I’ve written ten books. That’s only a modest achievement compared to many of my fellow authors. Still, it’s enough that I’ve now started to forget many details in my stories. One of my readers once surprised and delighted me by making an online quiz based on the first novel I ever wrote. I did the […]
Nerds are Sexy, Too
Nerds are the best. And I mean that sincerely. My family and I took a vacation recently. In fact, I’m still sitting in Vancouver, British Columbia, as I type this out. We head to the airport at 2am tomorrow. Yay. (Not.) I realize that some families go to the beach for vacation. Some families go […]
My #1 Pet Peeve in Romance Novels
Harlequin, one of the biggest romance publishers in the world, recently conducted a survey to find out how people in 2023 feel about love, relationships and—of course—happily ever afters. The results were interesting, and they shed some light on why my biggest pet peeve in romance novels bothers me so much. According to the survey, […]
The Long and Short of It (and #FreeBooks)
Some readers love to read short books: super short flash fiction or bite-sized short stories and novelettes or easy-to-finish novellas are for them. Some readers love long books: epic tomes and multi-volume family saga that go on and on and on. Some readers enjoy what’s in between: not too short and not too long. What […]
Where Do You Get Your Books?
When I first started publishing, I was pretty adamant that I would always and forever offer all of my books on every available platform. Because I wanted readers to have a choice about where to find me. And because, philosophically, I don’t love putting all my eggs in one basket (with the notable exception of […]
Let’s Talk About Bad Language
No, I don’t mean swearing, I mean spelling, and how much this affects your reading experience. And no, I’m not talking about accidental yet persistent typos that slip past all the editors and proofreaders and the author who has read a manuscript a dozen times. I’m talking about different forms of English in this world […]
The Care & Feeding of Authors
I’m not sure if readers are really aware of just how insecure authors are. And–to be fair–I guess I can’t say I conclusively speak for every author everywhere. However, I can definitely say it’s something I see with my author friends and in author groups, and so it feels like it’s safe to say that, […]
When Authors are One Word Away from Quitting (+ #Giveaway)
Hi Inspy Romancers! Have you ever felt like quitting something? Maybe it was a new year’s resolution you made that seemed doable but over time became unachievable? Or a job that you dreaded doing every day, perhaps due to long hours or an unreasonable boss? Well, let me assure you that authors have been in […]
Do You DNF?
Until I became a published writer, I had no idea what “DNF” stood for. I didn’t belong to Goodreads. I’d never heard of BookBub. I didn’t check reviews on Amazon or Barnes & Noble before I bought books. After I signed my first publishing contract, though, I quickly made a Goodreads profile. Then I started […]
When Books Imitate Headlines + A Giveaway
One story is currently dominating the news headlines in the UK. A member of the Royal Family has been exposing all manner of dirty laundry—including unmentionables—in the runup to his new memoir, which was a bestselling book even before it was released. An early reviewer of my latest book, Within the Storm, asked whether I’d […]