Have you heard that old joke: Honey, the secret to happiness is to find you a man who’s good around the house. Find a man who takes you out on dates and has a good time. Find a man who’s good in bed. Find a man who shares your values in life. And most importantly of all, don’t let them find out about each other! It’s a joke, of course, but there is a sub-genre of romance that exists on…
In the grand tradition of the new year, let’s do some tidying, list making, and wrapping up the previous year. Number Of Books I Read in 2025: A respectable 66 new books. My goal for the past few years has been 80, so we’re creeping up little by little to that goal. I don’t want to startle it. We’re sneaking up on it slowly. Number of Re-Reads: at least 80 ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ and probably more. Surrounded by horrors as we have…
To bask in the care and support of your fellow authors you just head to The Insecure Writer’s Support Group and sign your blog up on their nifty form. The awesome co-hosts for the October 1 posting of the IWSG are Beth Camp, Crystal Collier, and Cathrina Constantine! Don’t forget to go wish them a happy IWSG day and thank them for hosting this month. October 1 question – What is the most favorite thing you have written, published or not? And why? To answer,…
In honor of Valentine’s Day: Fictional Couples This topic speaks to me on a deep, personal level as an author of romance. I read all around the genre spectrum. From horror to sci-fi to fantasy, with a short detour in middle grade and a light stop at young adult. Set me loose in a bookstore and I’m hopping between shelves like a monkey on banana-based amphetamines. But there’s one subplot which will always catch and keep my attention. If a book,…
In the grand tradition of the new year, let’s do some tidying, list making, and wrapping up the previous year. Number Of Books I Read in 2024: A somewhat respectable 55 new books Number of Re-Reads: at least 55 ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ and probably more. My reading goal is usually 100 new-to-me books, and as many re-reads as my heart desires. Turns out in 2024 my heart desired more predictable books than unfamiliar new ones. It has to do with my neurodivergent…
Today’s niche trope is not so niche. It’s kinda everywhere, from books to movies to TV. It’s a perennial favorite for a reason, though, and that reason is sweet, sweet TENSION. Having the question of “who gets the bed? How do we share?” shoved into the character’s faces basically forces them into a pivot point in their relationship. If they’ve been denying their feels, they will be feeling some kinda thing ALL NIGHT. If they’ve been trying to keep it…
In the grand tradition of the new year, let’s do some wrapping-up of last year. Wrap-ups for everyone! Wrap some presents. Wrap-up your post-holiday shopping. Write lots of wrap-up lists. Wrap-up small, misbehaving children Krampus style to mail to . . . haha . . . ooops. Don’t do that. Got carried away there. Number Of Books I Read: A very respectable 123 I lowered my reading goal the last two years to 100, and that’s been much more do-able.…
The first Wednesday of every month is officially Insecure Writer’s Support Group day. Post your thoughts. Talk about your doubts and the fears you have conquered. Discuss your struggles and triumphs. Offer solutions to the ever-present problem which is marketing, and by ‘solutions’ I absolutely mean ‘there will be blood sacrifice made to the literary gods’. To sign up for the group and exchange tips and tricks for the appropriate sacrifices (timeline is important) go on over to the IWSG sign up page…
Otherwise entitled: real people just don’t do that but man does it sell a book.
Otherwise known as: the fresh scent of pine. Ahhh, this is such a fun niche trope. It generally happens in a ‘hero falls first’ situation, and let’s all admit together that we love us a pining hero. But there is the delicious potential for this uncertainty when any character falls first and is now vulnerable, unsure their love is requited. The best part about all of this troubled water our main character has to paddle through? There’s a happy ending…