MERRY CHRISTMAS Wishing everyone a marvelous holiday, no matter what your belief. Here are some pictures of the gift I gave myself. His name is Captain Nemo, he’s five months old, a miniature poodle, and he promises to keep me walking every day and to help me think up some new mysteries (or maybe a […] [ ... ]
Writers often compare their stories to children. When asked which one they like best, they say, “How can I choose one over another?” (But, of course, if we are honest, there are some we love more.) We talk about sending our children off to New York (or to an agent or publisher located somewhere else), […] [ ... ]
I’m feeling sad this week. My mood, I know, was triggered by the death of a neighbor here in Florida, a sweet woman I barely knew but liked. At her memorial service Monday afternoon, I started thinking of all the people I’ve met over the years, people I barely knew who are now gone. People […] [ ... ]
Career Planning is often offered as a class in high school. Sometimes in college. I wonder how many people end up in the careers they originally thought they would follow. I certainly didn’t. In high school I told my friends I was going to major in animal husbandry. I would raise and train animals. One […] [ ... ]
Earlier this week another writer and I were talking about how to sell more books. The question was: How does a writer get his or her work noticed? When I started writing, I though a writer sat at a desk, typed out a story, sent it off to an editor, who (of course) loved the […] [ ... ]
This week I’d like to shine the spotlight on Pamela S. Thibodeux. Pam is the co-founder and lifetime member of the Bayou Writers Group in Lake Charles, Louisiana. She’s multi-published in romantic fiction as well as creative non-fiction. Her books are inspirational, but reviewers have called her work “steamier and grittier than the typical Christian novel […] [ ... ]
Last weekend I participated in a writing retreat held in Traverse City, Michigan. I’ve attended the Mid-Michigan RWA Chapter’s “Retreat from Harsh Reality” more than twenty times—even chaired it for a few years—but this was a totally different experience. This was truly a writing retreat. Rather than sneak away from activities to write, writing was […] [ ... ]
First, I’d like to announce that Jean Patton is the winner of last week’s Haunted House Blog Hop that appeared on my blog page. She will receive a copy of HAUNTED along with a $5 gift certificate from Amazon.com. And Shelly Hammond is the winner of the drawing held on Thursday (in the Living Room […] [ ... ]
Welcome – From October 27th to October 31st, I’ll be participating in Nancy Gideon’s Haunted Open House Giveaway Blog Hop as part of Nancy’s 4th Annual Haunted Open House! Stop by Nancy’s Haunted Open House to read Halloween posts by some awesome authors, wander into the spooky Game Room or sample some of the spooktacular Halloween drinks, […] [ ... ]
Elizabeth Meyette and I decided to trade blogs this week. She’s posting on mine, and I’m on hers Elizabeth Meyette. We’re both talking about books we’ve written (and have available) that are perfect reading for the Halloween season. Here’s Elizabeth’s explanation on how she came to write The Cavanaugh House, along with a blurb and […] [ ... ]
I’ve been writing romances and mysteries for years now, but this week has had me truly thinking about the hero—my hero in particular. No, not the one in my latest book. I’m talking about the one I married. As a writer, I sometimes wonder: Why did I pick him? Most writers are familiar with characterization […] [ ... ]
Saturday afternoon, Alafair Burke, (http://alafairburke.com) a former deputy district attorney, bestselling author, and law professor, talked about the myths many have regarding prosecutors, judges and investigators. She presented 5 myths. Myth #1: Criminal cases involve trials. She said 90% of all criminal cases are resolved before the criminal goes to trial. This is usually through […] [ ... ]
One of the sessions I attended at the Writers Police Academy was Robin Burcell’s (www.robinburcell.com) “Forensic Art and Witness Recall.” She started the session by telling us a little about herself. Her career began before she even officially became a police officer. While still a student at the police academy she was used undercover in […] [ ... ]
I’ve been tagged by Terry Odell to participate in the Sisters in Crime Blog Hop (#SinCBlogHop). The rules are simple. I’m to choose one or more questions that were posted on the SinC Website and write the answer(s) in a blog. I can then tag someone else to continue this blog hop (or not). I joined Sisters in […] [ ... ]
Our Friday afternoon speaker was Lisa Gardner, a #1 New York Times bestselling suspense novelist. Lisa spoke on: “From Fact to Fiction: How to Turn Chilling Research into a Thrilling Novel.” I’ve read some of Lisa’s novels and she truly does write a chilling story. Much of what she said wasn’t new, but it’s always […] [ ... ]
My learning experiences at Writers’ Police Academy continued early Friday morning when we stepped off the bus that took us from the Marriott Hotel to Guilford Technical Community College/Public Safety and were herded over to an “accident scene.” The “scene” was that a drunk driver lost control of his car and ran into a garage […] [ ... ]
Summer is coming to an end. Although I love seeing the leaves change colors, I will miss the warm weather (at least until I head for Florida), swimming, sailing, and all of the fun things that go along with summer. On the other hand, Fall is harvest season, Halloween, Thanksgiving, and comfort foods. We are […] [ ... ]
What a fantastic four days. This was my second Writers’ Police Academy and I still wasn’t able to work in all of the interesting and informative sessions. Thursday night we watched Eli Jackson and her sister demonstrate how to disarm someone if they have a gun pointed at you. After demonstrating the technique, we were […] [ ... ]
Three more hours and I’ll be boarding a plane for North Carolina. I’ll tell all (or what I can remember) next week. [ ... ]
One week from today I’ll be heading to Greensboro, NC, to participate in my second Writers’ Police Academy. (http://www.writerspoliceacademy.com/) From Thursday to Sunday, I, and a slew of other writers, will have access to law enforcement officers, firefighters, EMTs, and martial arts experts, as well as several NYT’s authors. I’ve already been assigned my time slot […] [ ... ]