In a past author Q & A, I was asked what inspired me to write Bedlam Bewitched. Good question. Normally, I consider myself more of a plot-driven writer. I start with a general idea for a story and begin writing from there. But in Bedlam, the character came first—Cory Smyth, my plucky, witchy FMC. Cory […]
This past December, I attended an excellent presentation on Painless Plot Pointers given by David Macinnis Gill. David is the author of young adult and middle grade novels and has taught plot structure for the MFA program at Vermont College. In his workshop, David walked us through the new Three Act plot structure. The traditional […]
The turn of a New Year offers time to reflect back and look forward. I’m not much for resolutions, but I do set writing goals for the coming year. Looking back, my writing goal for 2025 was to complete a first draft of my novel-in-progress. I didn’t quite get there, but I did make significant […]
A couple of weeks ago, I attended Oktoberfest 2025—a local writing conference presented by the San Franciso North & East Bay chapter of the SCBWI (Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators). Every other year, on the third Saturday of October, my regional SCBWI branch organizes this one-day in-person event. The conference features an inspirational […]
A few years back, when attending a writer’s conference, I signed up for a group pitch session with a literary agent. I had a complete and polished manuscript and had honed a pitch. From prior experience (albeit years earlier), I assumed the pitch would consist of genre, word count, and the back cover teaser. When […]
I’ve been busy drafting my next novel and am happy to report steady progress. Not the chapter a week that I’d been hoping for, but I am cranking out chapters in time to meet my critique group deadline for review. The story muse is speaking to me again. Even when I’m not actively typing, my […]
I don’t typically make New Year’s resolutions, but come January I do think about my writing goals for the year ahead. This year, my goal is to complete at least a first draft of my next novel. I have about eight chapters of this new work drafted. But my progress stalled for most of last […]
On the cusp of the New Year, I have a tradition that I call “shredding the old year.” I go through my files and gather old receipts and other papers that I no longer need. Then I feed them through a paper shredder and dump them in the recycle bin. A purge of the old […]
It’s my book birthday!!! I’m thrilled to announce that my debut teen fantasy novel, Bedlam Bewitched, launched today. You can buy it as an eBook or in paperback. The eBook is available for purchase on Amazon and as part of their Kindle Unlimited program. You can purchase the paperback directly from Amazon and Ingram Spark, […]
Every August for the past decade, my writer’s critique group and friends have gathered for our annual writer’s retreat. This tradition started back in 2011, when we sought a weekend away from our daily responsibilities to create space for writing. There are no programs during this weekend, no speakers, no schedule. It is simply time […]
