Patience, Perseverance and Pluck

Posted on January 25, 2012
mountain climbers

The 3P’s are vital to a writer’s success. They actually apply in any pursuit. Patience is to endure and to be steadfast. (This P is the First requirement of any goal, ESPECIALLY writing for publication. Keep trying. There’s a lot of rejection in this business and it is tough to take. But if you want to succeed, keep on writing, submitting and learning. Stay on the path to your goal.) Perseverance is to persist. (I’ve said it before and have to remind myself periodically to not give up. You’ll never succeed if you quit trying. It took ten years for FEISTY … Continue reading →

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Keyhole Conversations

Posted on January 20, 2012

Check it out! Kansas Author: Keyhole Conversations with B.D. Tharp, The Layers of an Author.  Most creative people have tried many ways to express themselves. I started with art and music. Thank you to Bonnie Eaton and Hazel Hart.

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Book Review from Watermark Books

Posted on January 16, 2012

This is an excerpt from Beth’s weekly Watermark News & Notes. It is very germane to the struggle many of us go through with cancer and how it touches our lives. “The Fault in Our Stars” by John Green (Dutton; ISBN 9780525478812, $17.99) Review by Beth Golay In March of 2005, I received a call from our Penguin Children’s Book representative inviting me to a dinner in Kansas City to meet author John Green who had a new book for teens titled “Looking for Alaska.” The week prior I had been diagnosed with breast cancer, but hadn’t met with any … Continue reading →

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NEVER GIVE UP

Posted on January 13, 2012

The theme for today’s blog is “never give up”. I’ve heard stories about writers who wrote their novel during NaNoWriMo (a month) and others took years to write their book. I’m more in the latter category. I lead a very busy life. There’s lots of things I want to do, learn, experience, see and share with my family and friends. I work full-time during the day and I do freelance writing as well as novel writing. Sound a bit like your schedule? Don’t worry, the dust isn’t going anywhere. You will get the bills paid on time (hopefully), and hubby … Continue reading →

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Grammarisms by Phyllis Spade

Posted on January 11, 2012
broken pencil

March 1996. It’s no lie you laid on me… Rivaling the confusion of “its” and “it’s” is surely the chaotic misuse of “lay” and “laid” – mostly ’cause “lay” does double duty. “Lay” is present tense for the transitive (which must be a named object) but “lay” is also past tense for the objectless intrasitive form. Yesterday I lay down for a nap (no object), yet “Now I lay me down to sleep” (“me” is the object). Now that we’ve laid that law on paper, let’s let it lie where it should have lain. (Thanks, Phyllis. I get it!)

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I know I’ve said this before, but…

Posted on January 8, 2012
woman with flowers

READERS ROCK! I had one of those Awesome Author moments today that I have to share with you. I’m writing with a friend at Panera and the young woman at the next table comes over and says, “What’s the name of your book? I want to watch for it.” I told her that my current book FEISTY FAMILY VALUES was available, book two is looking for an agent, and I’m just getting started with book 3. That’s when she asked me if FFV is available on Nook. “YES!” I was happy to say. I think her name was Felicia (but … Continue reading →

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Having the time of our lives…

Posted on January 8, 2012

Phyllis is having a great time with her new web site: http://www.timeofourlives.net/ and I am, too. She’s featured FEISTY FAMILY VALUES under Great Reads. Check it out!! http://www.timeofourlives.net/2012/01/feisty-family-values/

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Time to Get Busy

Posted on January 2, 2012

The holidays will be officially over tomorrow, but today is a good day to “get busy” writing. I’m speaking to all the writers out there (including myself), regardless of age or experience. If you want to write, then don’t let anything stop you from taking some time to do it. Here are some of the questions I hear from new writers: Where do you get your ideas? Everywhere! Nature, people, and day-to-day situations fuel the story ideas for me. Family, kids, pets, the news, and let’s not forget the “imagination.” Where do you start? That’s really a hard question. I … Continue reading →

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New Year Resolutions

Posted on December 30, 2011
dog dreaming of a bone

Many of us have a list of things we resolve to do next year just waiting for January 1. Check out Goals Guy’s top 10 resolutions. Below are a few I pulled off the top of my head. Some of them are probably familiar to you. Lose Weight Consume less alcohol Exercise regularly Write a novel Save more money Read more Avoid any weird neighbors Walk the dog daily Here is a Popular list of resolutions according to the US government. I didn’t include stop smoking because luckily I never started. (whew) What I usually find is that we start … Continue reading →

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Why animals? Here’s why…

Posted on December 27, 2011
never be afraid

Some people don’t understand why there are animals in my stories. Here’s why: “Until one has loved an animal, part of their soul remains unawakened.”

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