Here are writing links that I’ve posted to Twitter for the past week. If you’re looking for a particular topic, just plug in your keyword into the search box at the top left-hand [...]

Every night at bedtime, I make up a story for my daughter. She loves them.  But she’s a very picky listener.  She prefers stories centered around her favorite cat, Shadow.  With the magic [...]

I think I’ve put off posting about Twitter, except for my weekly tweet roundup. For a while, I’ve gotten some hints from tweeters that I should have a sort of Twitter Manifesto. :) [...]

I’ll admit that as I’m writing, I keep half an eye on my word count. It used to mess me up to do that. But now, I think it’s like checking my speedometer [...]

Before I emailed the Memphis 3 manuscript to my agent on Monday, I followed a checklist of problems to look for and things to do before submitting the document. I tried to read [...]

Part of my busy weekend last weekend involved travel. :) I visited San Diego with my college roommate—just to go somewhere that was scenic and relaxing, that we hadn’t visited before. But I [...]

A few times lately, I’ve heard writers who’ve gotten a great idea for a story—or a fully-formed character—at an inconvenient time. Usually right when they’re in the middle of another book. The phenomenon [...]

Here are writing links that I’ve posted to Twitter for the past week. If you’re looking for a particular topic, just plug in your keyword into the search box at the top left-hand [...]

Hi everybody! I’ve got a real busy Friday and Saturday planned—and will be putting the finishing touches on Memphis book 3 before sending it to my agent on Monday. I’ll be back Sunday [...]

It’s pretty much just one of those things. The truth is that I never consciously decided to become a crime author. Back in the eighties, working for magazines, the editors needed someone to [...]

I do a lot of skimming as I’m looking for blogs to tweet on Twitter. Sometimes I stop and read the post carefully—and that was the case with a blog post on Work [...]

Never has food and wine been so popular among American culture. Cable and network TV is filled with cooking, wine, and travel shows. Food and drink play very important roles in my books. [...]

I heard from a few folks regarding the fact that there wasn’t a post from me on Saturday. Which is nice because y’all know I always post, every day…unless I say I’m not [...]

Here are writing links that I’ve posted to Twitter for the past week. If you’re looking for a particular topic, just plug in your keyword into the search box at the top left-hand [...]

Last Sunday, my husband and I took my daughter to church (our son was camping.) Our church has a children’s moment worked into the service—a time for all the elementary-aged kids to come [...]

I’m a firm believer that understanding point of view (POV) can cure most common writing problems. It’s such a versatile tool that does more than just help us pick which pronoun to use. [...]

Selling is usually not the favorite thing for writers to do. Writers like to write. But, as we all know, selling is a big part of the job now in 21st century publishing. [...]

My daughter and I went to a Halloween party on Saturday night. Well, it was both a Halloween party and a premiere…the dad of my daughter’s friend had an official premiere of his [...]

My second book in the Memphis Barbeque series, Finger Lickin’ Dead, will launch June 2011. Last week I got the copy edited version of the manuscript—with items for me to clarify and corrections [...]

Here are writing links that I’ve posted to Twitter for the past week. If you’re looking for a particular topic, just plug in your keyword into the search box at the top left-hand [...]

Longtime readers of this blog will know that for a couple of years I’ve been really reluctant to admitting to be a writer.  Especially in casual conversation with a new acquaintance. That’s because, [...]

I had a conversation with my agent a couple of days ago that reminded me of something that happened at the pool this past summer. Y’all know by now that I spent most [...]

Studies have proven that most people are noticeably stronger in one hemisphere of the brain or the other, mostly due to their tendency to exercise one side more often. Neither side of the [...]

Elizabeth invited me to share with you today something about writing. Since this was an important part of my process, I decided to focus on test readers. Why would you need test readers? [...]

My 8th grade son is working on a social studies project that’s due tomorrow. He’s carefully portioned out the work over the space of a week. He’s researched, cited sources, found images, organized [...]

Recently, I heard a couple of different people talk about simplicity in writing. The first time, I heard two authors at an event I was attending, talk about another author’s books. The books [...]

Thanks so much, Elizabeth, for having me on your blog today. When you agreed to host a stop on the tour, you asked for a guest post, offering several suggestions for topics; and [...]

Here are writing links that I’ve posted to Twitter for the past week.  I’m doing a special Saturday version of Twitterific since I’ll be hosting a guest tomorrow—Marvin Wilson. If you’re looking for [...]

I spend a lot of time doing different promotional things to make sure I’m doing my part in marketing my book. I purchase bookmarks and business cards. I make appearances and sign books. [...]

Masterpiece Mystery is my favorite show on TV right now, and I’ve really enjoyed their recent airing of “Inspector Lewis.” It’s a spin-off of the old Inspector Morse series, based on the mysteries [...]