Traveling for Inspiration By Karla Brandenburg I recently took a trip to Alaska, and for one of the few times in my life, I didn’t stop to put characters into the beautiful places that I visited. I like to travel, to see new places. Sometimes I take a trip with a story in mind based […]
Kennesaw Unconquered By Tina Whittle It’s always an odd feeling, when fiction and real life meet. It’s a crossroads moment – to the left, the world I created, with characters as I know as intimately as my own head. To the right, the world flowing under its own steam, with people of flesh and bone, […]
Who has enough time? By Maggie Toussaint Remember watching the grains of sand in an egg timer? The sand seems to flow really slowly at the beginning, then as more and more of the sand goes through, it appears to be racing through the neck of the hourglass. Lately, days and weeks have been racing […]
Turning the Tables By Terry Odell I thought I’d switch things around this week. Normally, I try to figure out what readers might find interesting, and fill a page or so with my thoughts on the topic. But this time, I don’t want to try to second guess your questions. I’ve got some of […]
Fairy Tale Endings By Nancy J Cohen My husband and I are Disney fans. Recent movies we’ve seen include Tomorrowland and Cinderella. One of our favorite TV shows is Once Upon A Time. And we have annual passes to Disney World that we visit every other month. I guess I’ve never grown out of […]
Character Occupations By Karla Brandenburg I’ve recently seen a trend in novels toward main characters who are billionaires, or at least independently wealthy. While that makes for an easier character to draw (they don’t have to go to work), my preference is for hard-working folks. A hard-edged cop or a fireman struggling to get […]
Cemeteries Rock By Tina Whittle I love strolling in old cemeteries. I suppose this shouldn’t be a surprise to anyone – I am, after all, a mystery writer, and I write a character who used to be a tour guide in Savannah graveyards – but my appreciation is occasionally met with a shudder from […]
Dreamwalking with Maggie By Maggie Toussaint Curiosity is one of my strengths. I often wonder about things for a long time. I’ll get stuck thinking “Why’d that happen that way?” Or, “Why’d that person do that ugly thing?” I’m sure most people have similar wondering moments, but I’m not sure they take them to the […]
What’s in a Name? Terry Odell Naming characters has always been a problem for me. I seem to fall into ruts, using the same names over and over. In fact, in my book, What’s in a Name?, I named three characters “Hank” and the editor never caught it. It wasn’t until I got the rights […]
Dealing Death and Demons and Star-Crossed Lovers Tina Whittle It’s one of my favorite pieces of writerly advice: Raymond Chandler’s observation that when things slow down, bring in a man with a gun. Which is not surprising. It’s an iconic image, a man with a weapon, layered with all kinds of subtle and not-so-subtle signals. […]
