A Sign of the Times by Diane A.S. Stuckart With each new novel, it gets harder and harder to come up with just the right few words. No, I’m not talking about writing the book’s opening paragraph—that all-important “hook”. I don’t even mean the novel’s final line that puts a neat bow on the 80,000 […]
Summer Picnics by Nancy J. Cohen In the summers when I grew up, we used to take driving trips. My mother would pack lunches for us to picnic at rest stops along the way. It was fun when I didn’t have to prepare the food. Now I’d rather eat in an air-conditioned restaurant than outside […]
Anticipation by Debra H. Goldstein Anticipation. It’s a word that rolls easily off my tongue. For me, the concept of anticipation conjures up tingling feelings of being on pins and needles; of being so excited I can’t sleep; of holding my breath waiting for an outcome. The waiting is what’s key. The chorus of Carly […]
St. Petersburg has a New Pier By Cheryl Hollon We have a delightful brand-new pier in downtown St. Petersburg, FL. It’s been quite a long construction phase and quite a lot of money to replace the inverted triangle that was the city’s prior icon. In fact, I loved that pier so much, I had my […]
How’d I get so lucky? By Maggie Toussaint Usually, people bemoan their lack of good fortune, but I am feeling very lucky about this post. You see, the 7th and final book of my Dreamwalker Mystery Series, All Done With It, launches on August 11, which is within the week this blog airs. Lucky, right? […]
In Celebration of International Friendship Day By Lois Winston Today is International Friendship Day, so I’ve decided to devote my post to my oldest friend and tell why she meant so much to me. I grew up in the early years of television, but my home life was nothing like what I saw portrayed on […]
National Hot Day Day by Diane A.S. Stuckart Today is National Hot Dog Day, a celebration of what might be considered the USA’s original “fast food”. And unlike all the other foods that get their own holidays (yeah, you, National Artichoke Day), the intrepid wiener deserves every accolade it gets. Not just because they taste […]
Are You a Corn Fritter Fan? By Nancy J. Cohen Today is National Corn Fritter Day. This brings back memories of summer dinners on our screened-in back porch at our house in New Jersey where I grew up. Corn fritters were part of my mother’s cooking repertoire. My father used to grow vegetables in our […]
National Stay Out of the Sun Day vs. National Bikini Day by Debra H. Goldstein When I write conflict into a story or chapter, I must balance different viewpoints, how varied characters react to the same stimulus, and show that the conclusions and behavior of the characters may reflect each one’s personal beliefs. A good […]
Summers on the farm in Kentucky By Cheryl Hollon It’s a new series! The Book Birthday for Still Knife Painting was two days ago and I’m still over the moon in delight! This new series is close to my heart. The setting is in eastern Kentucky where my parents were born and my grandparents were […]
