So, I was thinking in the car today about what sort of advice I’m totally NOT qualified to give (conclusion: all the advice). However, I then decided, okay, fine… what advice am I really not qualified to give? Dating advice. Oh, so many reasons why. Exhibit A: I’ve been married so long, I’m not entirely sure of the number, but I believe I’m between years 18 and 19 of my life sentence. Exhibit B: I had very few real dates in high school. Like count on one hand. I had boyfriends come “courting” at my house (which should be Exhibit C, so let’s go aheadRead More →

I am so excited to share my wonderful critique partner’s upcoming release cover. It’s gorgeous; the stories are great. And I’m going to tell you a secret that I hope the world realizes very soon: Landra writes unique stories. Oh, that sounds so unimportant, but listen… she can take characters and situations that you wouldn’t expect to see in your typical romance and she writes the hell out of it. I strongly suggest you check her out.Read More →

Now, if What You Need became a movie I can see the story expanding a bit or it’d be one of those artistic, erotic shorts. I could get a little creative with color tones for something like that. The biggest question is who would play Royce and Veronica?Read More →

I think it’s probably an understatement to say I’ve flirted with depression and have an ongoing relationship with anxiety. I call it being “high-strung,” mostly because that sounds prettier than “I’m a wreck.” My boss and I joked today about how my insomnia is directly related to all the things I can stay up at night worrying about. It’s a fact. I’m always looking for ways to find my joy. That’s another one of those phrases I’ve coined. A person, every last one of us, should work to be happy. Research shows that people who keep gratitude journals were way more awesome, and successful, and etc.Read More →

But, then something unheard of happened…The creator of the show, Rob Thomas, started a Kickstarter campaign, broke a bunch of records, and raised the money in like ten hours. Then, as far as I can tell, every single person came back for the movie (despite many of them going on to more success) and the movie was filmed over 28 days last summer. (Does this sound like a fairy tale to anyone else?) It will be released on 3.14.14.Read More →

I am thirty-nine years old. That means I’ve been reading avidly for nearly thirty-five years (I learned a bit early–my mom insisted we read all the time to deal with my dyslexia. It worked. Also, now I read all the time). Still, I’d fallen into somewhat of a reading rut. I’d scour backlists of my faves, desperate to be entertained. Mostly, contemporary romance. Then, something o-m-g-amazing happened. I found out that Anne Rice combined my two favorite characters in one book. Finally, a Lestat I cared about again. At last, a potentially satisfying end to one of my most-loved stories that got lost in subplots.Read More →

The best thing about this book (and this book has a lot going for it) are the characters. You’ve got a psychic quiltmaker. And her ex-husband, who is now the owner of the art supply shop in town. And a woman. An adorable beta artist as love interest. Sisters who are all so individual. A mom who disappeared 17 years ago and suddenly comes home. There is a big cast. And they all contribute. And they’re all real, complex, fully-formed. And yet, they don’t overpower the story.

And, at it’s core, it feels good. There are messages about accepting oneself and forgiveness that are very personal and moving (mostly because you come to care so much for these people. Um, characters.).Read More →

Two days later,

Me: That first book is incredible. I can’t put it down.

My Boss: When you get to the end you’re going to be really annoyed.

Me, in my head, because he’s my boss: Then why did you tell me to read it?Read More →

CJ Redwine, whose query workshop I’ve mentioned before, got a great new book deal. Unfortunately for the rest of us, she’s only going to be doing one more query workshop and then she’s calling it quits.  She says she still has room and the last one starts Monday! You missed your chance. I hear she’s creating an eBook with this info. I’ll update you.Read More →

I love my Google Reader.  I can read it anywhere, I can add feeds from anywhere, and I can organize it easily.  But, when I got my iPhone, I wanted to be able to read my fave feeds on my phone.  I didn’t want to find a new reader; I had everything set up exactly the way I wanted it in Google. (I’m somewhat of an organization freak). First I found Google Reader on Safari, on the phone, and saved the page for easy access.  I am not a fan of the way Safari handled my feeds.  It was too stiff, not intuitive at all,Read More →