Last week I had the privilege of attending the book launch of an anthology I was honoured to be invited to contribute to. Read more
Paying it Forward, Writer’s Style
You may have heard the saying, Paying it Forward. Similar sayings include… to pass it on, sharing kindness, or repaying in-kind. This means that when someone does something nice, instead of paying it back directly to the person who performed this kindness, you do something kind for someone else.
In the writing world, Paying it Forward is a core component
of the writing community. It can include things like volunteering on a committee, organizing meetings for a writing group, planning writing retreats, beta reading, participating in critique groups, writing book reviews, making book recommendations, attending book launches, supporting other writer’s online messages, or BUYING THEIR BOOK. Many of these actions are the foundation of how the writing world thrives and survives. Read more
On The Edge
I thought that when I retired I’d write.
I mean, I’ve always written, but I thought I’d “retire to writing full time.” it seemed like a no brainer.
I figured people would be asking, “Where’s Kelly?” and others would answer, “Oh, he’s writing. Can’t tear him away from it.”
That’s what I thought
But something else happened Read more
How to have enough time to read, write and play
I have decided to live for 129 years to the year 2100. Precisely to Nov 7th, 2100. It might seem strange to pick your death date but it has given me a great deal of comfort. I now have lots of time to finish my novel.
How did I get here? It all started with poor planning and a small airport.
Read moreScreenwriting
The Mists of Avalon by Marion Zimmer Bradley was the first novel I remember visualising as a film while reading it. I first read it when it was published, in the early nineteen eighties.
I don’t know how to describe the feeling exactly but somehow I was totally involved with the characters and the story. I know I felt transported to a mystical world of castles, cliffs, raging seas, desolate locations and fierce female characters I could never have imagined. The imagery was so vivid and unlike anything I had read previously. The experience has always stayed with me.
Read moreThriller Author Spills Secrets at Bookapalooza
If you know me, you know I am obsessed with books. If I’m stressed or nervous (work stress, hospital surgery, a dentist visit, etc.), I pull out a novel and start reading. It takes my mind off all my problems, even if only for a few minutes, and I wouldn’t have it any other way. Kudos to the authors that can keep me focused on reading their stories. If given the chance to meet one of these fantastic authors who can entertain me for hours, I don’t hesitate to take it.
Read moreCh-Ch-Changes
Ah, summertime, and the livin’ is…hot!
I’m sitting wedged beside the oscillating fan, laptop on my knee, wondering why I said “no thank you” twice to offers of free ACs…something in my head back then about saving the planet…oh well. Read more
A Writer’s Grace
I’m late. (not PREGNANT… just late, at life – everything, but specifically, this blog is late)
We set a blog post deadline. We give ourselves this deadline and ask that we keep to it as practice… practice in professionalism. How will we ever be expected to meet submission deadlines, editing deadlines, a launch deadline if we cannot keep to our own blog schedule?
Then my brain starts to hummmmm… maybe I shouldn’t be a writer, maybe I don’t have what it takes, why is my brain so foggy, maybe this is that pesky-peri-menopause thing again, perhaps this is all just too much, I’m letting everyone down…
I’ve known the due date for weeks… MANY weeks in truth. How? How did I fail to get it written?
I enjoy writing these blogs. Very much so.
I’ve got every excuse in the world and yet no perfect excuse. I knew the deadline. I saw it coming.
Sure, I was on vacation. Sure, I was busy caring for others, then pretending to care for myself. Sure, I was distracted by family obligations, a sudden health scare with a beloved family member, the completion of a memorial for a deceased furry loved one…
I was immobile, incapable, tongue tied… is this, dare I say, writer’s block? Read more