on January 13, 2012
Seven weeks ago I submitted a short story to a publisher. I checked and double checked (and triple checked) to make sure I followed their submission guidelines exactly. According to those guidelines, their response time is six weeks. See the math there? So it’s a week past and three things are running through my brain…. Read More
on January 8, 2012
Dear Me, So the brain went on sabbatical back around Thanksgiving. Party planning, holiday shopping, cleaning in preparation for a family visit. All of it sucked the cells right out of our head. But this isn’t the first time distractions have won a battle or two. The goal is to make sure they don’t win… Read More
on November 16, 2011
I like writing shorts. I’ve submitted several 800 word stories to Woman’s World magazine and been fortunate enough to have one printed. (September 2010 – find the unedited version on the Short Stories page.) I’ve oft lamented that I’m not one of those mesmerizing writers with the gift for fluid, beautiful prose. My prose is… Read More
on November 1, 2011
Not long ago I figured out my average monthly word count is 15K words. At that rate, a rough draft would take five to six months to write, which isn’t good when you think of the months of revision to follow. I lamented on an earlier blog I would have to pick up the pace… Read More
on October 28, 2011
In 2006, I fell into this little group of Eloisa James fans via her bulletin board. They were called the Bon Bons and it was like an instant family. In the fall of that year, many of us Bon Bons partook in a little writing contest called Avon FanLit. At the time, though I’d toyed… Read More
on September 17, 2011
I live with a pre-teen. Though I’m beginning to think there is no such thing as a PRE-teen. You just wake up one day with this pimply person in your house who is taller than you are and she’s stomping around ranting that she has nothing to wear or whining because she can’t find the… Read More
on July 5, 2011
I’ll get the mea culpa out of the way first. Last year when I attended RWA Nationals in Orlando, Twitter was all the rave. I had an account but wasn’t a fan. However, everyone around me was tweeting non-stop, which I found incredibly annoying. Why couldn’t they just enjoy themselves and take a moment to… Read More
on June 24, 2011
I have countless habits. Some bad, some good. I don’t bite my nails, but I bite my lip. I vacuum regularly, but I never make my bed. The list goes on and on. However, there’s one habit I have that could go either way. I rationalize. This habit has been with me since… Read More
on June 21, 2011
I am about to embark on a new endeavor that could drastically change my life. Yes, I know I said this summer there would be no new projects to derail the writing goals. But this is an exception I believe will help me reach those goals. I’m going to be a Loser. Or, with the… Read More
on June 9, 2011
I am a single mother and have been for nearly ten years. An unfortunate aspect of this reality is the dreaded summer separation. This will be my sixth year of sending my daughter more than 2000 miles away for two and a half months. Other than the major savings in childcare, this situation comes with… Read More