Two more days and we’re heading north. I’m going to miss the sunshine and constant warmth, but it will be great to be close to family and friends. And don’t feel sorry for me, I’m leaving one beautiful location to go to another beautiful location, and soon it will be summer…days of sunshine and warmth. […] [ ... ]
Being a writer is a hurry-up-and-wait business. Either you set deadlines for yourself, or, because you’re under contract, you have deadlines set for you. So you push yourself so you make those deadlines, and then you send the story off . . . and you wait. You wait for the agent or editor to say […] [ ... ]
Please welcome my guest blogger, Shelly Bell, as she talks about: The Day the Music Died Music is part of my soul. When I was younger, my head was always full of music. No matter what I was doing, I had some song playing in my mind. I’m not the only one. In college, my […] [ ... ]
I have one change and then one more read through of my work in progress (wip), and if all goes well (meaning I don’t find any major problems and I do fix all minor ones I come across), my story will be ready to send off to the agent who requested it. I don’t know […] [ ... ]
I’ve had an agent request a look at my work in progress (wip), and I’m eager to send it to her, but before I do, I want to (need to) make sure it’s as good as I can possibly make it. That means I’m going through it page by page, checking formatting, making sure I haven’t switched names, hair […] [ ... ]
1) The best thing you can do to sell your book is write a REALLY GOOD BOOK. a) Word of mouth is your best sales tool. 2) Advertising (in whatever form you choose) is going to be 99% on your shoulders. 3) You need to organize your time so you don’t spend too much […] [ ... ]
Short blog today. I’m in Orlando, Florida at Sleuthfest 2012, a mystery writers’ conference put on by the Florida MWA Chapter. Actually the conference doesn’t begin until tomorrow, but I came a day early to go to the gun range. I can say this, I’ve shot guns (a little 9mm and a 22), but this […] [ ... ]
Next week I’ll be on a panel at Sleuthfest where we’ll all be talking about our methods of plotting a mystery. That’s had me thinking. How do I plot a story, be it a mystery or a romance? When I first started writing (eons ago) I really had no idea how to plot, which my […] [ ... ]
I’m always getting after my husband, who buys something and then tries to make it work without reading the instructions. And I’m always telling new writers to go to the agent’s or publisher’s web site and read the guidelines before formatting or submitting any work. Well, now I’m the one at fault. Last week I […] [ ... ]
Coming soon: The Crows by Maris Soule Of course The Crows had its initial birth December 2007 as a hardcover published by Five Star mysteries. Then, about a year and a half later, it had a rebirth as an audio book put out by BooksinMotion. And, of course, once I had the rights back, The […] [ ... ]
I joined Linkedin this week. For months I’ve received invitation to join, mostly from people I didn’t know. I think they simply invited everyone on their email address list. A couple of invitation came from people I did know, but when I asked them what the advantage was, they weren’t sure. Now that I’ve joined […] [ ... ]
I’ve certainly killed my resolution to blog once a week. What I thought would be a two—maybe three—week hiatus while my husband and I traveled down to Florida and then took a cruise has turned into a much longer time period. In part the reason is I’m not sure what I want to blog about. […] [ ... ]
Ever notice if you look off to the side while driving that your car starts to go in that direction? At least that’s what happens to me. A quick glance is all right, but if I look to the side too long, I head that direction. My best driving is when I keep my eyes […] [ ... ]
Don’t talk about your book? That sounds like I’m giving advice opposite to what all the PR gurus tell us. Right? Well, I don’t mean AFTER your book’s been published but BEFORE. The more you talk about the story you’re going to write, the greater the chance you’ll lose that initial enthusiasm. I remember a […] [ ... ]
This morning on CBS I watched a segment highlighting how a school in California has incorporated yoga into its daily curriculum. The result, the school administrator said, was fewer dropouts and higher test scores. The students claimed doing yoga helped them concentrate, think things through, and feel more relaxed. I’ve been taking yoga classes since […] [ ... ]
Tomorrow is Thanksgiving, and I have much to be thankful for: family, health, and financial security. Sure, I wish I had gobs of money, no aches and pains, and a book on the New York Times best sellers’ list, but what truly brings happiness? As we once again approach the Holiday Season, I’m worried about […] [ ... ]
I often use real events as jumping off points for my fiction. News articles and reports about two hunters who were killed not far from where I lived were what started me plotting THE CROWS, and then, just a few years later, the home owner who wouldn’t let the fire department on his land to […] [ ... ]
It’s much more fun to be an author than a writer. Authors give talks, autograph their books, advise new writers, and greet fans with a smile and a nod. Writers sit at their computers (or with their pads of paper), try to decide how a character would act and speak in a particular scene, try to […] [ ... ]
For two and a half days I was an author. I mingled with other authors, committee chairs and staff, fans of mystery/suspense novels and short stories, and a few spouses. I smiled, made small talk, sat on a panel, and tried to sound like I knew what I was talking about. The book store present […] [ ... ]