A couple weekends ago I took a quick trip to Astoria, Oregon for a little research. Naturally, I had to visit one of my favorite places: Albatross & Co. Coincidentally, it’s also one of Viola’s favorite places, The Prohibition Bar! If you’ve read The Stiff in the Study, or any of the other Viola Roberts Cozy Mysteries … More Viola Roberts Hits The Prohibition Bar!
Ohmylanta! Have you seen Home Fires? No? Drop everything and go watch it. I’ll wait… Six hours later… Welcome back. Amazing, right? I mean, okay, so it isn’t a romance. And it’s not a mystery. But it’s a wonderful, amazing, brilliant bit of story telling. The characters go beyond memorable into something like reality. … More What to Watch Next: Great British Telly
I wish I had a dollar for every time someone asked, “Where do you get your ideas?” Or “How can you be so creative?” Or “How do you write so much?” The truth is, ideas come from EVERYWHERE. And creativity…well, that flows as long as you let it. Frankly the whole “muse” thing drives me … More Kick The Muse: Keeping The Creative Juices Flowing
Sometimes you just want to get away from it all. Lose yourself in a good book. Something fun. Something lighthearted. Something with plenty of romance. Here are a few of my favorite contemporary romances (aka Romantic Comedies): Bird After Bird – Leslie Tash I read this charming tale shortly after watching The Big Year, which … More What to Read Next: Lighthearted Contemporary Romance
I was thinking recently of fun, easy ways to authors to promote books without posting their covers with a desperate plea over and over. I mean, that’s just not fun. For anyone. What IS fun, however, are TEASERS! I hear you say, “I’m not artistic.” Neither am I. Trust me on this. “But I don’t have … More Teasers Made of Win!
…as we know it and I feel like reading! I’ve always loved post-apocalyptic fiction. For years, Stephen King’s The Stand was the benchmark against which all other post-apoc fic was measured. The Passage by Justin Cronin only improve upon that. Beautiful. Lyrical. And sort of horrifying at the same time. But there was one small … More What To Read Next: It’s The End Of The World…
Last week we went over how to speed up the writing process. Specifically, we talked about sprinting. You can read that post HERE. This week, as promised, we’re talking about how binge watching your favorite shows can teach you to write. You know, for a writer, watching TV or movies isn’t laziness, it’s work. No, I’m … More How I Lost My Pants (Pt. 5): Netflix and Write
I’m a little obsessed with heroes who can fly. I blame Superman. After all, I was very young and impressionable when Christopher Reeves took the cape. And dayam, but that man was handsome. Of course, even better are the heroes who come equipped with WINGS. If you’re a PNR (paranormal romance) fan, no doubt you’ve … More What To Read Next: Heroes With Wings
Last week I went into depth on how I use my plotting journal and ALL THE ART SUPPLIES! If you missed it, you can still take a peek HERE. This week I’m going to share how I sped up my writing process and how you can, too! So, the first thing I did was to … More How I Lost My Pants: Plotting Murder, Mayhem, and (sometimes) Magic (Pt. 4)
Whodunnits aka Cozy Mysteries. Whatever you call ’em, I’m obsessed! And lately I’ve been particularly obsessed with cozies set in the 1920s and 1930s. Specifically ones set in England (although I’ll happily read other settings, too). This may or may not have something to do with an upcoming project. 😉 One of my all time … More What To Read Next: WhoDunnits
