Category: Guest Post

Today, I'm happy to welcome Suzanne Jenkins, author of Pam of Babylon, to my notebook. She's sharing today about the difficulties of writing about subjects that make some folks uncomfortable. This Makes Me Uncomfortable As I began writing in earnest two years ago, the inspiration to tell a story about an older woman whodiscovered her beloved husband’s infidelity after he died came from out of nowhere.  Pam of Babylon simply appeared in my consciousness and I wrote it as I thought of it.  Later, a quote by E.L. Doctorow would confirm my writing style was not unusual.  He said, “Writing is like driving a car in the dark.  You only see as far as the headlights go, but you can make the whole trip that way.”  Those words validated me. An encounter with an editor who did not like my story line made me doubt the wisdom of spending another second writing.  She asked me to do an outline before I began...

Today I'm happy to welcome Linda Schroeder, author of Artists & Thieves, to my notebook to share a bit of her thoughts on the supernatural. I'll be posting my thoughts on the books, which I enjoyed, later this week. A TOUCH OF THE SUPERNATURAL In San Diego, we have a clairvoyant in Little Italy, Tarot card readers in Balboa Park, and ghosts in the Whaley House in Old Town. And my mother always swore that the poltergeist who lived in her house hid her car keys on a daily basis and threw away her electric bill just when she needed to pay it. Me? I’m skeptical. But sometimes the supernatural is just what a plot needs. My book, Artists & Thieves, is an art mystery involving a Chinese bronze bowl used by an ancient oracle to predict the future. The bowl is stolen from the oracle and lies buried for centuries until looters dig it up. Enter present day greed. The desire to possess the bowl...

Today, I'm happy to welcome Judy Christie, author of Hurry Less, Worry Less for Moms. I'll be sharing my thoughts on her book tomorrow. Take a fresh look to make life easier By Judy Christie A frequent visitor to our Louisiana backyard bird feeders is a persistent squirrel, who I watch with a blend of awe and aggravation. He spends an amazing amount of effort to get to one particular feeder, stretching, hanging upsidedown, falling off and getting back on. While I admire his tenacity, he isn’t very smart: The same food is laid out plentifully on two easily accessible feeders nearby. He makes this much harder than it should be. If you’ve ever found yourself doing this, too, your busy schedule keeping you from enjoying each day, consider these tips: ** Slow down. You can’t do everything. When you say “no” to one thing, you say “yes” to something else. ** Identify what gives you energy and what drains your energy. Look for ways to do more...

G is for guest and today I'm pleased to welcome Lisa April Smith, author of Exceeding Expectations, to my notebook. Today, she's sharing a little about her writing process. My Approach to Writing by Lisa April Smith I’m often asked at book events, “Are you ever stymied by writer’s block?” And I am delighted to reply that I’ve never experienced writer’s block. I think the reason for that has to do with my concept of work. When I was at IBM I didn’t ask myself if I was in the mood to do something. I looked at the tasks at hand, prioritized them and got to it. In the process of constructing a book, I have many varied ways to be productive. Editing. Plotting. Incorporating my latest epiphany. Creating a calendar so that I know how old characters are during the time frame of the story. I maintain a separate file that has the physical appearance, ethnicity and traits of every significant character. Except when...