As an author, I’ve encountered reviews and opinions about how a story doesn’t resonate with readers because it didn’t seem “real enough.” My first push-back response to that criticism is usually a strong defense of the genre. “It’s fiction and by definition, ‘not real.’ ” But, when you look deeper at what the reader’s trying to say, you realize that this critique is neither trite nor glib. Here’s what I mean:
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Here’s What I’d Be Doing If I Weren’t A Writer
If I couldn’t write fiction, would I babble to myself in the streets about these crazy Baxters who won’t leave me alone? Probably? Who said I wasn’t doing that already…🤪 For years, I technically wasn’t a fiction writer. I ignored that path for a while, but the characters came to me anyway. So, when I get a question like this, I know exactly what I’d do. But, and here’s the trick, I’d still be writing. […]
Read moreCelebrating After a Completed Manuscript? I wish
I’ve seen authors go out to dinner, drink wine, have some decadent dessert and I have to congratulate them because I know it’s a helluva slog. But when my manuscript is ready, and I mean really ready, I don’t have time to celebrate because the game has just begun.
Read moreCharacter Theme Songs: Unchained Hearts
Sometimes when I’m writing, I’ll have a song on repeat in my head because that song embodies the character, the situation or maybe a meaning I never realized until I paid attention to the lyrics. Basically, that song is trying to tell me something. To me, songs are stories or poems set to music. There isn’t a decade that hasn’t produced notable songs, despite what some aficionados may claim. It’s just that some years or […]
Read moreWhy I Have No Problem Writing Interracial Romance Stories
I’m an author who writes stories. When I started on this path, I thought, (and still do think) how screwed up can people be in this situation, or that one. In that vein, I wound up writing interracial romance unions. I’ll never classify myself as an interracial romance author because I tend to write a variety of stories, some not romantic. But I have been shocked to realize that there aren’t that many interracial romance […]
Read moreMy Mother’s Day Gift Revenge
I like giving presents that are meaningful and not just for the sake of looking good. This is one of the reasons I’m just not a fan of Christmas, which has become this exercise in showmanship. But when giving gifts are tinged with a bit of, say, revenge, that’s when things get fun and funny.
Read moreBaxter Family Saga Book 4 Story Research: Black Monday 1987
It was October 1987. I was a pre-teen mooning over a cute boy I was starting to like and thinking about Halloween candy. I was clueless, to say the least, about what happened. I’m sure my parents knew what happened but I don’t remember being upset, sad or worried as others were. The rest of the U.S. and the world reeled from what became known as Black Monday where those who were rich on paper […]
Read moreWhat An Unguarded Expression of Angst Taught Me About Kindness
I’ve often shared that my mother presented me with my first blank diary at 11. I don’t know what she knew or saw but I count it as one of the best gifts I’ve ever gotten. So, it must have been a heart-stopping moment that left her bereft when she happened on a piece of paper that said I hated her.
Read more3 Books That Still Leave Me Awestruck
I’ve mentioned a few times before about a small list of books that opened up my consciousness and really anchored me into understanding how I wanted to write. At least, they gave me a decent starting path that I’m working to follow. So, what were the books and why do they still mean so much to me?
Read moreEyubea Girls: Googling To Help My Lack of Fashion Sense
I will admit right now that I have very little fashion sense. I know names like Vera Wang, Vivian Westwood, and all of them but I can’t really tell them apart much less name the pieces of clothing…I admit to being fashionably challenged, which can be problematic when writing. Thank the gods for Google…and Titanic!
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