For as long as I can remember, I’ve had a mentor. At least one, but in some cases, more than one. In my previous life, as a career professional then business owner for sixteen years, mentoring was critical for survival and success.  But mentoring isn’t just for business. It’s a success strategy for excelling in… Read more: Why Having a Mentor Changes Everything

Every November, I’m editing a book. I’m usually under a deadline so working on this endeavor is a priority. Ironically, it’s NANOWRIMO month and a great time to “write a book in a month” alongside a community of supportive people embarking on the same endeavor.  Truth be told, that’s how I started and finished many… Read more: NANOWRIMO-EDITO! It’s That Time of Year

Often authors, writers, aspiring authors, journalists, and those who journal, struggle with finding time. For many it seems like a luxury to do so, or a guilty pleasure.  Many people believe the writing life is a combination of taking naps and nature walks for inspiration, then opening a laptop at a favorite café and instantly… Read more: Carving Out Time for Writing

Interesting thing. One of my books was picked up by a literary agent. Then after a while, it got the attention of three. Am I published? Not yet. But here’s the twist. Three agents within the same agency have offered their support and expertise. In other words, the agency has my back.  This is incredibly… Read more: Are Three Heads Better Than One? Tripling My Literary Agent Expertise

The phrase street team was a new one for me when I first embarked on the publishing journey. I had to ask a couple of seasoned authors what it meant, and though I received varying definitions, I got the gist.   A “street team” is the group of people who act as ambassadors for your book and… Read more: Building Your Street Team

No, I don’t write comedies or soap operas. I write series. While the tag “serial” may have hooked you here, let me be frank, I loooooooooove to prolong a good storyline (and word, evidently). As a reader I enjoy a series of books whether it be three or twelve (thank you, John Jakes). Why? Well, once… Read more: Confessions of a Serial Writer

It’s the icing on the cake. The cherry on the sundae. The crowning glory. When you look at the long line of people snaking out the bookstore waiting to meet you and get a signed copy of your book, your heart soars. It’s the ultimate validation that you’ve made it as an author. Or is… Read more: The Ups and Downs of Book Signings

This isn’t a blog about the ups and downs of the romantic suspense genre. Rather, it’s about the light and dark. To clarify, I’m using those words as a “simplistic umbrella” when describing novel elements and author styles. It’s also how I categorize my works of fiction. Just because I write light, doesn’t mean I can’t… Read more: The Light and Dark of Writing (and Reading) Romantic Suspense

Critiquing is a critical part of the author’s journey. Whatever your writing, beta readers and writing buddies are a must. If you don’t ask for feedback, you’re not going to produce your best product. So, put ego aside and get psyched to find yourself a stellar critique partner, one who is willing to be honest,… Read more: Finding a Good Critique Partner

How many times have you submitted such a request? Probably more often than you’d like. If you’re like me, you probably have subscribed to a few newsletters you look forward to and fully read. And the others? Sometimes you get picked up as part of a “stop by” on a website, signed up for a freebie,… Read more: Please Unsubscribe Me from This Newsletter

We all have different gifts, talents, and strengths, but one thing we have in common is connections. Don’t believe me? Well, if you have family, friends, or neighbors, or yes, if you’re on LinkedIn, then you have connections. Now that I’ve proven that point, let’s talk about why it matters. No man (or woman) is… Read more: Developing an Expert Network

It’s funny how many times I catch myself going down a rabbit hole. Imagination is a wily beast.  The other day I heard an intriguing story about a property site inspection where an abandoned suitcase was found. Because of the nature of the business and the timing of this incident, the authorities were called in… Read more: Where Do Ideas Come From?

You either have a “love it” or “hate it” relationship with editing.  I used to despise the process, but after getting into creative writing, I enjoy it. While I don’t like editing my non-fiction work, fiction editing somehow “feels” different to me. But still, I’m no editor, and yes, some of my emails are cringe worthy. But I… Read more: The Importance of Editing

Long before the movie starring Harrison Ford and Daniel Craig hit the big screen, I created two books. One with cowboys, that I wrote in its entirety, and the other with aliens which I’d outlined. Little did I know someone would have the same fascination with polar genres, but they’d be clever enough to blend… Read more: Cowboys and Aliens

People are born with raw talent every single day. They’re blessed at birth to share their gifts with the world. But even the most genius of individuals must continually develop their craft. At the age of fifteen, Leonardo Da Vinci became an apprentice of painter and sculpture Andrea del Verrocchio of Florence so he could… Read more: Developing Your Craft

A few recent networking activities turned me sour. I’m a pretty positive person and I like to be around happy people. Sure, we all have our bad days, but optimism is a character trait I strive to embody and am naturally drawn to folks who exude it. That’s why these encounters still weigh heavy on… Read more: If Life Gives You Lemons…Turn Them Into Characters

Am I good enough? Should I be doing this? Will anyone like what I’ve created? Ahh, Imposter Syndrome. The inner critic dialogue triggered by self-doubt and criticism. We all experience it, but that doesn’t make it any easier. I recently was asked to speak on a topic near and dear to my heart—writing. Afterwards, I… Read more: Imposter Syndrome

Here I am busily working on my work in progress that is quite different from all the books I’ve written before. This is a mixture of suspense and political thriller with a little romance and science fiction tossed in. Of course, most of what I write is romantic suspense, but my WIP is heavier on… Read more: Writing My WIP’s Climax

This isn’t something that comes naturally to every author. In fact, many authors shy away from publicity and only do what is necessary to get their works in the public eye. On the other hand, many authors enjoy the publicity journey. They step into it confidently and are willing to support those of us who… Read more: Embracing & Generating Publicity

Years ago, I went on a Caribbean Cruise with my mother. It was a wonderful chance for us just to get away together and enjoy one another’s company. Of course, it was also a fun vacation, relaxing and rejuvenating trip, too.  Now, as all of us do in airports and malls, I love to people… Read more: Cruising Along to a Book Launch

Continuing my author’s journey of nourishing seeds of inspiration, I’ll share the second person who cultivated my interest in suspense and the protective services industry: My neighbor. When I was nine, we moved to a new home. My neighbor was a busy working professional, his wife was unfortunately bedridden, and their children lived out of… Read more: Cultivating Inspirational Happenstance

Recently, I was interviewed on a podcast about my books and my author’s journey. It was both exciting and gratifying to be invited and to be interviewed by a celebrity. Yes, John Lim is a celebrity with an incredible resume—a Tedx speaker, actor, author, and voice artist, as well as an awesome podcaster. So, you… Read more: Interview on Moving Forward Podcast

Finding your voice is an answer to the question “Who is your reader?” Is this person looking for something serious, suspenseful, authoritative, humorous, spiritual, entertaining, dark, deep, light-hearted, or something else, that you may find parallels in a category on the booksellers’ shelves? Regardless of the central thread, your voice is uniquely you. It’s ironic how your… Read more: Finding Your Author’s Voice

As you know, this is the first book in the series currently being shopped to publishers by my literary agent. I was thrilled when she called to let me know that she wanted to represent my book. Of course, I was also over the moon when she shared that this first book in my SAT… Read more: Sneak Peek: Mistaken Identity

Every author has a differing and uniquely personal approach to writing. But authors share one process in common—setting and achieving word count goals. Your writing goals are everything. It’s how you get the ideas out of your head and on to the page.  But it’s not just about word count. Writing goals include pages completed,… Read more: Setting Writing Goals

You know those books you remember fondly. The ones that you may read repeatedly, or that you remember from your youth. The books which inspired you to become a reader, a writer, a librarian, a publisher, an agent, or an author? Yeah, those. We all have them.  For me, several books inspired me to become… Read more: The Books That Started It All

We are inspired all the time by actions we take, mistakes we made, things we observe, people we meet, and well, life. These seeds of inspiration are often the impetus of a fascinating story. All authors weave personal experiences into their books, and many write entire tomes around these experiences.  It’s funny how my interest… Read more: Nourishing Seeds of Inspiration

Authors love to chat about whether they’re a plotter or pantser. It’s an enlightening topic that pulls back the curtain to see how novels make the journey from idea to bookshelf.  Do you start your book by plotting out the scenes? Once you have a solid outline from opening image, through the various acts and… Read more: Plotter or Pantser? What About Quilter?

It blows my mind each time I look at my bookshelf or e-reader library, how diverse my taste in books is. From business books, to historical, and non-fiction, to contemporary, I have a wide range of interests and what books delight me time and time again. Honestly, it’s pretty funny and always evokes a comment… Read more: The Allure of a Great Book Cover

Go back. Way back. Back to the day you decided you were going to write a novel. Why did you make that promise to yourself?  Did you think, “How hard can this be?” Did you want to become famous?  Did you covet J. K. Rowling’s lifestyle? Did you want bragging rights? BUZZ! Wrong answer. Though admittedly,… Read more: Start With Your “Why?”

Don’t Delay Writing The Story You’re Meant To Share With The World.  Every writer anticipates the phone call from a literary agent offering a partnership. Or that call from a publisher sharing the news that they’d like to publish your book. Of course, there’s the rare call from Oprah announcing your book has been selected… Read more: When The Call Comes… Answer It!

From posting your child’s graduation picture on Facebook, to sharing a business win on LinkedIn, there will be backlash. Whatever the reason, social media invites negativity. Thoughtless commentary and hurtful, snarky remarks go hand in hand with stepping into the social media space.  Now, imagine this from the author’s perspective. Readers are very interested in “seeing” you, hearing… Read more: Stepping Into the Negative Space

I wrote my first novel longhand. No, I’m not that old that I didn’t have a laptop, but I didn’t have the sleek light-weight versions we do today. You’re probably wondering why I would do such a thing when I had a laptop and desktop in my apartment. Let me take you back a ways.… Read more: Writing The Old-Fashioned Way

Cue up the popular song by Frank Sinatra and you’ll know what I’m talking about. All kidding aside, I broke the rules and did it my way. Really, I did. When I was first published as an author, it was in an entirely different genre. Cool and exciting. I learned a lot since then and… Read more: I Did It My Way!

 Hey, don’t we all just want to have a little fun now and again? Don’t we deserve it?  My point? Reading is one of the greatest luxuries in life and yet, it truly does provide a path to fun. But sometimes the respite of reading brings a little guilt. You’re trading time with family, friends,… Read more: Girls (and Everyone) Just Want to Have Fun. 

Each writer has their unique approach. Time for writing, style of writing, approach to writing, location for writing, and of course content of writing. The diversity of authors and stories is growing like never before. It’s exciting. It’s applauded. But what about the diversity in “how” people write? I’m a writer wondering if there’s anyone out… Read more: The Distracted Writer

Recently, I read a blog about why authors shouldn’t blog. Huh? The creator, also an author who blogs, made some valid points; albeit in their blog which breaks their rule of not blogging. But I digress. Alongside how blogging takes away valuable time from writing books and can habituate poor writing, they made a very… Read more: To Blog or Not To Blog

I attended a writer’s weekend where the group leader challenged attendees to cast their characters in their current manuscript. We dug in, flipping through magazines and printouts, searching for celebrities or models who visually represented the fictional characters in our books. The workshop leaders even challenged us to take it one step further and write… Read more: Cast Your Characters

They say you should write what you know. Many of us writers start with something we know. Then we take it to the next level. For example, I doubt that J. K. Rowling has ever met a wizard (one could hope), but she’s been down on her luck, like her protagonist Harry. She may even… Read more: The Story of My Settings

I recently spoke with a friend of mine about my decision to quit my job and step into the writing world full-time. When I told him that I’ve finally found the space in which I belong, I quickly followed it with an apology. Jokingly, I’d admitted that now that I’m fully entrenched in the writing… Read more: My Eat, Pray, Love, Year of Writing Fiction

I wish I were writing to tell you about my recent sit down with the New York Times Bestseller, but unfortunately, I’m not. I don’t get the chance to rub elbows with celebrities that much. Still, I am going to share a story that has stuck with me until this very day. Years ago, when… Read more: My James Patterson Encounter

While my full-time job is not in the writing world, thankfully, it does provide a plethora of options to scratch this creative itch—writing books, articles, and posts. But here I am, in my side hustle as “a creative writer.” Yes, I have had some luck getting published, but it was long before that success that… Read more: When I Finally Called Myself “A Writer”

As writers, authors, readers, and members of the literary world, we know the importance of supporting one another. While we don’t always do so—we are human after all—it is something that those in the realm of books do more often than not (at least that’s what I’ve experienced). To give you a snapshot: Recently, I… Read more: How Writers Support One Another

I miss living in the South. As a writer and reader, and yes, human being, one of the things I loved most is the hospitality that seems to be a life code for those who were born there or had migrated and stayed. Now don’t get me wrong, hospitality exists everywhere, but there is just… Read more: Southern Book Affairs

I’d like to believe that I’m more than a friend and not just a caregiver but perhaps a bit more. This is what I strive for each day while I visit my clients. They have the unerring ability to give me so very much, if only I could somehow return the favor. The television was… Read more: Eleanor & Harry: Award-Winning Short Story

We all embody a multitude of archetypes. From goddess, to mother, to wizard in the kitchen, and onto storyteller at bedtime. Perhaps you liken yourself more to a scholar than writer, pioneer at work, avenger when volunteering, and diplomat with friends. The list goes on and on to what monikers you embody and what you… Read more: How Archetypes Give Characters Dimensionality

Unless you read Publisher’s Weekly on a regular basis or you’re in the publishing and literary world, you know that there are new phrases and terms that evolve as the industry evolves. These new concepts help agents, publishers, and authors speak distinctively about voices and projects, and it helps narrow the market so ultimately, readers… Read more: What Is High-Concept Fiction?