Several years ago, I made a major break-through with regard to my writing. Left alone for hours everyday, I was writing faster–and better–than I ever had. Ideas were flowing, editing was no longer painful and I was reading constantly for inspiration–3 books at a time, a chapter in each book every day. There were definitely […]

Years ago, working in a temporary job position, I met a woman from India who became curious about my career when I told her I write romance novels. Actually, what she was curious about was my support of western culture love and marriage, the idea of choosing one’s own partner as opposed to a traditional

2020 has been a challenging year. What seemed typical at the beginning quickly became a year unlike any we’d ever seen. Yet, 2020 had its high points. Though I’m not a fan of setting unrealistic goals I can’t achieve, I do like to plot out the year ahead, rather like the books I write. I

The Hallmark Channel definitely has the monopoly on modern, romantic Christmas movies. With new movies being produced every year, there are so many to show that the Christmas season seems to begin earlier and earlier and Christmas in July is a must. Emphasis on the Holidays varies–in some cases it may have little to do

I’m willing to bet that while many of you probably recall the 1960 movie Pollyanna, fewer will remember the character of Pollyanna’s aunt, Polly Harrington. Though I’ve never read the novel the movie is based off of, (I really need to get on that!) I’ve seen the movie dozens of times and I always walk

One piece of advice I took very seriously when writing my first novel was “Write what you know.” Inspired by TV and movies as well as real life, I wanted to place a hero/heroine/villain triangle into the middle of a suspenseful circumstance. I tucked this idea away for when the time would come when I’d

I’ve just finished reading the RWR (Romance Writers Report) which is a monthly publication provided to members of Romance Writers of America. It contains articles written by authors, for authors, about writing, marketing and other aspects of the publishing industry. Though the magazine contained so much political discussion this year that I found myself skimming

As writers, we’re often told that if we can’t find so much as 1 – 2 hours to write on a daily basis, we’re not really writers. I personally find that statement incredibly unfair – writers come in all shapes and sizes. Some writers only have certain days of the week during which they can

2020 has been an unusual year. While I can only pray 2021 will bring us a big return to the “Old Normal,” I look back at this year and what I’ve accomplished. In spite of the many challenges, it was a very productive year for me. I painted the interior of my house and got

As writers, we all know it’s important to maintain interests outside of reading and writing. If we have no interests apart from our books, we run the risk of getting bored to say nothing of burnout. The journey of an author is a marathon, not a sprint, and needing fresh sources of inspiration is par