Dec 10, 2019
My Brother and a Corvair
The year was 1969. The family had just moved north after dad was transferred by his employer from Hendersonville, North Carolina (where I...
Aug 17, 2018
The Extreme Active Voice
We readers prefer a narrative that flows in “active voice” sentences. We might not realize it, we might not even know what active voice...
Feb 21, 2018
Reading as a Writer
With becoming a writer, I’ve had to learn all sorts of new coping skills: How to be humble after a good review. How to keep my ego above...
Sep 26, 2017
Whatcha Got to Lose?
After publishing my urban fantasy novel, Curse Me Not, which is about a woman who can cleanse curses off people’s auras, I was surprised...
Jul 24, 2017
Watch Out For Shotguns
Let me guess. When you hear “Appalachia” you picture moonshine, clan feuds, illiterate hillbillies living up “hollers,” shotguns at every...
Jun 16, 2017
Flow Good, Ebb Bad
Fictional writing should offer a rhythm, a pattern, and a sound. Together these elements create what’s needed for any decent narrative:...
May 1, 2017
A Random Bit of Fate
My Knoxville writers’ group has been at it again with more flash fiction. This time we used Seventh Sanctum to give us individual...
Mar 28, 2017
No Sense Worrying
On one of my earliest trips abroad, I happened to strike up a conversation with a fellow backpacker over expressos at some student café...
Feb 24, 2017
Rage As a Cannibal
Rage is not anger. Don’t confuse the two. We can rant at a neighbor’s dog that won’t stop barking, we can snap at a significant other for...
Jan 4, 2017
Human Aliens
While I write paranormal romance and urban fantasy, many members of my local writers group focus on science fiction. At a recent group...
