Tag Archives: writers

NaNoWriMo: Pep Talk

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I confess I am fanatical about National Novel Writing Month. The crazy idea thought up by Chris Baty way back in 1999 literally changed my life in 2006. The year before I had undergone a couple of life-altering events, so perhaps I was simply open to new experiences. I don’t know. Whatever psychological process was at play, I ended up catching the writing bug and have been an advocate for the November challenge ever since.

My friends are by now, after eight years, used to my prodding and encouraging them — my pep talks, as it were — to do NaNoWriMo, and I’ve been successful in getting several to attempt—and win!—the challenge. Everyone I’ve encouraged has been gracious or curious or thrilled.

Except one person. Continue reading →

NaNoWriMo Prep: Plotting

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National Novel Writing Month begins in 12 days – but who’s counting?

This will be my eighth year doing NaNoWriMo, and my seventh book. Continue reading →

Viridium Press

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I just became a publisher.

What this really means is that I just purchased a block of ISBNs and registered the publisher name. I could have gone with “Kammerotica” but I didn’t. I chose “Viridium Press” — my husband’s idea based on a location in a novel I have yet to finish. Continue reading →

Snippet Sunday: An Age Play

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This week’s Snippet Sunday* is pure promo. I’ve re-released my short story, “An Age Play,” as an eshort (digital short story) on Amazon. (It’s .99 or free for Prime members!) Continue reading →

Snippet Sunday: The General’s Wife: Sam and Pat

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I think this might be my last General’s Wife snippet for Snippet Sunday* for a while. The book is now with a copyeditor. (Thanks to P.T. Wyant for catching that typo last week! I hate typos! Go nuts copyeditor!) I’m hoping to release it by this November (cross fingers), so maybe I’ll do some more snippet teasers just before then.

In an earlier post, I had alluded to Pat and Sam being “very close buddies” which, of course, is a euphemism. Wait – what? They like each other? Aren’t they the heroes for our heroine Clara? Let’s just say I like to mix it up a bit with my writing and I have a soft spot for the bisexual beta hero. Continue reading →

Snippet Sunday: The General’s Wife: Sebastian

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I missed last Sunday’s Snippet Sunday because I was indulging my love of things Roman by visiting the Getty Villa in Malibu to see the exhibition “Sicily: Art and Invention between Greece and Rome,” as well as to just experience the villa, one of my favorite places to visit when I was a child. The idea of an ancient Roman villa in Southern California is simultaneously awesome and crazy. My traveling companion had already been to Italy once this year, but I haven’t been for quite a while and really want to go back. It was a very pleasant day. And, heck, while we were in the area, we went to the Getty Center as well. A day full of art!

So, back to Snippet Sunday*, my revision of The General’s Wife, and the introduction of a new character. Today we meet our tertiary hero, Lieutenant Sebastian Hawkins, who, despite his being a minor character, plays an important role in our heroine Clara‘s life. Continue reading →

Personal Reflection: On Beauty, Reading, and Writing

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This week’s blog post begins with an exhortation from the delightful Mandy B., The Well-Read Wife:

I see this advice to writers a lot. I see it coming from readers, bloggers, and other writers. It does seem to be fairly common in the romance genre, both textual and visual, to have beautiful heroes and heroines and I am terribly guilty of it, but for my own personal reasons. Continue reading →

Snippet Sunday: The General’s Wife: Pat

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I missed last Sunday’s Snippet Sunday due to day-job-related craziness, plus going to see my dad for his 88th birthday. Highlights of the visit included explaining the difference between erotica and porn, and showing him the Kindle app on my smart phone. Makes me wonder what the world will be like when I’m 88 as far as cultural norms and technological achievements…

So, back to Snippet Sunday*, my revision of The General’s Wife, and the introduction of a new character. Today we meet our main secondary hero, First Lieutenant Patrick Hamilton, or Pat. Continue reading →

Snippet Sunday: The General’s Wife: Strathmore

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Below is a snippet from The General’s Wife, which I am revising. Our villain, General Strathmore, is introduced.

I’m trying out a feature called Snippet Sunday, which is promoted on Twitter as #SnipSun, #SnipSunday, or #SnippetSunday, and on Facebook, as well as on various blogs (just type Snippet Sunday in your favorite search engine and see what comes up!). Authors post just a snippet — six to ten sentences — of a recently released novel, a WIP (work in progress), or an older manuscript that’s being revived. Lots of different genres are represented — romance, mystery, thriller, sci fi, fantasy, erotica, and more. Continue reading →