The solitary and isolated process of writing can be a place filled with pitfalls. Some days it's my dearest friend, and on other days my worst enemy. Sometimes I am laser focused, while at other times I get so distracted not even a hit of Adderall would help. There are a chorus of voices in my head vying for my attention during any given writing session. The trick for me is trying to find a way to use those voices to my advantage. Because, as you know, they will not be ignore

As I dive into the indie author ocean I try not to get overwhelmed by all the things that take up time beyond the writing. The business of putting together a book independently is a whole other animal and I am no expert (yet). Fortunately, there are tons of resources ( a lot of them free) out there to support and give guidance to new indie authors such as myself. But, I have stumbled upon a few helpful things in my wanderings on the internet as well as from my own personal ex

There are just three days left in the A to Z Blog Challenge and it's truly been a whirlwind. I haven't added up my total word count so far but I would imagine I've averaged at least 500 words per day to date. And let's not forget I'm a single mom with a very busy life! But this challenge proved both a distraction and an opportunity. I have two full length manuscripts I'm working on and this challenge certainly gave me an excuse to do something else than the hard work of slogg

I know it sounds like I'm whining (because I am) but the fact is, I've got a full time life and I write in between! One of the things I did for myself recently was remodel my home office. Which really means that I decluttered it, painted it, and re-purposed some furniture that I had in storage. But those changes have made a world of difference. I now have a very comfy writing space where I can sit on the sofa or recline on the chaise, or work at my desk. No TV, no phone, no i

I can’t explain why, but this feels like a thorny subject to me rife with a good old fashioned dose of Catholic guilt. Full disclosure, I was baptized a Catholic. I attended Catholic school from first grade through twelfth which included attending an all-girls Catholic high school (Under protest). Yeah. Poster child for Catholic school girl. Not. So for those Catholics reading this who care, the answer is yes, I received all my Sacraments (except for marriage...that one has e

G is for Gratitude. Instead of doing the usual fiction post today I thought I would switch it up a bit. So I decided to spend a little time in gratitude. Sometimes in my busy life I get so caught up with working, and writing, and being a mom I forget to. This A to Z Blog Challenge is truly a challenge. I've been behind from day one, having to post twice a day to get caught up. Not to mention coming up with posts pretty much on the spot! And now finally I'm on the right day (a

***WARNING: THIS POST CONTAINS EXPLICIT CONTENT*** My cell phone chimed with an incoming text. Ben. “Change in plans baby. Meet me at my place for dinner instead.” It was date night and he’d told me to “dress fancy”. That’s what I got for falling in love with a cowboy from Texas. If it hadn’t been for my dad’s love affair with rodeos, Ben and I would never have met. I rushed home straight from work and slipped into the tiny black dress that I had originally bought for our fan

***WARNING: THIS POST CONTAINS EXPLICIT CONTENT*** *This is a continuation of Charlie's story* Jonah's body sheltered Charlie as the reverberation of more gunshots rang out. The frightened screams of dancers and the frantic pounding of footsteps as people sought to escape the danger filtered into the hallway. The second that Jonah had triggered the security alert, the team had responded. And it had only taken seconds to take out the shooter. He had fired his gun first, so the

So yeah, I'm doing this now. Because you know I have the time. As a self employed single mother and writer with three WIPS (works in progress) I have soooo much time in my life to take on a blog challenge. And given that I just started blogging last month, it really does make perfect sense, right? Fellow writer @Sashaknight shared the idea with me and my first instinct was....ummm no, I won't be doing that. Now it's technically day 2 and I've got two damned posts to write so

***WARNING: THIS POST CONTAINS EXPLICIT CONTENT*** The bikini clad ring girl paraded around the cage signaling the third and final round. Then the bell rang, and it was on. Sweat rained down Adam’s body as he tried to pin his opponent to the mat. The cut above his eye had already begun to bleed again so he knew he needed to end things soon before the referee intervened. Because time was short he decided to keep it simple and go for a basic double leg takedown. His opponent wa