Two women, one steeped in the past, the other, trying to outrun it. In the heart of Plymouth, Michigan, thirty-five-year-old Monica Hayes favors living each day as it comes, keeping her past carefully behind her. Gregarious and sweet, she’s the out and proud owner of a struggling all-inclusive bookstore, and dreads the day she will have to admit defeat. Professor Alexandra Craig is approaching fifty and firmly planted in a closet of her own making, while seeking tenure. Staid and insular, Alex prefers being surrounded by the same classic literature she teaches at the local liberal arts college, content with …Continue reading →
Why am I drawn to writing adventures and even apocalyptic fiction featuring female protagonists? I see women as so much more than just sexual beings. Indeed, a case could be made that viewing the fairer sex in that framing can make them a victim of the patriarchy. The obvious examples of this can be found plentiful in our modern world, and most of us are familiar with them. But it goes much deeper. For instance, when I (rather ironically) look for images of women for my apocalyptic or adventure book covers, I am faced with a slew of demeaning, reductive, …Continue reading →
Series writing has been a thorn in my side. I know the consensus is that books do better as a part of a series, but when you’re an Indie Author and Publisher with no employees, choices must be made. I don’t feel I can keep up anymore with my series, nor do I want to. I also don’t like feeling obligated to write something. I’d rather write what inspires me at any given moment. With this in mind, my intentions are to do one more book in each of my series: #3 in New Harbor Witches #4 in Rain Falls …Continue reading →
I am very picky about the books I read, and it’s hard to find anything that doesn’t either piss me off or bore me. That might just be a product of having been an Indie Author, honing her craft for 30 years, or maybe it’s just me being too damn critical. But I never had problems in my younger years. Like say, my twenties and before. But then, I didn’t write my first book until I was 26. So maybe it really is that being an author affects my ability to enjoy reading other authors that aren’t top-notch. Garbage in, …Continue reading →
here’s a warning to all other Indie authors. Be aware that Google Docs might create this issue with your manuscript as well. I won’t be using that again.
I want a new category on Amazon that more accurately reflects the changes afoot in our ideation of a woman’s place in the world. In order to do this, I feel I have to branch out in my writing and create stories in genres that are typically male-dominated. Women need in a voice in those, too. Thus, I will be adding this new tag to all my books. I call it #FemFic. I hope all of you in the Twitterverse will use it, too–help get it going. IF it can gain traction, i will petition Amazon to include it in …Continue reading →
I think I just might be in love with KB Draper’s writing. Dramedy is difficult to pull off, but so is this genre of adventure-comedy, which I would call “Adventurdy.” Since I am both a reader and a writer, I have two categories in which to sing her praises. First, as a reader: Spirits Smirits is immediately engaging, laugh out loud funny, and a happy circus of quirky humans, clever monsters and universal themes that will have you on tenterhooks drying out after feeling you have experienced everything right along with the main character. And that main character is a …Continue reading →
I don’t know about you, but it’s hard for me to stay focused on work this time of year. With nighttime falling earlier and the temperature getting chillier, all I want to do is log off the computer and curl up on the couch with a cup of tea, a cozy blanket, my grouchy but lovable cat at my feet, and a book. I need to stock up on books for winter. How about you? Eleven authors (including me) have joined forces to keep you entertained at rock-bottom prices. Below, you’ll find all the goodies on offer. Before I get …Continue reading →
One quarter to one third of the way through a novel, I sometimes hit this dead spot. I’m not sure where the story is going. For instance, this happened with Building Character (Book 2 of the Northwoods Trilogy). Instead of a linear progression from one scene to the next I had a beginning and an end, but there was this entire middle part missing. I wondered how I was going to fill it in. There didn’t seem to be much room for story there. One character was in transit to the location of the other characters and I wondered how I …Continue reading →
Don’t say anything. Don’t make a comment. It will make you look bad. That’s the usual advice in the publishing industry when someone posts a caustic review of your book, under the assumption that this is about some type of insecurity on the part of a writer. This is not insecurity. It is frustration, and in this case, it’s also outrage. In fact, historically, authors are expected to keep their mouth shut about these things, but I am a proponent of the adage Silence equals Death. This advice to stay mum strikes me as the same mentality that got that Orange Nightmare in the Oval …Continue reading →
I’ve always believed that every ill in our society falls under one or more of three categories: Greed, Ignorance or Zealotry. I was faced with an example of one or more of these while updating my author page on Goodreads. I came across a negative review, quite by accident, of one of my earlier books. Against my better judgment, I read it, and was horrified. The reviewer, obviously, did not like my book, and that’s fine, in and of itself, but this reviewer made statements that were patently false. She claimed the character in my book was “helping a pedophile.” …Continue reading →
Melissa and I did our first Facebook Live Stream on the 16th. Here it is. SUBJECTS: Hillary’s new book, my new releases, Melissa’s book projects, calling the cops last night because someone shot at our house.
