The fireworks, cook-outs and parades are over… so now what?
It’s always awaiting us after a big event–whether it’s a holiday or a vacation or… finishing a writing project–the gnawing question of now what? The uncomfortable experience of knowing that of course you’re grateful for the wonderful experience you just had, and so feeling a bit [...]

This past Sunday evening, my youngest daughter had a sleepover… with six of her best friends.
I allowed her to invite six because I figured between (a) sports, (b) camps, (c) vacations, at most two or three would actually be able to come.
Instead–all six moved heaven, earth and parents to attend, which I guess I should [...]

Writers often refer to sending out manuscripts as “letting our babies go.”
It’s always seemed an apt analogy. After all, we work on getting out manuscripts into as good a shape as possible, and then send them out into the world to see how they will do. That’s kind of like child-rearing.
Now I’m not so sure [...]

My Great-Uncle J.D. was a poet.
John D. Engle, Jr. was probably about as successful as a poet can be, publishing quite a few books of poetry with small presses, as well as poems in anthologies and in publications ranging from The Saturday Evening Post to The Christian Science Monitor. He also taught writing for about [...]

Last week… on May 31… I finished book five in my Stain-Busting Mystery Series.
Have I mentioned my deadline was June 1?
I wrote the final page at about 11:15 a.m. on May 31. Dashed over to a nearby restaurant to see my daughter’s Jazz Band performance. Home by 12:30.
Went through tick list of things [...]

Heather did a perfect job describing our trip to Romantic Times Booklovers Convention in Daytona Beach, Florida and our mini-tour of North Carolina! (Thank you again to Molly Weston, supreme hostess and coordinator of our Magical Mystery Tour.)
Of course, it’s always great to return home, too. And I was thrilled that our flight home got [...]

Advance apologies if this post reads like an infomercial… and I promise not to do this TOO often… but I feel I must wax lyrical about Antioch Writers’ Workshop, held annually in Yellow Springs, Ohio.
For one thing, it’s just plain good karma-management to acknowledge those people or organizations that have helped one along one’s path, [...]

I’ve been “blog-tagged” by Sammi Carter, author of Chocolate Dipped Death, and so now I’m going to be a team player and answer the questions in her blog tag.
I’m supposed to blog-tag four other authors, who will hopefully also answer these questions on their blogs/web sites, but I’m just blogging two, because I’m rebellious like [...]

A few Sundays ago, I participated in a Pitchapalooza! event at Books & Company in Dayton, Ohio.
Pitchapalooza! is put on by Arielle Ekstut and David Sterry, authors of the book, Putting Your Passion into Print: Get Your Book Published Successfully! Arielle is a literary agent who runs the West Coast office of the [...]

What is it about writers and cats?
True, not every writer has a cat. And not every cat has a writer. (If you happen to be owned by a cat, you know this last sentence makes sense. If you are not currently residing with a cat… just trust me.)
But at least 50% of the time, I [...]