RSSCategory: Contemporary Women Writers

AUTHORS INTERVIEWING CHARACTERS: LIZA NASH TAYLOR

AUTHORS INTERVIEWING CHARACTERS: LIZA NASH TAYLOR

A sweeping Jazz Age tale of regret, ambition, and redemption inspired by true events, including Josephine Baker’s 1925 Paris debut in Le Revue Nègre.  “Fasten your seatbelts…this is one fabulous book that will keep you turning pages.”  —Nancy Thayer, New York Times bestselling author of Girls of Summer Listed in PARADE MAGAZINE’S 30 Best Beach […]

August 18, 2020 | By | Reply More
The Good, The Mediocre and The Ugly: On Reviews

The Good, The Mediocre and The Ugly: On Reviews

Most writers will agree that when it comes to achieving the goal of having a novel published, the dream and reality do not quite correlate. From the outside, it looks amazing – and of course, in many ways it is – but what looks like a joyous time of champagne quaffing, great-review sharing and being […]

August 17, 2020 | By | Reply More
On Writing ONLY THE WOMEN ARE BURNING

On Writing ONLY THE WOMEN ARE BURNING

It began under an elm tree at my pool. Like an explosion, this story burst onto the page with the words, “The women began to spontaneously ignite, bodies bursting into miniature mountains of flame across the suburban landscape…” I stared at these, my words. I mulled over them, fixated on them. They haunted me for […]

August 15, 2020 | By | 4 Replies More
Writing Together

Writing Together

We, Charlene Ball and Libby Ware, both love to read mystery novels. We also love collecting and selling antiquarian and rare books. We exhibit at Antiquarian Book Fairs and have gotten to know book dealers, among them some interesting characters. When we decided to write a mystery together, we both wanted it to be a […]

August 15, 2020 | By | 1 Reply More
Janet Hoggarth: Where I find the spark

Janet Hoggarth: Where I find the spark

Every book or article I have ever written has sprung from something else entirely. Several other ideas can be on the boil at the same time before I finally commit to writing a specific book. I will have written their rough synopsis (I never know the ending just the general direction), delved into the characters’ […]

August 6, 2020 | By | Reply More
Excercise And Writing, How Does It Compare?

Excercise And Writing, How Does It Compare?

As part-time Les Mills Body Combat Instructor and the author of Two scoops, not Three,  I feel I have worked hard to be able to do the two things that I love. And interestingly, I have used similar methods for both exercise and writing.  I started writing my debut novel – Two scoops, not Three […]

August 2, 2020 | By | Reply More
How I Got My Writing Mojo Back  By Diane Barnes

How I Got My Writing Mojo Back By Diane Barnes

Like many novelists, I rely on my full-time job to pay the bills.  Fortunately, I enjoy my daytime gig. My co-workers are smart, supportive, and funny. We share a lot of laughs throughout the day, and I get to do what I love — write.  So except on the occasional bad day, I’ve never seriously […]

July 30, 2020 | By | Reply More
Writing Mature Female Characters – Let Grandma Be Cool!

Writing Mature Female Characters – Let Grandma Be Cool!

I write contemporary romance, but this particular pet peeve applies across all genres. Fictional grandmothers (or women old enough to be grandmothers) are stuck in a time trap. Stuck in Mayberry, if you will, where grandmas wore gingham aprons and always had a batch of their famous chocolate chip cookies coming out of the oven.   […]

July 28, 2020 | By | Reply More
Why Does HE Get to Do All the Swordplay?

Why Does HE Get to Do All the Swordplay?

Why Does HE Get to Do All the Swordplay? by Kathleen Marple Kalb, author of the Ella Shane Mysteries There’s nothing like the climactic duel on stage or screen: swords ringing steel on steel, combatants pushing each other back and forth, swashbucklers fighting for their lives and honor. It’s an iconic scene…and one that’s almost […]

July 26, 2020 | By | Reply More
My stroke of Fortune By Amy Maroney

My stroke of Fortune By Amy Maroney

 I grew up in Northern California, in a family of bookworms. Every week I checked out the maximum number of books (five…so few!) from our local library. I wrote little fictional stories inspired by my favorite genres — fantasy, science fiction, mysteries. Maybe unconsciously, I sought out stories with strong, adventurous heroines. I was content […]

July 24, 2020 | By | 2 Replies More