Mostly about Beta Readers

I had hoped for a big weekend of writing but decided that naps were important, too. I managed to clear the 70,000-word hurdle, with 5 days left to reach 80,000, though. Yah. No problemo. One of the harder parts of writing the first draft of a mystery novel is fighting the temptation to go back...

Stop Believing in Soul Mates

In the News this week: A boy murdered a girl because she broke up with him. Then he died from a gunshot wound. While we're pointing fingers at his father for owning the gun, or the mental health industry for not seeing whatever they didn't see, or the gun lobby for being the gun lobby,...

T’is the Season

Christmas isn't always an easy time of year for many people. I have been spoiled. For eight years THIS place was my home. Fairmont Chateau Lake Louise (at the time, Canadian Pacific Hotels & Resorts).  Christmas was spent with hundreds of friends, surrounded by more a thousand or more guests, in the land of a...

When Words Collide & A Novel is Launched

(Long post warning. Get comfortable.) Here in Calgary every August is a weekend event which I take two weeks off of work for When Words Collide Readers & Writers Festival at the Calgary Delta South Hotel. Although it officially starts at noon on the Friday and ends at midnight-ish on Sunday, when you combine pre- and post-festival workshops (which...

The Presence of Past Presents

Disclaimer: This is not a plea for sympathy or invites or company. It is just how it is for me this Christmas and what I'm doing about it. **************** Christmas has always been big for me, and Christmas 2015 is the first one in thirteen years in which I will be alone in the house...

Solar Garden Light Hack — Dollar Store style!

We have a simple back yard at the beginning of its evolution. We inherited a deck a rough shed, a patch of grass, and that's about it. I am many things, but at the top of the list is 'cheap'. I hate paying for electricity when I don't have to. I wanted to string lights...

The Brilliant Banner for Writers…if I say so myself.

Most writers I know are on a limited budget for advertising and promotion, especially the self-published ones. Even the writers with traditional publishers may have to foot the bill for some or all promotional supplies. I, myself, am both self-published (4 books) and traditionally published. When I've done book signings in the past I had some...

Easter Quicky

Being Christian, I have a problem with the phrase, "Happy Easter". I find that the bunnies, spring, and chocolate part are fun and more universal, but I find that from the Crucifixion to the Resurrection, there's nothing to be HAPPY about during the weekend. For me it's a time of reflection about what I can...

And Then the Work Paid Off! A Novel Sold!

It is with great pleasure that I announce the acquisition of my somewhat romantic paranormal novel, "Waking Anastasia", by Tyche Books of Calgary, for release in 2016.

The Broken Shield for KOBO!

Yes indeed do, my earth-shaking (literally) urban fantasy e-novel, The Broken Shield, is now available for Kobo. Check it out at Kobobooks.com, where it has reached as high as #34 in Contemporary Fantasy. This is a special announcement, because the book was written about and for a very special girl, Phoenix. Yes, to you who...