Writing is my passion!

H ello my friends, I know it's been a while since my last blog, Memorial Day in fact. June has been a very busy month for me. Not only have I completed another manuscript, but I am now in the process of polishing it up to its brightest shine so that I can start sending out queries to agents. That makes two books that are ready to send, once I finish the final run-through, that is. There may be a few who are unsure of how to write a query that an agent will appreciate. Being in that group does not mean you’re a failure. Let’s be honest, writing queries is more difficult than writing a book. In a book you have three hundred and fifty pages to tell your story. With a query, you have a single paragraph to hook the agent into wanting to read more. I’ve been writing query letters to agents for, well, several years now and have only recently learned the secret, thanks to a course that I’d purchased called Get a Book Deal 101 . Now, technically I can’t divulge what is...

Hello, my friends, Normally, as those of you who read my blog regularly know, I usually post about my journey through my writing career. However, I feel that this is a time to salute those who have made it possible for me to do what I love to do. So, let me just start with this: THANK YOU! I don’t think I say it enough, or truly appreciate your sacrifices. Thank you to those who have fought and died and are still fighting and dying to protect our nation and our freedom. Thank you, police officers, firefighters, doctors, nurses, EMT’s, and all of you who come to our rescue in our times of need, even at the risk of your own safety. Everyone—unless you have been living in a cave for the past six months and have no contact with the outside world—knows that the COVID 19 pandemic has turned all of our lives upside down. But there are those who have continued to serve and do their jobs with little to no recognition; Grocery store clerks, bank employees, auto mechanics, teach...

Hello, again, Since the COVID-19 pandemic has forced so many people into home quarantine and the social distancing issues, it’s hard to find enough to keep our minds from turning to oatmeal. Let’s not forget how quickly it can send us over the edge and into the pit of despair. You can’t turn on the television, check your Facebook and Twitter page—or any other social media outlet—and not see something negative concerning the coronavirus and the rising numbers of people infected or who have died “from complications” due to the illness. It hurts my heart, and my head, to be bombarded by this and it’s a constant battle to maintain a positive attitude through it all.   My remedy for this has been not only to delve into my writing and promoting my newest release, THE WEAPONS THEY USE , which is due to come out on June 29 th of this year, but I’ve also started my own little herb garden. As I work on the outline/synopsis, (as I described in my previous blog), for my next man...

Hello, again, In my previous blogs, I admitted to some very painful, and illuminating, mistakes that I’d made in my journey to achieve my dreams of becoming a published writer. But it wasn’t all bad, I assure you. As with any adventure, there will be stumbling blocks, detours and landslides that will befall you. The ones I’ve previously shared, were just a few of the more notable incidents that I’ve encountered. With each challenge that I faced, I had to make a choice: Do I stop here? Or do I find a way to resolve the issue and rectify the problem? I’ve come to understand that there are steps that must be taken in every situation. Unless, of course, you are magically inclined and, like Samantha Stevens from the Bewitched television show, you can twitch your nose and make it happen. As the saying goes, “each journey begins with the first step.” I’d like to share with you some of the steps that I’ve learned over the years. Most of the points I’ll be sharing with you, I lea...

Hello friends, In my last blog, I discussed some of my past humiliations and why I was now grateful for some of them. I’m sure many of you can relate to a few of my more embarrassing moments from childhood. The best part of making mistakes is that most of us learn from them and, hopefully, don’t repeat them. And this thought leads me to the topic of today’s blog. Is a professional editor really necessary? In a word: ABSOLUTELY! Let me tell you a little story about how I came to learn this lesson the hard way. Once upon a time, in the not so distant past, there was this woman, (me of course), who had a dream of becoming a writer. I worked diligently on my storyline, researching my subject matter and building my characters into who I thought they should become. Then, finally, after months of writing, rewriting and revising the plot and story arc, my novel was finished and I typed the final two words: THE END. I celebrated with a glass of wine and called my BFF to tell...

Hello friends, old and new, Over the years I've learned many truths. But, the ones that have helped me through the most trying times in my life is that no matter how bad things may seem, tomorrow has the potential of being a much better day, so don't give in and don't give up. Another of those truths is the old saying, "Every gray cloud has a silver lining," is more true than we can possibly imagine. As you can see the title of my new blog is Writing Is My Passion . In all honesty, it hasn't always been that way, which is why the subtitle of this post is Humiliations of My Youth and Why I’m Grateful For Them. I grew up in this tiny little town in Indiana called Freedom. (It's about ten miles from another small town, though larger than Freedom, called Spencer, which is about fifty miles south of Indianapolis.) We lived on a small farm in Freedom and my first experiences with school was in a classroom that accommodated first through the fifth g...