Early Role-Playing By Nancy J Cohen Our young lives at play often prepare us for later roles in life. Or at least this is true for girls who like to play house. It’s not so true for boys who pretend to be super heroes. One thing I liked to play was “Secretary.” My mother had […]
Soundtracks by Karla Brandenburg Music is an integral part of who I am. I grew up with it and we have a running joke about “that music affliction,” which means at any point in time, any member of my family might just break into song as it applies to the topic under discussion. Most of […]
Changing Protags By Tina Whittle My protagonists, they are a’changing, and in some very surprising ways. As their author, I’m trying hard to keep up. I’m working on the sixth book in my Tai Randolph and Trey Seaver series (working title: That Blankety-Blank Book). My two main characters have been solving crimes together since the […]
Summer Food I know summer is here when the strawberries bloom! As a kid, we used to visit the farm where my mom grew up and go strawberry picking. We came home with quarts and quarts of strawberries that turned into delicious strawberry freezer jam and strawberry topping and strawberry shortcake. Once I had a […]
Guilt and more guilt By Maggie Toussaint Some days are full of coulda-beens and woulda-beens. You know what I’m talking about, those things we’ve done and those things which we’ve left undone. The stuff that makes us feel icky inside. Yes, I’m talking about the worst kind of trip – a guilt trip. It can […]
In the Name of Research by Terry Odell Tina Whittle addressed writing what you know in her Let’s Talk post a while back, and how research is important. Google is a writer’s friend, but so are contacts with experts. My Triple-D Ranch romantic suspense series is set against the backdrop of a Colorado cattle ranch, […]
Pre-launch by James M Jackson Technically, everything that occurs before a novel is published could be included in the broad definition of pre-launch. The demarcation line for me is the point my efforts switch from making the manuscript the best book possible to letting people know the book exists. I take off the writer hat […]
Weddings Can Be Murder by Nancy J. Cohen June is wedding month. For some reason, people like getting married before the heat of the summer sizzles their blood and sends temperatures soaring. But the passions aroused by planning a wedding also lead to some potential motives for murder. You’ve all heard of bridezilla? Don’t forget […]
That Scent by Karla Brandenburg Is anybody watching the Outlander series, based on the books by Diana Gabaldon? When I first started reading those books, I was enthralled. I started out of order, with the second book, and was so caught up that I went back to read the first one. And then the third. […]
Cool Facts by Tina Whittle Write what you know, they say (they being smart teachers of writing). It’s excellent advice. I just happened to ignore it. I decided instead to write about wildly complicated things like neuroscience and Special Weapons and Tactics. Which means I spend an enormous amount of time neck-deep in utterly fascinating […]
