While many might try to dissuade you from embarking on a journey to becoming an author, sticking with it…
February 13, 2025
Mentor books are those an author studies before they do any writing. For a retreat last week, I had…
February 8, 2025
Late in 2024, I became extremely unsatisfied with my writing vocation. After spending six years focusing on sales, conversions…
January 30, 2025
Has this happened to you? You are introduced to someone new as a children’s author. Response: “I have an…
April 8, 2024
When I began learning how to write a novel, the word outline brought to mind dreaded high school assignments.…
June 24, 2023
You hear it at every writers’ conference—Platform Is Important! Long before you have a book published, you need to…
August 24, 2022
So many things can hinder our writing. Our lives are filled with distractions and competing commitments, while our inner…
April 24, 2022
I’m excited to share my new release, Fountains and Secrets, with my Almost an Author family, along with a…
January 24, 2022
I’ve been blogging for over seven years and in that time I’ve learned a lot about how to be…
December 24, 2021
Board books have extra thick coated pages that small hands can turn and chewing babies can sink their teeth…
December 8, 2021
Writers are frequently encouraged to identify their target audience. However, we don’t always look at a target audience through…
November 24, 2021
“You can solve most of your writing problems if you stop after every sentence and ask: what does the…
October 21, 2021
Good plot twists can make or break our story. While twists are important to all fiction writing, they are…
October 17, 2021
Freelance writing isn’t always the easiest way to make a living. Moving from project to project demands concentration, adaptability,…
October 9, 2021
Does it seem to take FOREVER to get a brilliant (they all are!) book published for kids? Even as…
September 8, 2021
Sometimes when I tell people I write middle grade, they nod knowingly and say “Cool. Like a chapter book,…
August 16, 2021
We’re all familiar with phrases that warn us of danger lurking ahead. Look before you leap. You can’t be…
August 10, 2021
As much fun building characters in a fiction story is, the process is equally challenging. Trying to create memorable…
July 26, 2021
As I was editing my latest WIP, I ran across several instances where my plot followed one character on…
July 23, 2021
“Don’t say you were a bit confused and sort of tired and a little depressed and somewhat annoyed. Be…
July 21, 2021
No matter how dignified we are, holding our just-published book in our hands for the first time makes us…
July 12, 2021
Can you share a little about your recent book? My most recent book for children is Grumpy the Gator.…
July 1, 2021
After my accident, I was in a hurry to get back to my life. I didn’t care about what…
May 29, 2021
Secondary characters are the seasoning in your story soup. Who can be secondary characters, or sidekicks? Often, they’re the…
May 23, 2021
Why do you write? I was pegged an expressive analytic in a personality test I took through my company.…
May 22, 2021