Sometimes writing a book takes an author by surprise. Take my upcoming book, Fire and Ice, the first book in my new Northwest Ice Christian hockey romance series. There I was, all happily writing about a female sports reporter and a gentlemanly rancher’s son who plays in the NHL, when suddenly research took me to […]
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 […]
How much do you love a sale?
Authors and publishers rely on a number of factors to try to get the attention of readers: pretty covers, enticing back cover descriptions, price points, blog tours, giveaways, Bookstagram, Booktok, the list goes on. One of the most effective ways is to schedule a sales promotion, with a discount or free book designed to get […]
Real Life Inspiration (& a giveaway!)
Last week marked the first birthday since my book Checked Impressions released to the world, so I thought it’d be fun to talk a little bit about some of the real life inspiration behind this book. Back in 2010 I was a bit of a hockey fan. Okay, I’m still a hockey fan, but not […]
It’s Complicated: How Authors Really Feel About Their First Book
Confession: I don’t like my first book. I’m actually pretty embarrassed by it. Back in 2017 when I first wrote What Could Be, I was like a proud new first-time mama. My book baby was perfect. Beautiful. And certain to make its mark on the world. Aaaaaaand then I read it again months after I’d […]
Character Interview: Meet Toni Wakefield from Muskoka
Today I’d like to welcome Toni Wakefield to the readers of Inspy Romance. Toni is a mother and an artist based in the beautiful Muskoka region of Ontario, Canada. Welcome, Toni. Thanks so much for having me today. So, let’s begin. Tell us how long you’ve been living in Muskoka. My brother and I moved […]
Survey Time for Romance Readers!
So today is the first year birthday celebration of my first indie release – yay! The Breakup Project released a year ago, and it’s been a fun ride on the Indie Author Express. This past year I’ve tried all kinds of new things, including (and not limited to): rapid releasing books, co-writing a book, writing […]
How to Conclude a Series
I’ve written a number of series now. Over the past year I’ve released the Original Six and Muskoka romance series (the latter is still ongoing), and next year will see the release of the Northwest Ice hockey romance series, and the Trinity Lakes series I’m in with Inspy’s Narelle Atkins. I’ve written a number of […]
Writing about Writers – and Christmas!
Do you enjoy reading books about writers? What about books about Christmas? What about books about writers AND Christmas? Do you ever wonder how much of a book about a writer is based on the author’s actual own experience? Well, have I got a book for you… A few years ago I wrote a book […]
Small Town Romance
I live in a small town. I’ve lived in my small town of less than ten thousand people for the past twenty years. Before that I lived in another small town. And while there are some advantages to living in the city (and hey, I’ve written books set in cities from NYC to London) there’s […]