Choosy Readers: How Much is Too Much in Books?
Did anyone else like writing book reports in grade school? I did. But only for books of my choosing. Perhaps having Dune forced upon me is why I’ve never been much of a traditional science fiction aficionada—and why I get defensive when folks assume my Other Worldly novels are sci-fi simply because they involve aliens. […]
Earth Day: Writing with Science & Social Consciousness
Today is Earth Day, which marks the birth of the modern environmental movement in 1970. And I might just be more cautiously hopeful for this day, and for our planet, than I’ve ever been. Because, in the Biden Administration, our new Interior Secretary is Deb Haaland. An indigenous woman. In charge of and overseeing Indian […]
Character Names: A Beginning, Middle and Pronunciation
When it came time to select the perfect protagonist name for my first novel, Alienable Rights, I gave Rowan a name traditionally spelled, and one that hopefully readers could pronounce. Not so with a few other character names in the Other Worldly series, which perhaps means it’s good I did not have children. Because names […]
Cops Should Serve, Not Demand Subservience
This is a post script to a previous blog post about police who do not accept or understand parameters the Fourth Amendment places upon them. I offer additional observations after viewing the video of a white male cop in Virginia losing all composure—and any modicum of professional demeanor he might ever have possessed—when a black […]
Unreasonable Search and Seizure, or Outright Murder
In Feeling Alienated, the insidious issue of unidentified secret police snatching people off the street is front and center. The book was, after all, drafted in the spring of 2020. When the bad guys were out of control. Apparently little has changed. Protagonist Rowan Layne goes off on these paramilitary thugs, railing at them for […]
Write-Minded: Emotional Investment is Not Mere Politics
One of a writer’s greatest tools might just be cognitive awareness of what’s happening in the world around them, to themselves and to others. This awareness, or being woke, to use a much-maligned attribute, isn’t mere politics. If you don’t ponder the plight of anyone else, how can you expect readers to give a damn […]
Congressional Clowns: More Devious than Aliens
I’ve been rereading a favorite book about writing, Stephen King’s On Writing, and it’s even better twenty years after the first read. Because when I began penning fiction, I learned for myself how the characters really do take over once the writing begins. With minds of their own and definitive ideas about what happens next. […]
Best Writing Advice and Best Laid Plans
The best advice on mechanics of writing I’ve received to date came from Mary Robinette, award-winning author, puppeteer and narrator. It was: Get in and out of scenes quickly. Meaning enter late, and leave early. Robinette was actually discussing movie screenplays, but it struck me as a brilliant technique to apply to novels. Although I […]
To Bear or Not to Bare Your Arms
Let’s talk about the “right to bear arms,” as opposed to a right to bare arms, which is more about whether one feels buff enough to go sleeveless. Let’s face it, not all men are Arnold, and not all women are Michelle Obama (best bare arms ever). So, not everyone should bare their arms, nor […]
Profanity in Prose: One Prickly Subject
To swear or not to swear in novels? Like the saucy protagonist Rowan Layne in my Other Worldly series, I swear on occasion—when the occasion calls for it. I also declare. And lament. And even quote a Supreme Court case or two on the subject. My particular favorite has always been, “One man’s vulgarity is […]