Category: How To and Tips
“Are they based on a real person?” My Writing Journey from Non-Fiction to Fiction
“Are they based on a real person?” My Writing Journey from Non-Fiction to Fiction If you write fiction, I bet that’s a question you’ve heard many times. Some writers don’t like being asked this, assuming that readers think your imagination isn’t strong enough to dream up a character all by itself. But I choose to […]
Writing The More The Merrier – Celebrating Seventy
I love a project. When I turned seventy I thought I’d take a deeper look at my life and at what aging might look like. I’ve kept journals for thirty-five years, mostly because I believe in keeping track of both family history and history in the wider sense. I like to think that my words […]
How Writing Fiction about Love and Healing Embraced Me in The Warmest Hug and Forever Changed me as a Writer
When I was ten years old, I first thought in a serious way that I wanted to be a writer. I tried writing a novel at the time—an epic love story between wounded people who help each other heal. Because I was ten, it didn’t pan out. Eventually, I became a full-time writer, but other […]
The Research That Brought The Good Doctor Of Warsaw To Life
Dr Janusz Korczak was a children’s doctor and educator who lived and worked in Poland between the wars, beloved for his children’s books and his advice to parents on the Polish radio. I first came across him some 15 years ago when I heard some of his quotes at a teacher’s conference. The wisdom of […]
A Fascinating New World By Allie Reynolds
By Allie Reynolds Robert McKee, in his iconic book Story writes: “We go to the movies to enter a new, fascinating world, to inhabit vicariously another human being who at first seems so unlike us and yet at heart is like us, to live in a fictional reality that illuminates our daily reality.” It’s one […]
How Romance Almost Hijacked My Heroine’s Journey And My Novel’s USP
When I worked as a therapist, I met many people with an upside-down notion of love. They were looking for someone to rescue them from a sense of being unlovable. What they needed was to learn to love themselves. In publishing my debut novel, I almost made the same mistake for my character. Invited to […]
Don’t Wait For Inspiration; Make It Happen!
In the fall of 2017, I was feeling both exhilarated and burnt out. I’d recently quit my job in a public defender’s office where I’d spent most of my legal career representing indigent people appealing their convictions of the worst crimes imaginable: murder, rape, burglary, robbery, drug dealing. Striking out in a new direction, my […]
Lazarus Remembered – The Creation of a Story Told with Words and Music
Lazarus Remembered, a story told with words and music, is an immersive audiobook. My debut novel, it’s a contemporary family drama that explores the challenges within non-traditional family structures and how the pressure to conform to society’s expectations can tear lives apart. It features a soundtrack with thirteen original songs by my husband, composer Andy […]
How I Turned My One Star Review Into My Most Succesful Advert
Whether you read every one or ignore them completely, there’s no denying that reviews can impact a book’s success—especially negative ones. So how do you handle that horrendous 1-star that makes no sense and is pulling down your overall rating? Well, this week I decided to turn it into my most successful advertisement. Let’s start […]
Write Like No One Is Watching
I’m trying my hand at erotica for the first time in my life. I’m working on something that opens with a murder. But it’s also kind of funny. I’m finally getting this book of my heart out. I’m writing short stories with my boyfriend that are just for us. This is a sampling of the […]
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