It’s always been hard to explain the difference between sympathy and empathy. It’s even harder to describe being an empath versus feeling empathy, but the best I’ve been able to come up with is this: empaths are highly absorbent emotional sponges in human form. Unlike sympathy, which is essentially identifying someone’s emotional state and reacting […]
Whatever Happens Next (not just a book title) + giveaway
Well, it’s release day today for my fourth novel, Whatever Happens Next. Of the whole series, it’s easily my favorite. Not only because it’s my eighth book now, so I’ve learned more and write better. Nor is it the characters, who I absolutely love and were a joy to write. Those are part of why […]
When Life Impacts Your Reading + giveaway
Crazy times we’re living in, aren’t they? As if our world wasn’t overstressed and sending us safe into the escape of fictional worlds already, now we’re facing the uncertainty of a new virus pandemic, quarantine, and a multitude of other new stressors. And many of us are trying to find new ways to cope because […]
Friends-to-More is the Best Romance Trope (and here’s why!)
If there’s ever been a romance trope more thoroughly beloved than friends-to-more, I’ve got the wrong data. Poll after poll shows above and beyond that this is one trope we romance readers will never, ever get enough of. Now, I’m well aware that the actual term for this trope is friends-to-lovers, but sometimes “lovers” has […]
It’s Complicated… (interesting characters usually are) + cover reveal
If you’ve been on social media at any point in the last decade, you’ve probably noticed at least one of your “friends” with the relationship status It’s Complicated. The phrase has filtered its way into our culture in all sorts of ways—movie titles, song lyrics, book themes, mindsets. It’s complicated isn’t always a response we’d […]
Plotting & Pantsing Explained + giveaway
Spend any time on social media with your favorite authors these days, and you’ll come across a number of terms the average reader doesn’t understand. Like any field, there’s a bit of lingo involved that can confuse a person on the outside looking in. Always a reader first, I enjoy sharing some of that insider […]
Sharing local holiday traditions in fiction + giveaway
Culture is fascinating, isn’t it? I think a big part of what I love about reading is how we can travel anywhere in the world just by picking up a book. And at each stop in our travels, we learn something new and interesting about the culture, the people, or traditions of a place. I […]
Hey! What about Thanksgiving?!
Here in the US, it seems like the last wisps of smoke from the fireworks have barely begun to fade from the July sky when all the craft and hobby stores begin rolling out the fall and Christmas stuff. It never fails, immediately people begin lamenting it coming “earlier every year” and grousing about seeing […]
Retelling the (Fairy) Tale
Ah, fairy tales. Like so much classic literature, fairy tales form the basis for many contemporary stories. In recent years, retellings have even become so popular they’ve become their own subgenre in fiction. And it makes sense. The originals are clean and usually end happily. Good triumphs over evil. The impossible becomes possible. Romance. Magic. […]
Inside a Writer’s Brain (reader beware)
Have you ever read a book and wondered, what on earth must go on inside this author’s mind to come up with this stuff? Spoiler alert: it’s chaos in there. Most of us aren’t even sure which way is up half the time. Between story ideas, editing, marketing, and obligations to our non-author lives, it […]
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