Given the world that we live in, it’s not really a surprise that people escape into books. It’s easy enough to come up with fictional tales set in our world, but it can be even more fun to create an entirely new world and develop interesting creatures that inhabit it. Instead of putting on a…
Category: The Writing Process
These posts are related to my writing. They could include excerpts from my published works, but they’ll definitely give you insight into what’s going on in my head as I write.
Let the show begin and bring stories to life
I’ve been known as a book author for nearly 20 years, but before that, I crafted stories in a more theatrical style through plays. The writing bug hit me in my teen years, and after acting in some school plays, I decided to write my own stories through theatrical performance, and in 1993, my junior…
Favoritism not a factor when writing novels
Which of your books is your favorite? This question was asked of me at a recent vendor event for Fox Valley Pride. It wasn’t the first time I was asked the question, but like the other times, I didn’t have a satisfactory answer. It’s akin to asking a parent who their favorite child is. However,…
Sanitize your countertop, not literature
Sometimes I think I made the right decision by self-publishing my novels, and two recent incidents in the publishing world seem to back that up. A couple of weeks ago, I read online about the plans to change some of the text and situations in the books of Roald Dahl, including the classic “Charlie and…
When unbridled imagination strikes, chicken soup follows
Ideas for stories can come from the strangest places. If you don’t think that’s possible, keep reading. My sweetheart, Todd, and I had just finished with church one Sunday and drove to Green Bay to enjoy some lunch at Mission BBQ. We discovered this place a few months ago and were immediately attracted to it…
You can’t have good stories without the occasional, unexpected twist
A time-honored tradition for most book writers is the twist. No, I’m not talking about the dance sensation. I’m talking about how a reader is just jetting along the story with the cruise control on, and then something happens that turns the free flow on its ear, and the reader is left to wonder what…
Blurbs with bullet points seem to miss the mark
It’s not always easy to write a book, but even once you write “The End,” it’s not really the end. Nope, you have to do rewrites and figure out what’s going to go on the cover to entice people inside, just in case the cover images are not enough to hypnotize potential readers. Then there’s…
Without faith, how does one’s story end?
When it comes to telling stories, I’ve always had some theme to cling to. Some of my stories are tales of love where two men find each other and figure out how to navigate their lives together. Some stories have a touch of magic and fantasy. Ten of them are tied to an aspect of…
The more you write a story, the more the story writes itself
“The more you write a story, the more the story writes itself.” As I was browsing Facebook the other day, fellow author Geoffrey Knight posted this quote. I’d been trying to put a handle on my writing journey the last three months as I wrote White Christmas in the Desert, and that seemed to wrap it up…
Next writing venture includes a trip back home
Writing is never a destination. It’s a journey. As a writer, you go from place to place, book to book. Even if your books are a series that usually stays in one community, you still grow. You still progress. The bar you set when you write your first book is not the same bar you…
Don’t fly the coop; write in it
People have a variety of places where they’re comfortable writing—places where their imaginative stories can flow freely without the interruptions of whiny children, barking or meowing pets or even the constant ringing of your cellphone. From separate writing rooms to a private room in your home to a particular table at a coffee shop to…
Not that trope again—LGBT readers describe their lit peeves
As an author, it is important to figure out what readers want so that you not only come up with something beautiful that you can live with, but it’s something that other people will read. By that same token, it’s also important to figure out what readers don’t want. I was on Facebook today, and…
Rural Roots and American Rainbows 