Category Archives: Journaralities

Hindsight can be brutal to the childhood experiences we often hold dear. My mother was a connoisseur of old Hollywood musicals, and by extension, so was I. Some of the fondest memories of my mother are when she’d serenade the household with lively Rodgers and Hammerstein numbers as she went about the daily duties ofContinueContinue reading “When Cherished Musicals Go Off-Key”

I seem to be surrounded by 1980s music as of late. My 14-year-old daughter and her bestie are currently “into” the decade’s musical offerings. They’ve been belting out A-Ha and Bonnie Tyler from the backseat of the car everywhere we go, and much to their delight, an eighties-centric band headlined a local summer concert seriesContinueContinue reading “D.M.’s Ultimate 80s Science Fiction/Fantasy Mix Tape”

Congratulations! You’ve gone and done a heroic thing and put multiple heroes in your book. As the saying goes: two heroes (or three or four or…) are better than one.  Yes, I’m paraphrasing a tad.  My point is, you have a big, beautiful, complex book – more than likely part of a series – andContinueContinue reading “Juggling multiple POV characters? Do THIS!”

So, I did a thing…. If you are a hopeful Pitch Wars mentee for Young Adult/New Adult, and you haven’t already picked out your Most Wanted Mentors, then do I have a helpful list for you!  I had the day off (courtesy a left eye surgery – thanks, early onset cataracts!) and spent the parts ofContinueContinue reading “Pitch Wars Young Adult Mentors Handy MSWL”

That’s an attention-grabbing, click-bait headline if ever there was one. But lucky for you, I’m not going to try to sell you anything.  Okay, that’s actually a lie. Eventually, I want to sell you my book once I get it out there, but you have some time before you are contractually obligated to me forContinueContinue reading “A Word on Whores”

Somewhere between the ages of 5 and 10, I had a bracelet. Well, to be honest, my oldest sister had the bracelet. I just borrowed it on occasion. It was a cuff-type bracelet; about two inches wide in faux silver finish and open in the back so you could squeeze your wrist into it.  WheneverContinueContinue reading “Kick-Ass Women and the Woman Who Loves Them”

I have a rich inner world. A treasure chest of stories in my head. A personal copy of a “1001 Arabian Nights”-type book in which I write all the tales.  No big deal, right?  I’m a writer. All writers have thriving imaginations.  It’s what makes us able to create the stories people want to read.ContinueContinue reading “The Inner Worlds of a Writer”