Category Archives: Writing

The Mermaid Chair–Book Review

In The Mermaid Chair, Sue Monk Kidd does for fiction what the Flemish masters did for painting. She imbues each scene with so much reality it unfolds in your mind like a memory. You can taste the salty sea air … Continue reading

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Why You Shouldn’t Write to Music

I react to sounds. Music inspires emotion inside me. It fills me with feeling. Feeling I mistakenly think I’ve infused into my words when it’s really feeling that is not translated onto the page. Your reader will not be listening … Continue reading

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What I Learned From the Two Pages Critiques at Backspace

This is G’s adorable dog, Burger, in his halloween costume–a hot dog suit. It’s important to make sure your novel does not do this. Don’t make your readers think they are getting a hot dog, when it’s really a burger … Continue reading

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What I Learned from the Query Critique At Backspace

There are certain things that absolutely must be in a query letter. Just like there are certain ingredients that must be in a cinnamon roll to make it a cinnamon roll. * However, there is not one universally accepted standard … Continue reading

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Book Review–Self Editing for Fiction Writers

I started reading this after my return from Asia. Wanted to work on my self-editing abilities because they always can use more honing. Renni Browne and Dave King have a great approach to self-editing and divide the book into 12 … Continue reading

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Why Am I Going to the Backspace Agent Author Seminar?

Two days of panel discussions and small-group workshops with ONLY  literary agents on the program! Attendance limited to 100 authors. Amazing group of professional and talented aspiring authors. Down-to-earth published authors who take the time to advise newbies. Feedback from … Continue reading

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Guest Blog: 3 Ways To Reveal Character Through Setting Without Sounding Like A Travel Agent

Many thanks to Kourtney for inviting me to post and to discuss a bit of my writing process and my new book, The Vendetta, out now from Etopia Press. There are many, many ways to reveal character in writing, but … Continue reading

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Thirteen Reasons Why–Book Review

This book lingered in my psyche all week. I found myself bringing it up in every conversation. Or rather turning every conversation to it. With my penpal in Okinawa, with my bff at IHOP, to dad when he walked in … Continue reading

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Guest Post: PJ Sharon on Heaven is For Heros

In Heaven is for Heroes, seventeen year-old Jordie Dunn must face the loss of her brother when he’s killed in the war in Iraq. But Jordie doesn’t believe the military report that his best friend and fellow Marine, Alex Cooper, … Continue reading

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Book Review–White Cat

I read the back cover of Holly Black’s White Cat and was intrigued. Read the first chapter and was hooked. Downloaded it to my Kindle for the trip. What I loved most was the premise. A world in which a … Continue reading

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