February 25, 2026
The past couple weeks have really been fun for me. On Wednesday, February 11, I was a guest at Annette Briggs house where I met with six members of her book club. They had chosen THRILL OF THE CHASE, my 1995 Loveswept to read. As I mentioned in my last blog, I had a difficult […]
February 11, 2026
A few weeks ago, a writer friend called and said her book club was going to read THRILL OF THE CHASE, one of my Loveswept Romances. She wanted to know if I had some extra copies; they were having trouble finding any. So I looked. When we first moved into this condo, I put copies […]
January 28, 2026
During the Michigan Sisters in Crime meeting this month the subject of conferences came up: was anyone going to a conference this year? Had anyone been to (different conferences name)? Was it worth it? Over the years, I’ve been to most of the major romance and mystery conferences. Some were better than others, but none […]
January 14, 2026
PENNIES The last pennies were minted on November 12. 2025/ That ended 230 years of production. No more penny candy. (Is there any candy that cheap nowadays?) No more, “If you want my two cents.” Businesses are going to price items so the amounts either end in 5 or 0, that or round up or […]
December 31, 2025
It’s been an interesting year. AI is really having an impact on the publishing world. I’m now part of (a very small part) a class action suit where writers’ published works have been used to train AI. It will be interesting to see if I get any money from that. And, I hate to admit […]
December 10, 2025
It’s Smashwords’ 2025 End of Year Sale! My P.J. Benson mysteries (the Crow books) are included in the sale along with Echoes of Terror, and two romances: Lyons Pride and Heiress Seeking Perfect Husband. I wish I had more books with Smashwords, but I fell behind the two years my husband and I decided to […]
November 26, 2025
I hope everyone reading this either has a wonderful Thanksgiving tomorrow or had one (if you’re reading this after Thanksgiving Day). This is one holiday I really enjoy. Family and sometimes friends get together to share a meal and conversation. We split cooking responsibilities with family groups (married or dating) bringing appetizers, salad, vegetables, potatoes, […]
November 5, 2025
In my last blog I warned readers not to be scammed. Over the last two months I’ve received emails from “publishers” and marketing specialist offering to help me sell more books. To be honest, I love reading their emails. They love my books. For example, this is the opening paragraph from the As the […]
October 15, 2025
Several blogs have been written and warnings sent out regarding scams. I’ve received one. Here’s the opening paragraph: Congratulations on publishing As the Crow Flies! P.J. Benson’s adventures, from unexpected dangers to the humor of her Rhodesian Ridgeback puppy, make for a captivating and entertaining read. I love how you balance suspense, mystery, and character-driven […]
October 1, 2025
Why should you copyright your book? The Copyright Act of 1976 stated that in the United States any creative work (writings, music, drama, etc) is copyrighted the moment it is created. So why should writers pay money to copyright their work? Some would say having an “official” copyright makes suing a plagiarizer easier, that you […]
September 17, 2025
Today I’m turning my blog over to Z (aka Elizabeth Haines), a fellow Michigan Sisters in Crime member. Z lives in Richland, MI, with her husband, Steve, and their cat princess, Winnie. When she’s not writing, she’s reading, piecing quilts, or attempting, usually unsuccessfully (according to her), to grow tomatoes. Despite reading over a hundred […]
August 20, 2025
Recently I’ve been reading emails from long-time writers who are stepping back from writing. Their reasons vary. Some, like me, simply haven’t come up with a new idea that makes them want to spend hours/days/sometimes years writing a story. Some have health problems that are preventing them from sitting at a computer for hours. Some […]
August 6, 2025
I’ve become a mini-publisher. It started when I received the rights back for all but two of my romances and all five of my mysteries (with the exception of one ebook). I created new paperbacks and ebooks for several of my romances and fourof my mysteries. Having published those books, when a long-time friend, Linda […]
July 16, 2025
SMASHWORDS https://www.smashwords.com Smashwords FAQ for Authors and Publishers Mark Coker came up with the idea for Smashwords in 2015 after co-writing the novel, Boob Tube, with his wife Lesleyann. Major publishing houses weren’t interested. They felt there too many other books like it, and those books had sold poorly. In 2018, Smashwords launched with the […]
June 25, 2025
Years ago I started publishing my eBooks on Smashwords and Draft2Digital. D2D distributes to dozens of on-line sites and libraries. I don’t make a lot of money from these books, but every so often I have a nice surprise when royalty payments appear in my bank account. As of now I have ten (10) of […]
June 11, 2025
I want to write a short story for a contest. I’ve written a couple short stories in the past that were published, but usually when I think I’m writing a short story it turns out to be a novel. I’ve heard people say, if you want to be a writer, start out writing short stories. […]
May 22, 2025
Last Saturday I attended the Michigan Romance Writers monthly meeting (via Zoom). I’m not always home or able to get on-line the third Saturday of the month, but I made it this time, and I’m so glad I did. It was great seeing some of the writers I’ve known for years, the business meeting was […]
May 8, 2025
Today I sent a query to an agent and a submission to a publisher. I really don’t think either will respond positively, but I won’t know if I don’t try. This takes me back to the early 1980s. That’s when I decided I wanted to write a book. I was reading The Writer and Writers’ […]
October 13, 2021
It’s less than three weeks until Halloween. A perfect time to read a romance that’s also a suspense. I’ve just lowered the price on the e-book for HAUNTED to .99 cents. This is one of my older romances. I wrote it after O.J. Simpson was acquitted of murdering his wife. Of course the hero in […]
August 4, 2021
“How does it end?” A writer friend asked me that question recently after I told him a bit about the story I have started writing. His question stopped me. I’ve been having fun with this story, basically letting it write itself. I’ve been a “Pantser.” (Writing by the seat of my pants.) But I want […]