Straight talk from the sisters about blood, sweat and ink
The other night I watched the movie, The Lone Ranger, starring Armie Hammer and Johnny Depp. Before the movie premiered I saw the trailer and was eager to see it, as I’m a fan of both actors. The movie got generally panned, which I usually ignore when making my viewing choices, but I never did …
Continue reading “Perverting Tonto: Magical Realism?”
The other evening I was watching Scandal. Admittedly I came late to the party, missing the first season, then watching it on demand and jumping into season two enthusiastically. But the other night I very nearly turned it off. Aside from the constant snarl on Olivia’s face—which irritates me to no end—the relentless arguing, fighting …
Continue reading “Creating Tension: Can There Be Too Much Conflict in a Story?”
Ever see that old movie, THE SEVEN YEAR ITCH? Of course this phrase has become a cliché and even though it is based somewhat on research, it serves to remind us that change is good and boredom is the death knoll of our existence. At least it is for me. Being an Aquarian, I’m particularly …
Continue reading “Friday Inspiration: The Seven Year Itch and New Beginnings”
Phew! We did it! The 2014 A-Z Blog Challenge is completed! What a trip! This was our first year, as we debuted our blog in August. When we started blogging we were incredibly insecure—check out Robin’s first post! What if we write something stupid? What if there’s a typo? A grammar error? But we held …
Continue reading “Done! We Survived the A-Z Blog Challenge”
When Fifty Shades of Grey crashed into the publishing world, everyone was aghast. On so many levels. Talk shows brought in therapists and psychologists— specialists on sexual abuse and relationships, and quickly labeled it mommy porn. Stuck home with my first broken ankle and nearly dead from boredom, I couldn’t resist the idea of reading something so risqué in …
Continue reading “U for UnderCovers: Writing the Erotic Romance”
My debut novel, WIVES OF LUCIFER, has been through many incarnations since the first draft, almost as many as my young protagonist, but one aspect has remained stable: the setting. In this story, I invented alternate world concepts for what many would call Heaven and Hell and struggled mightily with taking the traditional concepts for …
Continue reading “Originality: Building the Unique World”
Recently, I’ve reflected on the vast geographical distances between me and my friends and family, due somewhat to the fact that my son is getting married this summer. Our invited guests stretch across the country and even outside. As the eldest member of Writeonsisters, I lived in a time when my neighborhood was all I …
Continue reading “K is for Kindred Spirits: My Writer Pals”
As a self-taught writer, I’ve stumbled around plenty in my journey to elevate my writing skills past college-level English class. I’ve joined writing groups and subjected myself to ruthless critique, attended a writing workshop weekend in the back hills of Virginia, and confess to relying heavily on the Internet. Along the pathway, I discovered an …
Continue reading “I is for Improvement: THE BOOKSHELF MUSE”
Dreams can be terrifying: a dragon chases you over a steep mountain, your teeth fall out, a loved one is knifed in a dark alleyway! You wake up sweating, screaming, flailing, much to your partner’s dismay and perhaps to find him defending himself against your violent onslaught. Dreams can be happy: you win the lottery, …
Continue reading “Friday Inspiration: D is for Dreams as Inspiration”
One of the freshest, most invigorating experiences I’ve had as a fledgling writer is being challenged with a writing prompt. The technique actually comes from the marketing world, where people spin an idea and see what they come up with. Mostly used by creative writing instructors, you’re given a sentence and you have free reign …
Continue reading “Creative Writing Prompts: What if…?”