“The Many Faces of Ito” is . . . delightful.

The Japanese TV Drama, "The Many Faces of Ito" has it all and then some. I binge-watched it when it debuted on Netflix and may mostly re-watch it. Why? Unrequited love. Misunderstandings. Best Friends Forever Betrayal. Oh. My. Goodies! The series is mostly about Rio Yazaki, a jaded rom-com screenwriter who is struggling to make …

Inspirational Quotes in Honor of Women’s History Month

The War of the Genres and Why Fantasy Writing isn’t for Everyone! (I Feel Your Pain, George R.R. Martin)!

I love reading all kinds of genres. Whether it be poems, song lyrics, autobiographies, recipes, etc. I'm not a picky reader. In this post, I'll discuss something few talk about. The War of the Genres! Publish America and the Hasty Generalization That Pissed Off the Science Fiction and Fantasy Community Almost twenty years ago, a …

2017 Year-End Reflection AND 10 Reasons Why I Plan on 2018 Being Even Better!

Soon, the year 2018 will roll on in. Looking back to all that I've accomplished, in spite of the struggle and medical hardships (yup, maybe I'll share that someday), I can finally admit that I'm amazed and proud of myself. Before I sat down to type this post, I had to think back on every …

How Million Yen Women Inspired My Revised Author Wish List!

On Twitter, I discovered this hashtag: #MSWL. For those of you who don't know, it stands for Manuscript Wish List. There's even a website dedicated to this where agents and editors can share with writers what kind of manuscripts they specifically want in their inboxes! Groovy, baby. Just groovy. As a writer, I've always had …

Quotes to Write By – Day 25

Last night, I stayed up until 1:30 in the morning. A picture book idea came to me and I simply had to write it! I completed the first draft within four hours at 1275 words. I've always loved picture books and adore the time I share with my two youngest sons reading them and reveling …

Quotes to Write By – Day 20

In an earlier post of the "Quotes to Write By" series I cited Mervin Block's quote "nouns are the bones that give a sentence body. But verbs are the muscles that make it go." Well, let's have a little discussion about adjectives and adverbs.   Believe it or not, these descriptive parts of speech can …

Quotes to Write By – Day 5

The following review is from one of my readers. It's a fabulous feeling when someone other than your family has read and reviewed one of your books -- especially if you're an Indie author. I love reading and lately I've come across of books that aren't traditionally published. Some are of the highest quality. Some …

Micro-Fiction Mondays: Mr. Teddy Goes Splat

According to Fiction Factor, (http://www.fictionfactor.com/articles/wordcount.html) Micro-Fiction is a very abbreviated story and often difficult to write, and even harder to write well, but the markets for micro fiction are becoming increasingly popular in recent times. Publishers love them, as they take up almost no room and don't cost them their budgets. Pay rates are often …