Things my mother taught me
Happy Mother’s Day to all the moms out there. As you might know, my mother’s no longer with us. She died in 2003. That was 11 years ago? Wow. It doesn’t seem possible that she’s been gone so long. Maybe that’s because I always carry her with me, courtesy...
August is National Read-A-Romance Month
I was a reader of romances long before I started writing them. I remember plowing through the stacks of Harlequin and Silhouette books Mom would bring home from the library, secured with a rubber band. (Apparently, the library thought bundles were more appealing.) My couch potato self spent many...
Making a dent in the ol’ TBR pile?
A new theory has been simmering in my brain for the last few weeks. Want to hear it? Of course you do. If you didn’t, you wouldn’t be reading my blog, right? Authors — and readers — have TBR piles. More likely than not, they’re towering TBR piles that...
How many of these banned classics have you read?
With Sept. 30-Oct. 6 being Banned Books Week, I want to go on the record: People — of all ages — should be able to read what they want. Yes, even those poorly written “Fifty Shades” books, if that’s what keeps them turning the pages. It’s not so important...
Rediscovering the joy of reading
Everyone says writers need to read anything and everything they can get their hands on. I’m sure they’re right. When I was younger, my nose was always buried in a book. Reading was my favorite free-time activity. Nowadays, with a full-time job and a Boyfriend, I have a lot...
You tell me: Fifty Shades of Grey
Twitter is abuzz. Bloggers are raving. Last night I read a story on a mainstream wire service talking it up. (I’m debating whether I can get away with running it on our books page without causing an uproar.) What has everyone so hot and bothered? “Fifty Shades of Grey.”...
Venturing into romantic suspense
… Not writing it, thank goodness. Although I love watching “Dateline” and other true-crime shows on Investigation Discovery (“Deadly Women,” anyone?), I don’t think I have the chops to write RS. Keeping that thread of danger running throughout isn’t for me. However, I can enjoy reading romantic suspense, when...
Reading habits exposed
Today, we’re going to delve into all your dirty little secrets — reading secrets, that is. When Gwen Hernandez, one of my Starcatcher sisters, posted about sometimes not finishing a book she’s started, it got me thinking. Her argument against slogging through something she’s not into: Why waste valuable...
It’s a disease
My computer was giving me fits Saturday night, so I spent the time I should have been writing today cleaning out my car. What can I say? Procrastination is a disease. 😉 I’m fighting a bigger disease, though. After decluttering my car, I took a bunch of the books...
Approaching rapidly
Jan. 10 will be here before I know it. That means it’s time to craft my goals for the Ruby Slippered Sisterhood Winter Writing Festival. But before I do that, I feel a need to create some writing resolutions for 2011. 2010 was a very successful year for me....