Storytelling on Screen: Would Your Novel Work for Film or TV?

Last month I was a guest at a book club where my second novel, Blindspot, was the selection of the month. It’s the story of an ambitious district attorney who hunts down the stalker harassing her and her teenage daughter, then finds herself arrested for murder when he turns up dead. Turns out, she’s got…

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Using Social Media to Market Your Book

Social media platforms are increasingly important for any author launching a novel into the world. Not only are they free (music to a writer’s ears), but they offer a way to connect with potential readers across the globe, people you would never be able to reach via bookstore appearances or local one-on-one selling. By leveraging…

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Moving Beyond “Write What You Know”

The adage “write what you know” has been a cornerstone of writing advice for decades. It encourages writers to draw from their own experiences, lending authenticity and depth to their work. But this approach can also be limiting. Confining yourself to only what you know can stifle your creativity and lead to repetitive themes and…

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Lessons My Podcast Guests Taught Me

Hear Us Roar, the weekly podcast I host for the Women’s Fiction Writers Association, has been going since May 2018. The show has been downloaded over 27,000 times and the guests have ranged from authors who later hit the best-seller lists (Julie Clark, Nguyễn Phan Quế Mai), won prestigious awards (Barbara Linn Probst, Jeannee Sacken),…

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Why I Write

I spin tales, conjure up characters, and bleed ink on the page (metaphorically, of course, although I’ve had a few paper cuts in my day that made my pages a bit more “colorful”). Since my go-to question when writer’s block strikes is always why, it seems only natural to turn that same lens on myself.…

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Brainstorming Characters That Leap Off the Page

BlindSpot, my second book and first psychological suspense, releases in May, so before the whirlwind of marketing for that one starts up in earnest, I’ve been spending time ruminating about my next one – my favorite part of the process. My first step is always to purchase a new Moleskine lined notebook where I can jot…

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Year-End Musings About Writing

As 2023 comes to a close, here are some things I’m thinking about when it comes to this writing life. Being published does not make you a writer. Writing makes you a writer. Publishing is no longer a “one size fits all.” With the flourishing of print on demand, the growth in audiobooks, reader’s comfort…

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The Joy of Promiscuity

Are you a monogamous writer? You get up every morning and all you can think about is the one novel, the one poem, the one essay you’re trying to write to the exclusion of all else. If a news item sparks a what if scenario, or a fascinating character comes to you in a dream, or you…

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