Inspired by Life ... and Fiction

Novelists bound by the pen, sisterhood, & more

What Makes a Great Villain? 

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I’m happy to say I officially signed off on The Deadly Shallows a few weeks ago. It’s finished with editorial and on to paging. Phew. That book was literally the hardest I’ve ever written. I couldn’t tell you why. Well…five surgeries between the end of May and the end of August didn’t help, but well before that, this book was wrestling inside of me. It ended up causing me to have two years between … [Read more...]

Reading Challenge Accepted

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Hi friends, I recently shared that I’m starting a Reading Challenge for 2022. I’m going to read one book a month—all recommended by my lovely readers. I was floored with all the fabulous suggestions. Thank you all so very much! It was super hard to keep the titles to just 12 but here are the ones I chose. All the rest of the awesome suggestions are in my TBR pile, and I’ll be excited for the … [Read more...]

Challenge and Giveaway

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Hi friends, Happy Wednesday! I have a fun challenge and a special giveaway to share with you today. I shared about this challenge in my FB reader group, The Suspense Squad, but I wanted to enlist your fabulous help too. I saw this reading challenge floating around social media, and since my goal is to read one novel a month in 2022, I thought it was a perfect opportunity! I’ll have January … [Read more...]

Encouragement for the Dull Days

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Hi friends! Happy Wednesday. I'm excited to have the fabulous Jaime Jo Wright sharing with us today. I love her encouragement, and really, who can't use a little encouragement for those dull days! Hope you enjoy her thoughtful post. It’s that time of year again. It rolls around once every six months. That moment I stare at a blank screen, cursor blinking, and a new story trolling around in my … [Read more...]

Overcoming Story Obstacles

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Happy Wednesday, friends! I hope your New Year is off to a great start. I thought it would be fun to answer a variety of reader questions I’ve received in my next few posts. Two questions I often get are: “How do you stay inspired to write?” and “How do you overcome writer’s block?” I’m mentioning both questions because I believe the answer is the same, and I found it in a book that I read years … [Read more...]

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