A writer's journey...

As recently shared on my Facebook Author Page , the reason I write is two-fold. One, not only  is it my passion, but to know that I can touch people with my words, that I can provide a temporary escape, either from stress or pain, that touches me on an immense spiritual level that nothing else can even come close to. Thank you for choosing me and letting me into your world. Send to Kindle

The word focus harnesses unlimited potential. Its execution is so powerful that kings have forged empires, masterpieces were created and legacies were left for the next generation.  This five-letter word has changed the course of history and continues to. The best part is that each of us have the ability to utilize its influence in, and over, our life. These days establishing clear focus can prove a real challenge. Obligations come at us from every angle that we become inundated and feel overwhelmed. In addition to the necessities of life, we have our passions and desires. How can we fit everything in? Again, focus comes into play. If we make a workable schedule, this allows us to stay focused on what needs to be done. For example, as an author, if we lay out a release schedule at the start of the year, we can break this down into small increments of time and know what we have to do, and when, in order to reach our targets. A good question is, how do we make a ...

How to write solid characters has been a regular topic on my blog. Really, providing realistic characters is the key to hooking readers. Yes, of course, you need an intriguing plot, ideal pacing, and so on, but at the root of every book is its characters. Ernest Hemingway said, "We are all apprentices in a craft where no one ever becomes a master."  Are your characters real enough to pinch? Well, more recently I've discovered another means of creating characters my readers can pinch. The suggestion actually came from Katie Jennings—thank you, Katie! She’s uses this method. In fact, when I started looking at things this way, I realized I had already incorporated it into my characters without even knowing it. Still, it’s provided a means to ensure that my characters always stay true to who they are and it enables me to sharpen them. Using this method makes it possible to know how they are going to react in situations. It can tell you roughly what your c...

When you tap into the creative side and the words pour out of you, it's euphoric —it's what I term "falling into the rabbit hole"—and it's even more magical than  Alice in Wonderland .   It's a kind of rush you can't get enough of and it seems it's something you can never truly prepare yourself for—or can you? Maybe you've been struggling with a manuscript or it's just finding the time to write. Maybe you're not sure about what comes next and you procrastinate to the point you haven't written in days. Part of you might feel like crawling under a rock and proclaiming your work in progress stalled to the point that you hide behind "writer's block."  I'm here to tell you there's no such thing as "writer's block," per se, it's another procrastination excuse invented by writers. Of course, there are times that things come up in our writing that leave us wondering what the next step should be...

As a teenager, I wanted to write a full-length novel. I was so serious about it that I even wrote Harlequin for their submission guidelines. To this day, I still remember hunkering down in the basement reading them over.  Little did I realize at the time, it wouldn't be until over 13 years later that I would finish writing my first novel. Forwarding to the future a few more years, I am now a published author of 12 titles with more written at various stages of editing.  But, there were a few things that were ingrained in me, a couple of which I saw clearly — I would have a book signing at a Chapters store and have my books on the shelf there. There wasn't a question of whether it would happen, but when.  I'm excited to say that these visualizations have manifested in the last 7 months! I was even interviewed on a local TV show! Looking back, I know that these realities were set in motion by the visualizations of a teenage girl —a girl who had no ide...

Have you ever read a book and noticed that a certain character acted differently than you would have expected? Did it throw you out of the story? While most of us follow a somewhat predictable path in regards to our habits and response to repetitive situations, life events have the power to alter our reaction. When it comes to fictional characters, I always defer to real life. Have you, or anyone you know well reacted differently to a situation than you would have thought? I am certain you can think of many instances. Personally, two weeks ago, I took off last minute to see my sister who lives four and half hours away by car. I took the train adding about two hours to the journey with layovers, et cetera. But this isn’t something my husband or she ever saw coming. I’m usually a bit of a planner. I don’t typically travel alone. These are just two aspects of my personality that don’t “allow” for me to just drop everything and go. So, must characters in our books be any...

Do you hear voices?   In this case I’m not referring to the creative urging that propel writers to sit at their computers churning out thousands of words, I am referring to the actual condition that many experience. It’s actually more common than most would think.  There is a lot of controversy about this condition. Psychiatry still considers it a symptom of schizophrenic disorders, manic depression and psychosis, but it’s usually a consequence of abuse or a traumatic life situation. In fact, 70% of people who hear voices first detect them after physical or sexual abuse, an accident, or the loss of a loved one. In actuality only one out of three “voice hearers” requires psychiatric help. However, it is often treated with major tranquilizers, but it’s not the solution and in many cases make things worse. These drugs can silent any good voices and increase the intensity of the bad ones--the ones that encourage harmful or illegal behavior. “Anti-psychotic drug...