Happy Tuesday All, Normally I'd have this up and running in the beginning of the day, but I got behind. In my adventures as a writer, I come across people who say "I want to write, but I don't know how to get started." The really simplistic answer to that is "Just write." That really is a key part of writing is actually writing . But sometimes they want more information, or ideas of hints and help, etc. So here's a basic, general breakdown: 1. You have to write . What are you interested in? What story do you have to tell? Do NOT worry if it seems stupid or whatever to you. Just get started. You can always edit later. 2. Check out your favorite authors. A lot of authors have websites and/or blogs, etc. Some are on social media. Check them out. See what they say about the writing process and getting published. Find out what worked for them and see if it's something that'll work for you. 3.  Find a writer's group. Very helpful and you...

Happy Wednesday Everybody! I'm one tired chica. For the last 4 nights either dizziness (due to allergies) or Youngest Offspring has made sure I don't get a full-night's sleep. In fact, I don't think I've slept from 11 p.m. to 8 or 9 a.m. in over a year. I imagine it's part and parcel of the whole Mommy-gig. But since I know things could be much worse, I suppose I should thank the Lord this is all I'm up against in terms of being a mom at the moment. The NWHRWA has opened up registration for the annual Fall Conference--the Lone Star Writer's Conference, which is happening Saturday, October 1st. This conference is open to ALL writers, NOT just Romance novelist. So you Thriller, Suspense, Horror, and such, you can come, too. YA and NA writers, you come, too. It's open to ALL writers. The fabulous NY Times Best Seller, Kerrelyn Sparks, will be Me, KERRELYN SPARKS, and author Christie Craig talking about world building and all of that fun stuf...

Happy Thursday All, Smokey Mountains in Gaitlinburg, TN, 2013 In writing, editing, critiquing, and being a judge (yes, I've done a little judging for a contest) there's a few things about writing that are true all the way across the board--no matter what genre, no matter if you're a newbie, or best seller, or somewhere in between. Or if you're a "pantser" or a "plotter". And that's organizing your story. Every writer is different and every writer does this differently. I call myself a "half-in-half" writer because I do a little plotting and I do a little pantsering. But the main things every writer needs whether they do it before they write the first draft, or in the editing process are for every important/main character(s) in one's novel: Me, at the NWHRWA Lone Star Conference, 2014 Goal, motivation, conflict. Yes,  GMC that leads to the actual plot. Whether you're writing the hero, heroine, villain, whatever...

Happy Tuesday All, I promise, I didn't do it on purpose. Really. The NWHRWA Lone Star Conference came around and I... Forgot my camera! However, I did, in fact, go, and there are a ton of witnesses who will attest to the fact I was there. For all I know, RM Brand might have gotten a photo of me during the time I was down in the Conference room helping them set up before it started.  Donald Maass was unable at the last minute to come. His family had an emergency, so he had to back out. However, he was nice enough to do his best to help us get someone. In the end, James Scott Bell, who came last year, rescued us and returned with a brand-new topic. (I give Raven Raye, our 1st V.P. a lot of credit for dealing with this unforeseen situation, she worked so hard and deserves a standing ovation). Friday night, I attended (by invitation) the Meet & Greet. I got to sit down and chat with agent Kevan Lyon , who is authors Jennifer L. Armentrout and Katie McGarr...

Happy Wednesday All, (No matter what the date tab says, this post is meant for Wednesday). I can hardly believe it...not counting today, there are TWO days left until the Lone Star Conference. This is my third year going, and I'll be entering my fourth year as a member of the NWHRWA. This group is an incredible group of men and women. I'm very lucky and blessed to be a member and to be amid so many talented writers. I know travel can be a pain (especially if you live out of state, or even out of the country) but folks, these people are so hospitable and kind. If you're a writer, I cannot stress enough how important that is. It's also why I invite my fellow authors to this Conference every year. Now that I've gotten the sentimentality out and told you how truly awesome the NWHRWA & the Lone Star Conference is, let me move on to what's kept me from the blog... I have been reading like a mad fool, my dear readers. My cousin got me interested in an a...

Happy Thursday All, I missed posting Wednesday, but don't worry, I'm okay--just busy! There's a new release! Author of Nocturne , Syrie James , has teamed up with her son, Ryan M. James, to put together a Paranormal YA novel entitled,  Forbidden . And, it looks intriguing! It's available on Amazon and Amazon Kindle , as well as Barnes & Noble and Barnes & Noble Nook . I'm currently reading a novel by an author I hadn't ever read before. The premises really interested me because it's pulled from Shakespeare. I'm not very far into it, but I'm already curious as to what this novel will bring. So we'll see what happens. On and off I've mentioned music on here. Especially music that sets a tone/mood for one's writing--or inspires. For me, it can be anything from AH-HA's Take On Me to Spin Doctors' Two Princes .  I like a lot of different songs, but those two came to mind because Two Princes always makes me want to da...

Happy Monday Everyone, This past weekend the illustrious Christie Craig gave a special workshop to the Northwest Houston Romance Writers of America , which, I'm proud to say I'm a member of this awesome group. The workshop was called "High Tea & POV" although, I don't know how many people actually consumed tea (I had water), but we sure listened in rapt attention as Christie talked about getting into your character's heads. In fact...that's precisely what POV is. POV--point of view. Which character is telling the story? Is it your heroine? Then you see, feel, hear, smell, taste, experience intuition and thoughts of that character. These are things that I've talked about with my C.P. but I'm not always consciously aware of them while I'm writing. When I'm writing I'm imaging how the character reacts based on what I know about the character. I'm reacting and visualizing. When I go back and edit I'm looking at the dialogu...

Happy Wednesday Everyone, There's a lot of people gearing up for Conferences. Romance Writers Of America (RWA) --the writers' group I'm a member of, is hosting it's annual conference in New York City this year. Unfortunately, I will have to miss it, but I know several people from my chapter are going, many of the authors I've mentioned here (I don't know all who are going, I don't have the final count, but several of them are). My friend and fabulous author, Jane Heller was talking about on her blog, Mainly Jane about a conference she's attending, the Santa Barbara Writers Conference . In the Fall, I plan to attend the annual NWHRWA Lone Star Conference (October 15, 2011). So are you attending a writer's conference? If so, which one?

Happy Monday All, Hope everyone had a great weekend. I did...it was incredibly busy, which would account for the fact that I'm not yet mentally fully awake (the right amount of coffee will remedy that). On Saturday, the NWHRWA hosted Alicia Rasley , who gave a wonderful all-day workshop on how to improve and vamp up your writing (it's no wonder she's so popular!) She was interesting, funny, fun and very informative. A bunch of us (myself included) have been raving about her ever since. (If you click on her name it'll take you to her website. She has a lot of information on her website, as well). But an all-day workshop means I was wiped out. Sunday I was still tired, but it was library day, which means I got to go see Valerie and Anthony (two librarians I've gotten to know, whom are both awesome). It was great to see them again and to chitchat. Sunday I got together with a few members from NWHRWA to sit and talk about pitching in conjunction with the fab...

Happy Thursday All, I didn't post on Wednesday. We had stormy weather and I had other things to do, so I had to skip Wednesday. New Year's is just around the corner and a lot of people make Resolutions. I don't. However, I do know there are a few things I can keep doing in the new year. Keep writing and growing as an author. Keep working on my manuscripts and story ideas. Keep working at putting myself out there. So, what about you? Do you make New Year's Resolutions? If so, do you mind sharing them? Have A Thoughtful Thursday!

Happy Monday All, Just 5 more days until Christmas. Can you believe it? If you're in denial about how close it is, I'd recommend not looking at the countdown in the margin of this blog. LOL This time of year, with New Year's the week after Christmas, it's been a "look back on the year" season for a lot of things--everything from the Internet to television.   For me, the previous year had it's bright spots, but it also had its rough spots.   Two of my uncles died, as well as two friends. One of the friends that died was someone I graduated high school with and I'm still in shock about it. It's hard to imagine such a thing happening.   On the bright side, I managed to finish editing (and start the query process on) a manuscript. As well as go into a pitch session for the first time, which is even more further along than I was a year ago. I like the idea of progressing forward--learning and growing and improving.   There was also a birth o...

Happy Monday All, I just looked my calendar and realized counting this week, 3 weeks left of 2010. Weird, huh? I think this year went by faster than I expected. I'm plotting some of the things for the blog for next year. Already have one author in mind to ask for an email interview, and 3 others I'd love to ask. (One I already have asked, but I think either my email got lost or she was very busy and didn't get to it). (By the way, don't hesitate to comment or email me if there's some author you're really hoping I'd look into asking for an interview!) I'm also planning to get query letters for a manuscript started out very soon (hopefully THIS week--gotta do a couple of things first). So positive thoughts/prayers/crossing fingers all of that is much appreciated. I haven't made any New Year's Resolutions for 2011, but I think some of them are a lot of the same of what I'd say for this year. Work on writing, work on improving the craft ...

Happy Monday, In every email interview I've done with a published author there's one question I always ask:  What piece of advice do you find helpful? (or most helpful).   With every interview, there's been different answers, but I think in a lot of ways it boils down to:  don't give up.   Now that doesn't mean authors never get nervous about putting their name out there. It doesn't mean they never fear it won't work. What it means is that they've stopped letting the fear get in the way.   So...what makes  you keep goinging for it?   One way you can "go for it" is in 2 weeks and 5 days the NWHRWA Lone Star Conference will happen (October 16, 2010). I don't know how much room they have, but you won't know if you don't "go for it".  Please click here and check it out.   Have A Merry Monday!

Happy Friday Everyone, If you have NOT signed up for the NWHRWA Lone Star Conference, you need to hurry and do so! Why? Because... Randy Ingranmanson of the Snow Flake method is going to be there. (He's the keynote speaker). http://www.advancedfictionwriting.com/ Christine Witthohn (Luncheon Speaker) of Book Cents Literary Agency is going to be there. http://www.bookcentsliteraryagency.com/ Naomi Hackenberg of Elaine P. English, PLLC is going to be there. http://www.elaineenglish.com/ Amy Boggs of Donald Maass Literary Agency is going to be there. http://www.maassagency.com/ I was told Katy Budget Books was going to be there.   http://www.katybooks.com/ Several writers both published and unpublished just like you are going to be there. So, don't wait another second...get over to the NWHRWA's website and register now:  http://www.nwhrwa.com/conference.htm There's only 4 weeks and 1 day left until October 16, 2010 when the Conference is happenin...

Happy Tuesday Everyone, Here's the scoop: Progress is being made on the "polishing" of Surreal. Ideas are popping up like daisies for this other story I'm working on, which, will cover a being completely different than that of Surreal or Conjure A Man . CAM's been on hold while I've been prepping Surreal .  This other story came to me and I had to get it out and we'll see where it takes me. The mermaid story is still being fleshed out. There's some details that aren't quite coming to me, yet. I've ordered my business cards and I am hoping to get them before the Conference (info on the Conference can be found below). Life got a bit chaotic when my son got sick, so I had to play "catch up" for a bit. A few notes on some release dates: Debut author (and someone I know), Robin Badillo, has her first book (I believe an e-book title) coming out next month. Check out Retribution here.   Looks good :-) I'm totally into Rick ...

Happy Monday Everyone, Recently a found out my son's God-brother (who is in his late teens) is looking into the writing world. He says he has several ideas and he told me one of them, asking if I'd have a look at it. He's got quite an imagination and I'm interested to see where it'll take him. The conversation has me pulling together some materials to give to him to help him research the craft of writing and understand the business better. So now, I'm turning the question over to you...what would you include in resources for writing and publishing to someone? Have A Marvelous Monday!

Happy Monday Everybody, Hope you all had a great weekend. Mine was fun. :-) I'm reading the 2nd book in Shanna Swendson's series that started with Enchanted, Inc. The 2nd one is Once Upon Stilettos and it's good so far. Chick lit meets fantasy is how I'd describe the series thus far. Now...onto the reason why I have the blog title I do: October 16th the NWHRWA is going to have it's annual conference . These are the sort of opportunities authors look/need. So, if you're available, I suggest you go.  The Conference will feature Randy Ingermanson , as well as three agents:  Naomi Hackenberg from Elaine P. English, PLLC Amy Boggs from Donald Maass Literary Agency   Christine Witthohn from Book Cents Literary Agency I don't have all the details, yet, but it looks like it's shaping up to be a good conference. But once I do, I will be sure to give them. Anyway, just wanted to alert everyone. Have A Meritorious Monday!

Happy Wednesday All, The other day I was at the library talking to someone. The subject was first on books, then turned to the fact that I'm a writer and member of a writers' group and just took off from there. The person said, "I've always wanted to write, but I don't know how to start." Okay...this is the over-simplistic answer, but it's where to start: When writing you just sit down and write . That's it. You write what you feel, you write what crosses your mind, you might even write about that crazy alley cat that jumps into your garbage and turns into a plastic eating tiger with an affinity for coffee grounds. Until you start writing, you don't know what you have in you. I often forget this when I'm sitting there staring at a blank screen thinking, "Come on, I had this idea 5 minutes ago!" But if I wrote the way I write blog posts, I probably wouldn't have that writer's block or that fear of the empty screen...I...

I know I'm late posting this for Friday, but it's just NOW I had this idea, so here we go... Hi Everybody, I was emailing with a fellow author and the topic of something being the next big thing came up. In my reply to her I said that because readers are all different (and of course, the publishing world often changes) for all we know "French speaking Leprechauns who dance ballet could make readers nuts" over the story. A lot of big name authors say in interviews "I never expected this to happen." How could they? You write a story and get into it, you fix it up. Sometimes people get excited, sometimes they don't. You just never know. I mean it could happen that purple aliens who wear high-top shoes (or rather, chucks) and parachute pants would make people rush out and buy every single book in the series. Or maybe it would be a cop who does miming in the park on Saturdays. The wonderful thing about books and writing is that as long as you tell...

Happy Wednesday Everybody, I'm excited to announce I have another email author interview for you all. (To be honest, I get excited about each one of these interveiws I do. There's some really great information in each interview, plus many of them have fabulous senses of humor, so it's just a joy to interview them).  Today, we have authors, MaryJanice Davidson and her husband, Anthony Alongi . These two talented writers have made a hit with their YA series, Jennifer Scales Novels . Their new one, Rise Of The Poison Moon has been released. MaryJanice Davidson is also well-know for her Undead series, as well as a one featuring the mermaid, Fred (3 book series) and ones centered on the idea of if Alaska never became part of the USA and stayed under a king's rule. Special thanks goes to MaryJanice Davidson's assistant, Tracy Fritze, who has been incredibly kind and very helpful in getting this interview to happen. The interview will center mostly on the ...