My very first contest win was with an historical entitled Southern Belle, a post-Civil War story set in the fictional town of Belle Terre, Louisiana. This was before they told me post-Civil War stories didn’t sell, but not before I imagined an epic love story spanning...

It’s no secret I struggle with writer’s block. They’ve actually done studies on this which I find interesting. Turns out we’re overcome with fear. The fear of not being perfect. The fear of not finishing. Wow. Was I a lab rat in their study? That paralyzing fear...

I love fish out of water stories. It probably started when I read a Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court back in elementary school. Time travel, some romance, medieval courts...who wouldn't fall in love with that story! But since I've always felt like an outsider...

I’m a touch anal retentive. I like rules. In fact, it’s how I make my living. I like knowing what’s going to happen so I plan things out, even for contingencies that won’t likely happen. I’m very well prepared for the zombie apocalypse, btw. But by planning, I take...

"There is nothing to writing. All you do is sit down at the typewriter and bleed." ~~Ernest Hemingway. I always wonder if the truly great writers struggle to put words on paper, or if it's just such a natural part of them that the stories just flow like water from the...

I went to a liberal arts college, a place that’s supposedly deeply connected to the humanities. In my freshman lit class, we read Beowulf and were asked to re-write the story as part of a final exam. Imagine that! The professor (aka the evil professor) encouraged me...

I started a new job in June. As a contractor, I do that a lot. New clients. New people to learn about and work with. New stress. The newness of a job is mostly old hat these days. It's a little like starting a new book. You've got to figure out the lay of the land....

One of the questions a writer hears most often is, "Where do you get your ideas?" The easy answer is: Where don't I get my ideas? The news, an overheard conversation, an article in a magazine, a dream, a friend...or an enemy. The harder question becomes how do I...