do laugh at one particular handicap I have. I can’t for the life of me describe anything to do with fashion. For a teenage girl [...]

I’ve noticed in the past that my mood influences my writing. It’s been a really busy last few days, as I mentioned yesterday. I’m trying to take things a little slower now and [...]

Life is usually pretty fast-paced here.  Recently, it’s been faster-paced than usual. Today is the first day of school for my children.  The last week has been a blur of preparations for school, [...]

I was at a local amusement park with my children last weekend and was put in an uncomfortable situation a couple of times in a row. We were in the water park when [...]

I usually have a good time naming characters, but I’ll admit that sometimes I have to go back and change names later. Or add them. My editor for the quilting mysteries called me [...]

We frequently hear, as writers, the advice that our protagonist needs to want something. As Kurt Vonnegut put it: “Every character should want something, even if it is only a glass of water.” [...]

Below are my writing-related tweets from the last week. The Writer’s Knowledge Base search engine, designed by software engineer and writer Mike Fleming, makes all these links searchable—try it for searches on plotting, [...]

Is it just me, or did this week go by in a blur? In case you missed it (and I think a lot slipped by me this week), here are three different helps [...]

I’d been hearing good things about Paula McLain’s The Paris Wife, so I recently downloaded it to my Kindle and read the book. I really enjoyed it. I found, however, that I kept [...]

One of my favorite things about reading a book is being surprised. (Which is interesting, because in real life, I don’t like being surprised.) This surprise doesn’t have to be anything as dramatic [...]

This is my public service announcement for the next few months. :) Y’all—back up your work. Back up your writing and everything else that’s important to you on your computer. And…back up to [...]

It’s out! Progressive Dinner Deadly, a new Myrtle Clover mystery is now available on Kindle and Nook for $2.99 . This is a follow-up to Pretty is as Pretty Dies, published by Midnight [...]

Friday afternoon my husband and I had a nice lunch together, then he asked if I could run an errand for him (he was going back in to the office) and return a [...]

Below are my tweets from the last week. The Writer’s Knowledge Base search engine, designed by software engineer and writer Mike Fleming, makes all these links searchable—try it for searches on plotting, characterization, [...]

I’ve noticed my buying habits, as a reader, are changing. Some of it is due to necessity. I’ve got several avid readers in my house and the library is, sadly, not able to [...]