My award-winning debut novel, Small as a Mustard Seed, got a new cover and is available in paperback once again! What Small as a Mustard Seed is about: As the daughter of a Korean war veteran, Ann Marie learns not to trust people, including her own parents. While her father rages with post-traumatic stress …
Well, I already wrote about all the perks of living in the country. But as we all know, you need conflict to tell a great story. So here are a few cons that also shaped me (& made me a better writer) by growing up in rural America. Cons of living in the country: …
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Favorite writing advice: “You want to learn to write great dialogue? Study great plays.” Who said the writing advice learn dialogue by studying plays: Carson Grace Becker, drama & story professor and playwright Why: Writing good dialogue truly is a skill. It takes practice and listening to get the characters on the page to sound …
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Favorite writing advice: “Be wrong as fast as you can.” Who said the writing advice be wrong as fast as you can: Andrew Stanton, Pixar Director Why: Well, Stanton isn’t a book writer, but I love his advice anyway because it applies to any artist in any medium. He went on to say: “[That] basically means, …
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“My eyes would say: thank you, I see you.” “And their eyes would say: nobody ever sees me, thank you.” ~Amanda Palmer The deepest human need is one of connection ~ feeling like we belong, not only in our environment but also with other people. The same atoms (carbon, hydrogen, oxygen, etc.) that form …
So I did some research a while back on how to increase my chances of getting my novels reviewed and came up with 10 helpful tips. I’m focusing here on smaller venues for indie authors in particular. Bigger publications like Booklist & Publishers Weekly are fantastic, and you should absolutely try to get into them, …
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Favorite writing advice: “Inspiration exists, but it has to find you working.” Who said the writing advice inspiration has to find you working: Pablo Picasso Why: Well, he was a painter, not a writer, but still for any artist, I don’t think I’ve heard truer advice. You can’t sit around waiting for inspiration to strike …
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Favorite writing advice: “Write without editing in your journal for 15 minutes every day. It will change your life.” Who said the writing advice write 15 minutes every day: Katherine Black, poet & creative writing professor Why: Writing steam of consciousness ~ whatever comes to mind, zero editing or judgment ~ lets you open up your …
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My novel, Small as a Mustard Seed, just won the Silver Medal 2012 Book Award for Literary Fiction by the Military Writers Society of America. I’ve been a member of the MWSA for nearly a year now and am happy to support our troops in the best way that I know how, by writing. …
Small as a Mustard Seed Wins MWSA Silver Medal for Literary Fiction Read More »
I am somewhat obsessed with war. My grandfather fought for the Germans on the Russian front during World War II. My grandmother, in the middle of 1940s Germany, held their little family together by herself for more than six years. My dad had the formative years of his childhood in a war-torn environment and …
