Blogs

Spam (Not in the Can)

I’m almost positive this topic has been discussed, but I figured another blog on it wouldn’t hurt. For the past few days I’m been bombarded with messages on my social networks. Most of the time I choose to ignore (or block) those who tweet, comment, or sling promotion in my direction. A sane person can only take so much before they’re ready to go batshit. And nothing makes me crazier than spam.Read more

So You Wrote Something. Whoop-de-doo.

You've had this story stuck in your head for years, and now you've finally slapped it down onto paper. Pat yourself on the back because you've just done something many people are not capable of doing. Good job. Bravo. Kudos. You rock.

Now what?Read more

5 Useful Tools for Writers

There are a million “useful tools” blog posts out there, so here, have one more! Seriously, though, these five tools are things that have made a big difference to me as a writer, usually by simplifying some task. I’m all about making things easier on myself.Read more

Ask Nicely

In order to understand what prompted this rant week's blog post, go give this post a quick read. Go on, I'll wait.

http://bookendslitagency.blogspot.com/2011/09/lol.htmlRead more

Inertia's a Bitch

***Sorry this comes a day late - as you'll see, I've been busy!***

I’m the daughter of an engineer, so forgive me for going into a physics metaphor here for a moment. You all know what inertia is, right? The old idea that objects in motion tend to stay in motion, and objects at rest tend to stay at rest. Well, damn it, I’m at rest, and I’m blaming inertia for not moving me forward.Read more

What's up, Doc?

I talk a lot about clichés in writing, which doesn’t mean I’ve never used them, I have. But I do a lot of research because I want my characters to feel authentic, and I tend to avoid police officers and the like, because I just don’t know enough about them, and I wouldn’t want my bias from films, television and my own bad cop experiences to flavor them fake.Read more

Take Some M@*%f-ing Responsibility

To those easily offended, please take a walk. This may contain more profanity than usual. This will hurt your preshus feelings. It may also cause harm to your self esteem. Snoflakes (sp) beware.

I'm going to speak now as an editor, writer, and reader.

Writers: Take some motherfucking responsibility for your work.Read more

Those Things Called Reviews

**Last recycled blog, I swear. I realized very late in the day (as in just now) I was supposed to do a blog. It's been one of those weeks.**

Today I spoke with two different people about the same thing -- reviews. I won't go too deeply into the conversations (those be private, ya'll), but I will say this: Both were curious about how I handle reviews and how I keep from going insane when I get a negative one.Read more

It Boggles the Brain, It Does

My apologies for another rehash from my blog, but Mother Nature has decided to cram every ounce of barometric pressure she's made into my head. It's settled now at the base of my skull, snug and cozy, and I think it just ordered pizza. Thus, the post I've been working on will have to wait until next time. Luckily, I have this little post to tide you over. And kick the douchebaggery out of your ass.Read more

How Writing is Like Riding a Bike

Around this time last year, I took up cycling after having not been on a bike for at least 25 years. (And BTW, those people who say you never forget—they’re a bunch of damned liars. I retained nothing more than a rudimentary sense of balance and the hard-wired response to brake by pedaling backwards, which is completely useless on a modern bike.) The other day as I was on my morning ride, it occurred to me that writing and biking have a few things in common.Read more