When I began writing this snippet a week ago, I imagined something light, with two cute guys meeting and falling in love. There’d be witty exchanges, smiles, and fireworks, both in the sky and between the the characters.
Then the words actually hit the page, and something else came out.
The end result was fun. I’ve decided […]

My computer is aware that I can’t spell masturbate.
See the “u”? I keep wanting to put an “e” there. It’s the “ur” sound; it sounds like “er,” and every time I start to get the characters into The Mood, my Word program underlines the word. I have to stop the scene and frown at it.
Character […]

While doing some research for After Twilight, I found out that there’s going to be a couple more movies based on the Donald Strachey mysteries.I have no idea when they’ll come out, but the thought of seeing them made we want to kick the books up to the top of my tbr shelf.

Unfortunately, the shelf […]

Can I get through the introduction to the story without a cooking simile? Let’s find out . . .
I began brainstorming my Hot Comforts story last December. I considered and decided against dozens of ideas until I saw a DVRed episode from Food Network Challenge on haunted gingerbread houses. The sight of all those gorgeous […]

A few weeks ago, I visited a couple writer friends on the East Coast. As will happen when you stick authors together, the conversation turned to writing. One of them wondered what made a story successful: good writing or an intriguing premise.
At the time, I argued for good writing. A cool concept might get me […]

Ever since November, the members of my Super Secret Crit Group (named that because I told no one I was trying to get into the group back when I was trying to get into the group), have been psyching each other up for Jano. Like Nano, we intend to catch up on all of the […]

I dread the holidays.
There are parts I love; the eggnog, the excuse to play Scary Solstice music at all hours, the get togethers.
It’s the other side that bothers me. Trips to the mall. Mail ordered gifts that don’t arrive in time. Giving presents to people who spend a tenth what I spent on them. Dinners […]

The crit group was a hundred pages into Half Lives before one of them asked, “these two guys do have sex, don’t they?”
Yes, I said.
When?
In about six hundred pages.
We’ll get to see it, right?
Um . . . no.
The answer, while unloved, had been something I’d wrestled with for a while. HL was a dark fantasy. […]

At this moment, the turkey is resting and all of the side dishes are done. After hours of prep and cook time, all that waits is for the guests to arrive and the food to get served. Until then, I’m going to steak these few quiet moments and write.
This is a chaotic, though pleasant, time. […]

When I went to the workshop in September, I mailed my clothes to my friend’s house, so I wouldn’t have to check a bag. During the month I was there, I picked up a few more items, and when the time came to return home, I asked her to just mail my stuff back […]