For my latest young adult novel, I needed to give my heroine a hobby with some backstory. I’ve always had an affinity of all things celestial, and thought it would be fun to research, so I gave her, drumroll please… astronomy. My first in-depth glimpse at the stars was in...
I’m pleased to welcome author B. L. Bates to TL’s DreamWorld. Growing up reading speculative fiction, B. L. Bates received a BS in electrical engineering and worked for several years in the computer industry. When a head injury left her totally blind, she turned to writing speculative fiction to stay...
Writing has a lot to do with the flames of passion. There’s the passion for the craft and path to publication. Why else would one embark on an uphill journey with tons of boulders rolling down the mountain toward you? Just when you out maneuver one, here comes another that...
I have a confession… this book is the very first YA digital book I’ve ever purchased. Sure I’ve downloaded many a free book on the craft of writing and a few free romances that I have yet to ever open, but this is the first I’ve actually paid cold hard...
I know this has happened to you writers out there. You’re writing a scene that’s highly emotional or approaching the climax of the story. Your characters are almost to their low point, their black moment, all hope is lost. You are crushed for your characters. You have to keep writing…get...
My current WIP is a contemporary YA. That said, I’m reading a lot of contemporary stuff of late. I went to the library to pick up a couple books and stumbled across this amazingly brilliant book… Stay With Me by Paul Griffin. The cover probably caught my eye or perhaps...
The watchband on my Timex broke at the end of October. Unfortunately, it’s one of those watchbands that require you to send it back to the manufacturer for repair. I had to do that with my Nike watch and they got it back to me super fast, but it’s an...
Do you ever find yourself trying to write, but distractions abound, keeping you from the task at hand? Here are some of mine… <—My Kindle My Phone—> <—Reading Blogs Games—> <---Oddly addictive reality television shows... Research—> <--A...
Check out these fortunes I opened after a delicious dinner of Shrimp Fried Rice and Crab Rangoon. This is so much better than making New Year’s Resolutions.
Yesterday we had a dreary January 1st. It rained all day and not just a couple spots of drizzle, it was a steady rain that made you want to curl up with a good book beside the fire. Or take a nap to sleep off the previous night’s revelry. My...
Yesterday, I was typing the date and realized that today would be the once-in-a-lifetime kind of date: 12-12-12. I think I like it better typed 12/12/12. Anywhoo, I got to thinking…why wasn’t I as fascinated when we had 11/11/11 or 10/10/10? My slight fascination started when I heard the story...
It’s no secret – if it’s in the Brown Food Group, I love it. I believe my BFF made up that food classification in honor of yours truly. And what is in said Brown Food Group you may ask? Yup – anything “bready” and baked and bad...
