“Where do you get your ideas?” may be the most frequently asked question writers get asked, while the follow-up is often, “Do you base your characters on anyone you know?” When I get asked that, I have to say the answer is both “no” and “yes.” No, I’ve never created a character that’s a…
I’m delighted to welcome today’s guest, Beth Daniels, a multi-published author who also writes under the pen names of J.B. Dane, Beth Henderson, and Nied Darnel. Beth is the outgoing president of my local Sisters in Crime chapter, Derby Rotten Scoundrels. In her 30 plus years as a writer, Beth has explored a variety of…
I met my husband Alan in a modern dance company. He was a beautiful dancer whose training included not only a variety of modern dance techniques but ballet, East Indian dance, and jazz. By his own admission, jazz was not his strong suit. Whenever he tried to adopt a cool jazz style with lots of…
Dear Readers, I’m delighted to introduce prolific author Lynda Rees as my first featured guest author on my blog. As you’ll be able to tell, Lynda is passionate about human trafficking and its horrific impact on young people and writes in multiple genres. I hope you’ll enjoy getting to know her and her books. Stay…
As I write this, I’m recovering from inhaling way too many helpings of the delicious Thanksgiving dinner my husband made for us. My waistline may never be the same, but it was worth it. Feeling very grateful for his food and most especially, for his love. I don’t know how I lucked out to marry…
When our children were growing up, we used to pass a candle around the table at our Sunday evening suppers and take turns saying what we were thankful for. Our younger son announced one night, “Let me start with my unthankfuls.” This became part of our family lore and whenever one of us had a…
During my years as a dancer, we never went on stage for a performance before we’d had at least one technical rehearsal followed by a final dress. I was really missing those days on Thursday when my IG Live presentation for Page Street in celebration of NaNo (National Writing Novel Month) didn’t occur at its…
Recently, I made the difficult decision to leave a church I’d been devoted to. It became apparent that there was such a gaping disparity between what the church claimed it stood for—social justice, compassion, and love– and how they actually treated their staff and members that I realized I could no longer in good conscience…
It’s three days before the election, and those of us hoping for a change in the presidency are constantly being admonished not to be complacent. Above all, we’re told, we absolutely must vote and not take anything for granted. Of course, I agree and have already double-checked that my absentee ballot was received and recorded.…
Just when I was about to slide into one of my “My life has been cancelled and I miss my grandkids” breakdowns, some lovely things happened this week. First off, I typed “THE END” on the first draft of my fifth novel, tentatively called Missed Clue. It needs tons of work. But, as I learned…