I watched in curiosity with the rest of the world as Simone Biles pulled out of the Olympics a few months ago. I can't imagine making such a difficult call. To put in that effort over such a period of time and then to withdraw. I admire her courage in stepping back,...

There's a storm brewing outside and as I was thinking about this post, I had music going so figured I'd share what I'm listening to. It's an oldies playlist because I'm feeling very nostalgic as I prepare for the storm. I know that sounds weird, but growing up in...

After my last post, I was excited to begin a discussion with multiple authors on SM about the topic. Should we warn our readers about things that are potentially sensitive? How much warning is needed? Which topics are included? I wrote my take in the last post, and I...

Note: this post discusses potentially sensitive subjects. Based on my author's picture, someone told me I looked like a writer of sweet romance. That was obviously before they read my novels, or found the erotic novellas I've published. And they'd never really talked...

While traveling recently I had the pleasure of reconnecting with a colleague and friend. Several years ago, we'd worked together under unusual circumstances - while living in a foreign country - and I have to admit, I worried our friendship was situational. Living...

Back when I started writing, I remember listening to the more established writers, both published and unpublished, speaking with such confidence about market trends and editor preferences, which agents were acquiring new writers, what was hot on the shelves and I...

When I was a teen and writing torrid love stories filled with drama and angst, I would hide the manuscript under my bed so my mom (supposedly) would not find it. I kept up the tradition for years as long as I was writing longhand as I would typically write right...

I struggle with the green-eyed monster when it comes to other writers. I see their success, their sales, their rave reviews and there's a part of me that twinges. The salt in the wound sometimes is that they are very dear friends and sometimes they are just really...

I read fiction for entertainment. While I have forgotten much of what happened in my life before the age of ten, what I do remember is strangely tied to books. In first grade, we would sit around a tilted table with Dick and Jane and these massive headphones listening...