Opinion

Banishing the Monster of Author Envy

‘Tis the season to give thanks, and I would like to give thanks to fellow Virginia Romance Writer Adriana Anders for not only giving me the idea for this post, but giving me some much needed perspective.  Last night, Adriana announced she got an agent, and not just any agent, but her dream agent. As someoGodzillane who recently embarked on the great agent search and hasn’t gotten that call yet, the green-eyed monster should be rampaging around my brain while I devour a pint of mint chocolate chip ice cream.

I’ll admit the green guy did raise his head and sniff around for a sec.  I’m  only human after all. But the important thing is he didn’t linger. So what gives? (more…)

Surviving the Season of Guilt: NaNoWriMo

Nanowrimo Guilt

It’s that time of year again. If you’re a novelist you know what I mean. November: Season of Guilt.  And I don’t mean from too much turkey and pumpkin pie. We are now in the midst of National Novel Writing Month.  For weeks prior, writers have been blogging about it, forming NaNoWriMo email coaching groups, developing complex battle plans, and generally stressing out about reaching those 50,000 words by November 30th.

Then there’s the rest of us. The slackers who don’t do NaNo. The infidels who refuse to convert our writing routine in order to win. (more…)

Reality Check

R or M

School is now in full swing for most kids in the U.S. and mine are no different.  My youngest is now in first grade, a “Big Kid,” which got me reminiscing about his kindergarten days.  One of the first lessons his patience-of-a-saint teacher taught him involved telling the difference between fantasy and reality.

He now proudly knows dinosaurs are real, while dragons aren’t.  He may make up a story about driving down the highway on his very own motorcycle, but he knows he’s stuck with the kid-powered version for the next decade or two.  More importantly, he can read an age-appropriate book and tell when the author is playing fast and loose with reality.  Silly author, kids can’t have a T-Rex for a best friend.  So why is it that people continue to think grown women are not capable of understanding this lesson? (more…)