• writers

    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…

  • writers,  writing

    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…

  • stories,  writing

    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…

  • writing

    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,…

  • writing

    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…