The most marvelous thing happened today. As we navigated several hours of snowy roads, I pulled out my computer and opened my current WIP. I had put it on the back burner as I focused on revising a different project, but as I read through, I found that I was smiling. Oh, you delightful characters, what mess have you gotten yourself … Read More
Help Me Be Literate, People
So I have goals for 2010. Many goals. Achievable goals, I think. I’ve been reading a lot of bloggers that go through 50 books in a year, and they keep a list of them. What a fantastic idea! I can do that! Reading is, of course, fundamental to the writing process. So why does it seems like such a luxury? But … Read More
Say “Ah”.
Kicked back, put my feet up on the new desk, and thought, “Ahhhhhhhh.” Ah, things are going well. Ah, I’m taking a second to breathe. Ah, being a writer and watching an idea come to fruition is one of the best things in the world. You know what I love? I love when somebody gets all up in my grill … Read More
Guest Post By Kurt Newton
Literary Horror and Other Unnecessary Labels By Kurt Newton Whoever said horror fiction had to be crude? Whoever said you can’t have horror without art? Somebody must have said it because it’s all I see when I read blogs discussing the current state of the horror genre. You’d think there are only two types of practitioners vying for supremacy in … Read More
So I Won Some Chocolate!
And I cannot tell you how excited I am! The very charming Eisley Jacobs ran a contest on her blog, and there are some really sweet and heartwarming comments on there. You can check it out here. Also, once upon a time Kurt Newton and I had a writing challenge going on, and I emerged the victor. As a consequence, he … Read More
Writing Schizophrenia
I’ve been talking to some wonderful friends about the writing process. We all know how much time it takes. It’s a crazy balancing act to be both a writer and a functioning human being. Most of us (try to) write in solitude. We need unbroken concentration and time to think. But how does that work in a world where you … Read More
Welcome Back, Me
So something happened to me last month: I lost my mojo. I couldn’t write. I couldn’t edit. I second guessed everything that I did. I was convinced that I just had to work harder, because isn’t that the way that you get through life? Just work harder? Study more, put in more hours, get up earlier, stay up later, whatever. Just … Read More
Chestnuts Roasting…
When I think of Christmases past, I do remember some of the presents (I went nuts over Maniac Mansion one year. Rock on NES!), but mostly I think of the things that we did. Mom would have us write a list of ten Christmas activities that we wanted to do as a family, and we’d hit as many as possible. … Read More
Refreshing Rollercoasters
I love, love LOVE that somebody saw this chair and thought of me. People rock. I spent the last few days in Newport Beach and Anaheim, California. I was meant to live by the water, and it sustains me. I felt myself grow and thrive there, and I’m rejuvenated enough to come back to the desert. What is even more … Read More
An Artistic Date
I’m a writer, but that doesn’t define me. I do other things, too. I roller skate. I jump on the trampoline. I play video games (my current obsession is Shadow Hearts: Covenant), and, oh yeah, I’m a wife and mother, too. Too much of one thing is unbalanced. All work and no play makes Mercedes a dull girl. NaNo was … Read More