I am a fan of spicy foods, but for me it has to be about a balance of flavor, rather than simply blowing out your tastebuds with the heat. Here are some of my favorite snacks and sauces. Siracha Peas – These are puffed peas seasoned with siracha. I like mixing them with peanuts, to […]
How to Plan a Book Blog Tour Book blog tours are a fun way to get the word out about your upcoming book and you as an author. It can be fun, that is, if you plan ahead and stay on schedule. The more planning you put behind a book blog tour, the more you […]
I know Amber does all the writing but behind the scene there are little choices that I help out with. Among them are buying all the little things that help her write effectively. There are links to items to purchase and we get a little something back if you use them. But these are my […]
Discovery writing can be fun, and there is a certain enticement to the idea of telling yourself the story for the first time at the same time as you write it for your audience. But if you are having trouble finishing projects, or you want to boost your productivity to finish projects faster you really […]
Sometimes I have an idea for a piece of writing (the topic for a blog post, for instance, or the main character relationships for a short story) but then I get stuck on developing the meat of the idea. It’s like – I know the idea is there in my brain. I had an idea […]
The more I think about it, the more I realize that some of my favorite movies involve writers and writing. (Which, as an author, is only natural.) I thought I’d share some of my favorites. This is not an exhaustive list. It’s just the ones I could watch over and over. You may have already seen many of these films, […]
Here it is, the night before the launch of A Shot in the 80% Dark. It’s the fourth book in the Bean to Bar Mysteries series, so it feels like everything should be routine by now. But each one of these books has come together in a different way and presented its own challenges. This […]
Let’s talk books! Specifically writing craft books. As writers, wanting to improve our art is natural, and learning from the insights – and the mistakes – of others is one of the quickest ways to do that. It’s no surprise that my own writing manual is my favorite. Obviously, it reflects the way my mind […]
Of course, nothing is going to replace having real-life conversations, or an in-person class where the instructor can correct your pronunciation. But starting with books and audio/video resources will definitely get you moving forward, and can serve to supplement what you have learned and offer opportunity to study and practice on your own. Try to […]
Here it is, release day for Out of Temper. I usually do these posts the night before, but I had a class to teach last night and we are visiting family, so by the time I would have been able to get to it, I was just too tired. Out of Temper really was a […]
