Category: Stories

You already know I spent my vacation procrastinating. This is what I was avoiding doing: Each one of these colored squares represents a scene in my Golden Heart®-finaling manuscript, “Beauty and the Ballplayer.” The yellow ones are turning points; blue are scenes that can stay the same; pink must...

When Bria Quinlan, one of my fellow 2011 Golden Heart® finalists, tweeted her need for “Excerpt Monday” participants, I decided to jump into the fray. What follows is the first few exchanges in my as-yet only completed single title MS, “Blind Date Bride.” I chose it instead of my...

Now I remember why I’m so glad to be off the dating scene. Rejection hurts. A lot. I’m sure I’m not the only one to equate the search for an agent to the search for Mr. Right — but it’s an apt comparison. You try to make a good...

This is an exciting time for me. My manuscript, Beauty and the Ballplayer, was just named a finalist in the 2011 RWA Golden Heart® contest. About Beauty and the Ballplayer: Spunky and independent to a fault, graphic designer Meg Malone isn’t exactly crushed when she finds herself pregnant soon...

Yeah, I’m saying there has to be something higher than Cloud Nine, and I’m on it. I am a 2011 Golden Heart finalist. I’ve been fielding congratulatory calls, tweets and e-mails all day — and I’m glad to get them. I can’t count the number of times I’ve thought...

My phone woke me up — and this time, it was THE call … well, the call that I’m a Golden Heart finalist, at least. “Beauty and the Ballplayer” finaled in the contemporary series category. More later, since I’m sure this is the beginning of a long, wild ride!...

If your mother was anything like mine, she dispensed tons of advice: Sit up straight … Don’t go outside with a wet head or you’ll catch a cold … and NEVER stop at a rest area after dark. Well, I slouch all the time, frequently go out with wet...

Today just might go down as the highlight of my writing career to-date. It could be the start of something big. Today, I was one of the lucky 125 entrants selected to submit to the Knight Agency’s Author Speed Date contest. You should have heard the excited whoop I...

My writing output seems to drop in direct correlation to any increase in blog reading. That’s a problem, I know — but if I don’t take the time to read a few blogs, how can I expect anyone to read mine? Besides, if I stopped reading, I’d miss out...

The hero in my WIP, Cody, has a tendency to use big words and shrink-speak when he’s upset, angry or flustered. (There’s a reason he has a T-shirt that says “I’m fluent in psychobabble.”) It turns out Cody and I have that in common. Now that I’m writing fiction...