I can sum up why beta readers are awesome in less than ten words: they pull you back into the real world. Sometimes when you’re writing, you get way too caught up in your own imagination and your own plans to pay attention to the details. This is actually a good thing – it means […]
Tribute to a Fallen Genius
I checked my email this morning and saw I had a news update from the New York Times. The headline read: “Breaking News: Elmore Leonard, Novelist Who Elevated the Status of Crime Thrillers” and then it was truncated. I had to open it to see the rest, but I already knew what the end of […]
August Update: Winners and Not-So-Fasters
I’ve been busy on some things, and lazy on some other things. For one thing, I spent a little time out of the house this past month (yay for not being a crazy recluse writer!), and volunteered at the Denver UMS (Underground Music Showcase). It was my first time at the festival at all, so […]
I’m BAAAAACK!
Two weeks gone! Holy hell. I had absolutely no intention of having my site inaccessible for nearly two whole weeks, but my stupid domain/hosting transfer took a lot longer than I expected. But it’s (mostly) done now, so now I just have to get back to posting regularly. Though I haven’t been posting on this […]
And Now to Finish It
I think I just figured out the right way to end my current WIP. It’s not going to be pretty, and it’s so far off the original ending in my outline, it’s ridiculous. But it’s going to be good – surprising, poignant, and and ironic (I hope). Why the ending matters You can have a […]
A Time to Write, and a Time to Edit
After all that editing for Quiet on the Set, I am so glad to be writing again! I’m still working on the story I began just before Camp Nano and work on in April, but I’ve also got a really long list of other projects to begin. If you were to look at my writing […]
As the Tour Approaches…
So I took a week or so off earlier this month because I felt overwhelmed by everything I had going on, and then I got hit with a whirlwind of new stuff that took priority over my slacking time off, so I had to get back into it. The Tour I cannot believe the blog […]
How to Live with a Bad Review
This one is for the writers. What do you do when you get a bad review? Statistically, it’s bound to happen. You can’t please everybody, but that doesn’t make it any less painful when it happens. Sticks and Stones I haven’t had that many reviews at all, so when I get a bad one, it […]
Ask an Author – AMA about Writing
We love authors, and hate them at the same time. They can enchant us, make us laugh, help us escape, and discover new worlds we never knew existed. However, they don’t always do what we expect, or what we hope, and it can drive readers a little nuts. Why do authors mismatch characters who are […]
What I’ve Learned About Publishing This Year
Today marks the one-year anniversary of the publication of my first book. That being the case, I wanted to take a look back and evaluate everything I’ve learned in the past year about publishing, because it’s a LOT. I Never Set Out to Be a Publisher With Realistically Yours, a book I wrote during the […]