Inspired by Life ... and Fiction

Novelists bound by the pen, sisterhood, & more

Writing, Swimming, and Giveaways, oh my!

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Last month I participated in NANOWRIMO, a race to write 50K words in the month of November. It gave me the competitive drive to write 44,000 while also macro and line-editing a novella that will release next year. But the result of writing that fast was a sequence of chapters and scenes that might -- or might not -- actually mesh together. This fast writing was an important part of the … [Read more...]

Thankful for Readers + Giveaway

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Every year I get the privilege of posting on Thanksgiving. This year I'm on an incredibly tight deadline...and I'm actually quite grateful for that, because last year at this time, I thought my writing career might be over. That was actually a gift because it allowed me (aka required me) to make sure I was actually okay with writing being a good gift who's time had passed. I'm also very … [Read more...]

Grace Hitchcock & First Dates

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Karen here. I'm excited to introduce you to Grace Hitchcock. Graces writes super fun historical romances, and her latest features a Phantom of the Opera twist! Take it away, Grace! Crafting a Great First Date for Your Hero and Heroine Early in my writing career, before my first story was published, I read a blog post about how you should give your characters first dates, planning them … [Read more...]

New Directions

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I was sorry to see Jody step back from blogging after so many years with us on Inspired by Life...and Fiction. But I am delighted that the timing was right for me to return to a regular blogging schedule. And so here I am, your first and third Friday author. The year 2022 had a big change in store for me at the very start. In January I made the decision, for a number of reasons, not to … [Read more...]

When Life Throws a Curveball & Giveaway

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I'm not a baseball fan, but sometimes life throws a curveball and you get to decide how to handle it. Last week, I was ready to write the next chapter in the book due December 1st, when and event happened locally that mirrored the plot. Almost exactly. Like too much. The next morning I texted my editor and then spent 20 minutes brainstorming with her what we needed to do. This book will get … [Read more...]

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