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It’s been a minute…
Or approximately 1,095 Days or 26,280 Hours or 1,576,800 Minutes, or if you really want to break it down, 94,608,000 Seconds… In that time a lot of life has happened for all of us. I won’t go into details, that would be an entire book on it’s own. But I will let you know, there has been a lot of writing, editing, and other publishing tasks going on during that time. Between The Beats was published, pick up a copy here if you haven’t already. And if you would be so kind, once you do read it, please leave a review. Even if it’s just a quick, loved it, great book,…
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Let’s Stay Connected
Dear Reader.I hope this finds you well and enjoying the days as they get longer. We’ve had sunshine and warm temperatures here in the greater Seattle area. I know, most people think it rains here all the time, and to be fair, we do get a lot of rain and gray days. But spring, and definitely summer are beautiful times of the year in this area. Especially when “the mountain” comes out. No matter how long I live here, seeing Mt Rainier in all its glory never gets old. I think that is one thing I will miss when I leave. But, that is also one of the things I…
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The Next Book
Wait? You are probably saying to yourself, what about the first book? Did I miss something? Has it been published? How do I get my copy? No, you haven’t missed anything. I’m still in the waiting phase for feedback and responses to queries that have been out for some time now. Though I’m starting to think that because I’ve had no response to those queries, that they are probably in the reject pile. So for those keeping count, that’s now lucky number 13 for the “thanks, but no thanks.” But instead of sitting around, wallowing, having a pity party and drowning my sorrows in Amaretto Cherry Cordial ice cream (seriously,…
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Dateline: April 2019
So it’s been a little while since I last updated you all. Since “snowmageddon” stormed through after my last post, we’ve finally dug our way out of that mess and have been rewarded with an amazing spring. Not normal for the Pacific Northwest to get warm weather and sunshine throughout the month of March, but I’ll take it. Even with all the nice weather, I found the time to finish all my edits and revisions on the latest version of Between The Beats. It has now been sent off to an editor for a SWOT analysis. Because I am still waiting on that, I have held off sending out any…
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Hi. How Are You?
So I’ve been absent here for a little while. Okay, a month and a half. Sorry. But it’s all been for a good reason. I’ve been knee deep in revisions, again. And I have to say, this time around, it’s completely different. You see, in addition to working through the notes from beta-readers, I’ve also been taking part in a class offered by one of the publishers I queried last year. Thankfully, they hadn’t responded to my query yet, so taking this class will benefit us both. At least I hope it will. The class has covered everything from pacing to conflict and tension, setting and scene, characters and dialogue.…
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Notes From An Evening With Neil Gaiman
Okay, if you ever have the chance to see and hear Neil Gaiman in person, I highly recommend it. I was fortunate enough to get a ticket to his sold-out show at Benaroya Hall here in Seattle and it was so worth it. While the auditorium was too dark for me to take notes with pen and paper, and I didn’t want to disrupt others around me by using my phone, what I am sharing here is what I took away from his talk, from my memory and not verbatim. As we first entered the lobby there were tables set up with index cards and boxes. We were prompted to…
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Notes From A Writer’s Conference
Wow, what an incredible three and half days I had at the Pacific Northwest Writer’s Association conference, also known as the PNWA conference. Since this was my first ever writer’s conference, the nerves and the imposter syndrome were strong when I first arrived. But I am here to say after a few minutes surrounded by so many amazing people the nerves were quickly quieted and I knew I was in the right place. Well at least they were until the pitch block session, but more on that later. For those that are new to my journey as a writer or even this site, a quick catch-up for you. I am…
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A Sneak Peek
As I write this post, my latest draft of Between The Beats is in the hands of my wonderful, amazing, developmental editor. This is her second round of reading and editing and I am anxiously awaiting her notes. I thought that while I wait for her to finish that it would be fun to share with you a peek at what the story looks like in my mind. These are all images I found while searching (i.e. procrastinating) for story and character inspiration. If you aren’t familiar with the story, it’s set in 1920’s New Orleans. Raymond is a serial killer, obsessed with two things; music and Simone. The rest I…
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Rediscovering Dreams
When I was little, okay, even now that I’m older, you could find me with my nose buried in a book. Friends would come over and ask if I wanted to come out to play and usually, I would. But there were those times when I didn’t. I couldn’t, because I was so engrossed in the story, that if I were to leave right then, the world in which I had been living would no longer exist. I wanted to stay there in that land of imagination that the author had created just for me. It was a magical place, full of adventures, challenges to be overcome, and in the end,…
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Naming Characters
Naming characters. It’s something that all writers struggle with. Well, at least writers I’ve talked to. Yes, there are times the name comes right away or you come up with a fully developed character before your fingers hit the keys and it fits perfectly. But then there are those times you start out with one in the story that you call name x or name y or even just name here until the story is finished. Then you start the process all over again. What am I going to name this character? Quick Google search for names leaves you feeling overwhelmed. Scroll through the list of Facebook friends. Maybe not. Someone…
