Romance & Women's Fiction
In my new whimsical holiday romance novel, Santa Bring Me a Ryan, Jules Carmichael asks Santa to bring her a Ryan for Christmas, as in Ryan Gosling or Ryan Reynolds. She's single and has been unlucky in love, especially during the holidays. Jules realizes that Ryan Gosling and Ryan Reynolds are a little bit busy. …
If your summer isn't complete without a fun, easy, beach read, check out my debut romantic comedy novella, Fake It Til She Makes It. Even better---it's free as an e-book on Amazon (and Amazon UK) now through Wednesday, July 24. Woot! You: Cool. What's it about? You: Gimme a teaser. Nora has the opportunity to land her dream …
Continue reading "Looking for a Free, Fun, Funny Summer Read?"
Here's how the first week of National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo) went for me, a short recap in a few sentences and pictures. On the first day of NaNoWriMo, things started off great. I completed more than 300 words over the recommended daily word count. Days two and three weren't as promising. I completed slightly …
It's November 1, the first day of National Novel Writing Month, a.k.a. NaNoWriMo, a.k.a., NaNo. Still don't know what it is? Here's the skinny. Starting November 1, "participants begin working towards the goal of writing a 50,000-word novel by 11:59 PM on November 30." -- National Novel Writing Month So I signed up. I'm one …
I've rewritten the first chapter of my WIP about six times. First paragraph? Probably a few more than that. I had received feedback from one beta-reader that my second chapter was stronger than the first. And another beta-reader informed me that she got into my book "after the first chapter." After isn't good. During is …
Continue reading "Quick Points on Rewriting the First Line, First Paragraph, First Chapter"
Don't know whether to write a novel or novella? Me neither. And I'm still not sure where this train is headed. I've been diligently working on a novel for the last six months, and it's been tough. No surprise there---that's part of the writing journey. But while digging up writing tips, I stumbled upon various …
Continue reading "10 Reasons I May Write a Novella Instead of a Novel"
I've been behind the writing schedule I set for my novel-in-progress. I should have already sent out my third draft to two beta readers. They may have even provided feedback by now, if they were completely riveted by the story. (Or not.) As the dates slid, I decided not to wag the finger at myself anymore for …
Why does working on the second draft of my book remind me of a relationship? And I don't mean that in a Beyonce-Single-Ladies-carefree-dating-kind-of way. I'm talking about the awkward stage. Where you've been dating someone for a while, and it's starting to feel like "work." It wasn't always this way. When we were in the …
Continue reading "Relationship status with my second draft: It’s complicated."
The phrase "bird by bird" has been running through my mind a lot lately. If you recall---or if you don't, or if you're unaware---the phrase came to be 50-something years ago while a boy was overwhelmed with the task of writing a report about birds. The boy was author Anne Lamott's younger brother. "We were …
I know, it's just a first draft. Just get it out! Just go crazy! Just brain dump! Who cares how many times you just wrote "just?" Or that you used too many exclamation points? Don't worry about commas or split infinitives or run-on sentences or bad grammar. In some cases, you may not even be …
