Smashwords End of Year Sale! Hooray! I’m excited to announce that my books, The Write Group and From Draft to Craft: A New Writer's Guide to Feedback , are available as part of the Smashwords 2025 End of Year Sale ! If you're a new writer, both books will help you start off 2026 ready succeed in your writing. The Smashwords 2025 End of Year Sale is your chance to get my books, along with books from many other great authors, at a discount. To access the Smashwords sale, clic

Here are four tips to help you stay motivated to finish your writing project. And what tips have you got for me?

The act of finishing your writing project is where the real magic happens. But getting to "The End" can be so challenging!

Two merry and dark stories for you this festive season!

This month felt creatively magical, and I focused on dark and gothic-y stories.

It's November and you'll find me in the kitchen!

What are your 2026 writing goals? Several writer contacts of mine are already talking about their goals for 2026. And even though I’m supposed to be ‘heads down’ on my gothic during November, their ideas for next year prompted me to start imagining my own objectives. Of course, I needed a place to capture my ideas--but that was easier said than done. You see, during my many years of corporate life, with structured processes and systems to identify, plan, and track objectives,

Joanne Guidoccio, author of the recently released Hippie Mermaid, has an intriguing origin story!

Millicent Eidson, author of the MayaVerse Medical Thriller series shares how feedback fueled her writing journey.

Enjoy free spooky stories in time for Halloween: These original short stories explore the weird and supernatural. Let me know if you enjoy them!

Can the feedback of a writing group buddy enhance a character? Nichelle Seely, author of A Vision of Violence, talks about how feedback made for a more exciting character.

Claire A Murray's mentor suggested she look for a critique group and writers organization. What Claire found was camaraderie with kindred spirits!

Marilyn Levinson writes as Allison Brook, author of the Death on Dickens Island, the first book in her newest series. Welcome, Marilyn Levinson ! On October 21, Marilyn, a prolific and award-winning author, launches her new Books on the Beach Mystery series with DEATH ON DICKENS ISLAND (writing as Allison Brook). This latest book is a delightful paranormal cozy mystery, with lovable characters in an engaging setting--features for which Allison Brook is famous. (You might b

Patricia Crisafulli shares about her recently released third mystery in the Ohnita Harbor series, THE SECRETS OF THE OLD POST CEMETERY, with useful tips and advice that will resonate with any author.

This image is from Stockcake. I recently got feedback on selected chapters from the draft of my gothic mystery. One piece of feedback both beta readers shared was how much they enjoyed the setting. Their comments were great news for me, because I've worked hard on the setting of my story. It takes place on the Catskill Mountains, mostly at an old, creaky manor where a vast forest, dark and mysterious, hulks against the building on one side. The action of the story spans the

Three authors share how they have created a different kind of writing group that's helping them in their writing careers

Is November your novel-writing month? November might seem like a long way off, but I recently noticed several writers in the communities...

Mary Seifert, author of the Katie and Maverick Cozy Mysteries, a 2024 International IMPACT Award winner for books in a series It is my...

Each person’s style is unique, but we all learn from the suggestions contributed by each person.

My September Writing Progress