The Writing Life
I Don’t Really Write Much Short Fiction, But…
I always tell folks that I rarely write short fiction. For whatever reason, my ideas seem to come in novel length, like MISSING MOM, which I’m excited to share won the 2025 Readers’ Favorite Bronze Award in the YA mystery category. But last month, I was invited…
Read MoreWriting When I’m Not Writing
I holed up in my home office yesterday to work on a short story to submit to Malice Domestic’s upcoming anthology. Those of you who know me are aware that I write novels and only rarely dip my toes into short stories. Truthfully, I’m in awe of short fiction writers who can pack so much…
Read MorePriming the Pump: The Value of Writing Prompts
My fourteen-year-old creative writing student and I had our last session of the semester before summer break. She is a gifted writer already working on a novel. When I asked her what she enjoyed the most about our sessions, she said, “The writing prompts. I feel like it gets our creative juices going.” I had…
Read MoreSometimes You Just Have to Stumble Through
Last weekend, I attended Malice Domestic, a popular conference for mystery authors and fans held annually in Bethesda, Maryland. I missed going last year and was determined to make it this time, despite another spinal flareup that’s made it difficult for me to walk or stand for any length of time without a lot…
Read MoreReflections On a Career Day Visit
On Friday, I was a presenter at an area high school as part of their career day. They asked me to do two presentations, one on my experiences as a professional dancer and dance educator, and one on my current career as a novelist. Preparing for both was an experience. For one thing, a tsunami…
Read MoreMISSED CUE Is Now PISTA PERDIDA!
Entire industries have grown up around providing services for authors—publicists, book coaches, freelance editors, writing teachers and workshop leaders, promotion services, advertisers, audiobook readers, the list goes on! Sadly, some “services” turn out to be scams—like the ones promising to turn your book into a film if you’ll just pay oh…a few thousand dollars for…
Read MoreThe Magic Works When I Least Expect It: Writing When I Don’t Feel Like It
I had one of those crazy weeks where fitting in writing time was a definite challenge. First there were the days working on taxes which unfortunately reminded me that yes, writing really is a business. Then there was the meeting with our tax guy, the health scare for my husband which had a happy ending…
Read MoreThe Writer’s Life: Sometimes You Need a Reminder of Why You Do This
Derby Rotten Scoundrels, our local chapter of Sisters in Crime, decided to sign up for the Kentucky Flea Market, a three-day affair. Not only could we hopefully sell some of our books, but we might attract some new members to our group. After spending Friday, Saturday, and Sunday making small talk with passers-by, people-watching (which…
Read MoreThe Other Part of the Writing Life
I have a confession to make. One of the things I miss about graduate school is the singular focus on writing. Yes, we also did some coursework, but mainly, the idea was to get that novel written! I loved it and had written the drafts of two novels by the time I graduated. But now…
Read MoreMy Thankfuls (and My Unthankfuls)
I’ve often told the story of how when my sons were growing up, we used to pass the candle around the dinner table on Sunday nights and talk about what we felt thankful for. One Sunday, our younger son announced, “Let me just start with my un-thankfuls.” Of course, he was right. There are invariably…
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