A writer's journey...

Rob Pruneda tagged me for a Lucky 7 Meme.  What is that exactly?  Well here are the rules: 1. Go to page 77 of your current MS/WIP (If you don’t yet have 77 pages of your current work in progress completed, just choose the first seven sentences.) 2. Go to line 7 3. Copy down the next 7 lines, sentences, or paragraphs, and post them as they’re written. 4. Tag 7 authors, and let them know. From SACRIFICE , the 3rd in the Madison Knight series.  May I also say how pleased I was it didn't reveal any spoilers! I guess this post was just meant to be.  Thanks Rob!  Here's 7 sentences...okay, maybe there's 8, but I'm a novelist! LOL  It's an interaction between Madison and her partner Terry.  It starts with Madison talking. “I don’t know.   Making money off someone’s death?   That’s not ethical.” “That’s only assuming you win the bet.” “I usually do.” “Now who’s cocky?” “Just telling you the truth.”  She laughed.   And now, let the...

Sometimes when you’re just starting out in your writing journey, you can feel overwhelmed by the advice you receive.  But as you grow you will realize what works for you and what doesn’t.  You will also realize advice on the craft is more like guidelines, not hard fast rules. Maybe you're hung-up on which way to go with a few of the following: 1)  Write what you know. 2)  Do not write yourself as a character, or pull from real life.                 Just the  contradiction of the first two can give you a headache. 3)  Don't mix point of view between first and third. So when you look at the above, which do you consider rules, and which do you consider guidelines? If your answer is they are all guidelines, you are correct. Write what you know Literal translation: No one would be able to write fantasy, while because it is just that. Only detectives would be able to write crime dramas. Only aliens would be able t...

If you're an Amazon addict, and a Kindle lover, you've heard of Amazon Prime Membership.  Unfortunately, right now the program is only available to residents of the United States.  But if you are a member, you're able to borrow 1 Kindle book per month (if I understand correctly) for FREE. This post is to let you know all of my books are now enrolled in the program!  This means you can now borrow any of my books.  But why use your one borrow on me?  Here's why: TIES THAT BIND What reviewers are saying: Reminds me of JD Robb's "In Death" series “On the same plane as contemporary masters of the genre” JUSTIFIED What reviewers are saying: "Madison Knight rocks!" "If you like the Women's Murder Clun series, Kathy Reichs, Alexandra Cooper, or fast-moving mysteries, give Carolyn Arnold a read! You'll be hooked!" ELEVEN  What reviewers are saying: "Silence of the Lambs move over. ELEVEN is an astonishing performance." ...

As authors we have to constantly work at perfecting our craft, just as any other endeavor in the arts.  A dancer must practice tirelessly to get the moves down.  A painter must learn to blend colors and work on a canvas.  I don't know of anyone who just picked up a guitar, for example, and played a tune without prior training. The same is true with writing -- it takes practice and knowledge. As you grow in the craft, you'll notice areas where you've improved but your eye will also become sharpened to observe areas in need of work.   Here's a few things to look out for: 1) Show, don't tell. 2) Make it succinct 3) Using your senses to sharpen a scene 4) Writing isn't a paint by numbers

" In fact, if you wanted to make a cheery person with no predisposition to depression depressed, you could stick him in front of a typewriter or computer for hours a day--feed him a typical writer's diet--forbid him to exercise, isolate him from friends, and convince him that his personal worth depended on his "numbers." Make him live the writer's life, in other words, and watch him sag." - Elizabeth Moon Elizabeth said it well in her post on writers and depression.  No matter how good our books may be doing, or at what point we're in with our journey, there are highs and lows that we experience. Writing is a private journey shared on a busy road with strangers.  All of them clamoring to stand out - some do more than others.  Sometimes other people's successes can make ours feel somewhat insignificant. Even while it's true that some of these faces start to look familiar, and we make terrific friends along this road, we can still feel the blues...

The third in the Madison Knight series, Sacrifice, is hot off the printer - all 710 pages of it!  I'm starting to shake looking at the task ahead, but it will be fun and it will be challenging and I'm sure I'll love every minute of it.  Hoping to finalize my end of edits by the end of April (wish me luck) and get it off to the editor so it can get out in time for summer (June/July). Cover is still in the design phase, but here's the back cover blurb: The Bradshaw River claims lives every year.  But when the body of a young man washes up during a winter thaw, it’s obvious he wasn’t a victim of the high waters.  Now it’s up to Homicide Detective Madison Knight and her partner to find out the truth.  But things only get more complicated when his identity comes back as the son of Marcus Randall, business tycoon and founder of an investments firm worth billions.  With Marcus Randall already on the radar of the Secret Service for fraud and counterfeiting, the...