Most of us drop right into the setting of a writing workshop and we’re handed some sheets of someone else’s precious, undying prose, and set to work with no more guideline than “Tell us how you feel about this story.” This … is a recipe for more hurt feelings than Read more…
A lot of books and blog posts I’ve read to understand plot and story structure talk about the Three Act Structure, and the thing is, the more I read … the more I’m convinced they don’t know what they mean. I searched in vain for an honest definition of what Read more…
The Ohioana Book Festival this weekend was my first big book event. I had previously attended smaller, local versions for just Cleveland authors at Loganberry Books and the Bay Village Library, and so I thought I knew what I was getting into? Spoiler: I did not know what I was Read more…
This poem originally appeared in Star*Line in 2022 and is a finalist for the Rhysling Award for best short poem! I thought it would be nice to put it here so you can all read it. 🙂 This is my fourth Rhysling nomination. The poem was rejected ten times before Read more…
Volunteering. When I see a call for volunteers, there’s a near physical pain if I don’t answer it. Why is that? Why do I feel like a rude bastard if I don’t agree to do EVERYTHING? I’m not even just talking about Official Volunteer Positions. I used to jump up Read more…
I had to make another appearances post. WEW am I a busy bee! I promise to, er, slow down… if my husband doesn’t get a job? Saturday, June 10th at 2pm I’ll be on a panel at the South Euclid / Lyndhurst public library. With three other female authors of Read more…
Well, first off, it isn’t losing. It’s not. It’s more… not-winning, but that doesn’t make a catchy blog post title. We Americans tend to reduce things like literary awards (and -ugh- political elections) to the binary lens of sports, with “winners” and “losers” and even making it to the Superbowl Read more…