So That’s What Color Means
I won a coloring contest in the second grade. The item was a lily, and I won not for my extreme crayon skills, but because I was the only one in the class to use ...
Commentaries
If It’s for Children, Why Is It So Naughty?
I have a sore throat. For this malady, I requested popsicles, preferably anything resembling Jell-O Pudding Pops (click the link, seriously. It’s more than you bargained for). My Australian husband, who has never known the ...
The Debate Rages: Form Rejection or Personal Note?
The first few rejection letters you receive as a writer are heartbreaking. You’ve worked and strived and sweated to create this story that shines, that is perfect in your eyes. You had every sympathetic friend ...
“Never Before Published” = Never Should Have Been
I should know better than to so much as crack the spine on a book with those words inscribed on the cover. “Never Before Published” translates to “this author is a big name, brings in ...
My Alternative to Amazon
If you’re in the publishing industry at all, as an author, an editor, or even just an interested consumer, you’ve probably read about the controversy surrounding Amazon’s new POD publishing plans, and the restrictions it’s ...
“Reading” Books on My Mobile
A couple of months ago, I broke my nose playing rugby. I mean smashed it all over my face. Took the surgeon two tries to get it mostly straight, which meant I was icing my ...
Did Paul Varjak Feel This Way?
Every writer, at least every writer I know, has at some point expressed a desire for a sugar daddy. Or mama, whatever. Those first scenes in Breakfast at Tiffany’s, where he has that great apartment, ...
The Best Way to Handle Rejection
I recently completed (for now, of course), my novel The Pathfinder, and I have been embroiled in the grueling process of finding an agent to represent me, and failing that, a publisher willing to take ...
Deconstructing the SEP Field
Douglas Adams, creator of the world (literally)-famous Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy, invented a concept that I am now fully convinced actually exists: the Somebody Else’s Problem (SEP) Field. This field makes items, people, events, ...
The Utimate Wedding Checklist
For those of you who haven’t heard already, I’m getting married. Yep, that’s right. Me, married. You may pick yourself off the floor now. I want to elope. All over the place are these gorgeous ...