- 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...
- Nov 8, 2016
Romance Shmo-mance
While we women authors often include at least a touch of romance in our novels, it doesn’t mean women understand romance better than men...
