Dog Days of Writing
Has your writing gone to the dogs? Are you in need of some insPAWration? There are days when—doggone it—writers feel like they’re workin’ like a dog with nothing to show for it. IN THE DOG HOUSE Is your manuscript on a genre...Candy, Clarity, & Creativity
Standing in front of candy-filled shelves is a good place to contemplate, because therein lies every writer’s story. A WRITER’S TALE Once upon a time, you heard the of your friends upon announcing you were writing a novel. They didn’t...Character Morality
Writers love creating characters. Personality. Physical Appearance. Dress. Mannerisms. Dialog: It’s what we do! It’s how authors bring characters to life. But did you stop to think about your characters’ morality, or more specifically, what level of...A Writer’s Taxonomy
Any teacher knows Bloom’s Taxonomy. For those not in the teacher loop it’s how educational psychologist Benjamin Bloom classified the levels of thinking. Teachers use the classifications to foster and inspire students’ higher-level thinking skills....Handy-Dandy Responses
On rare occasions, writers may leave their creative cave joining with friends and family to partake of festivities and merriment. On said occasions these friends/family are bound to ask casual questions about your writing, novel in progress, and/or your current...Halloween Costumes for Writers
“Honey, did you forget about that Halloween party we’re invited to?” “Noooooo. Not tonight. I’m on a writing role. Can’t stop now.” “Your friends miss you. You need a break. And you have that crazy look in your eyes...The Real Book Drive!
Writers should understand their readers’ preferences. This is often a difficult task. Some readers are faithful to one genre only. Others read everything from hardcore literary SciFi to romance. Readers can’t be pigeon holed. Or can they? Novels and cars...Rx for Writing Blocks
Writer’s BLOCK. It’s a phrase striking angst and fear into the hearts of writers. The inability to write—anything. The writer stymied, unable to move the plot along. BAH! Don’t allow that evil phrase to coil around your soul like a serpent....Manuscript Cleanup
Writers are creative. Plots and characters appear, evolve, and invade our minds, haunting us until we unleash them on paper or computer screen. That’s fun! But there’s another aspect of writing that isn’t quite as fun. The grammar-punctuation part....Writing Therapy
Writing is fraught with angst and panic and euphoria and creative outbursts and emotional meltdowns. Writers experience the highs and the lows–which is a good thing because it helps us recreate the feelings in our characters. However…. those mood swings...Hot and Cold
Temperature symbolism is hot-hot-hot. Turn it up for burning anger or passion that sizzles. Turn it down to reveal character and mood. But be careful, the heated adjectives can be ambiguous in the cold reality of writing. Temperature can: reveal a novel’s...Muse Musings
Whether you believe there were 9 original muses—the daughters of Zeus and Mnemosyne—or 3 Muses, the fact remains that there exists a few lesser known Muses. You’ve probably encountered one or two of these stealth Muses because they love tormenting….uh, inspiring...Family Bonding & Life Skills
As a mom to four grown children, I found that there were a few tasks—important tasks– I neglected to teach them before sending them into the cold cruel world. Why is that, you ask? Moms and dads are busy. It’s often easier and faster for parents to...Characterization
Characterization 101: Writers have quite an arsenal of ways for conveying a character’s personality. Whether overt or subtle, the savvy reader knows that characters are brought to life only if the writer has effectively done their job. So how does a writer...
Review excerpt from SHADE TREE BOOK REVIEWS: recommend Merkabah as a must read, especially for the para-normal, ancient history, thriller seeker, audience, and anyone who wants a novel that seems to turn the pages for you as you dive between the covers and into the thick of the story with Daphne and S.J.
Review excerpt from SHADE TREE BOOK REVIEWS: As with any great first novel in a series, it left me panting and begging for more. The second novel in the series, The Merkabah Deception utilized The Recruit as a diving platform to send me deep into the muck and mire of the ancient gods and demons ongoing battle of the spiritual world.
Review excerpt from SHADE TREE BOOK REVIEWS: The story between Daphne, the introverted doctoral candidate/college professor, and S. J., the demi-god/Nephilim heats to a boil as the “Watchers” seem to become more involved in the love affair between a human and a Watcher. This is only the sideline to the action-filled storyline as Daphne’s powers as a Merkabah continue to increase and she continues to fight the demons that are co-habiting earth with us mere earthlings.
