Category: On Writing
My Publishing Journey: Judge Marylin E. Atkins
FAMILY & FRIENDS INSPIRE COURAGE & DESIRE TO EMBARK ON MY PUBLISHING JOURNEY Before they even know the most painful parts of my story… For the last ten years, my daughters, Elizabeth and Catherine, had been urging me to write my life story. “Marylin, you should write a book!” people declared for decades upon hearing about […]
From Academic Writing To Podcasting And Fiction
This year I published my first fiction book, but it’s a long way from being my writing debut. In 2010 I submitted my PhD thesis, and around that time I wandered into a career as a research developer and proposal writer. These days, as well as writing fiction, I work with researchers to help them […]
How Growing Up In A Haunted House Inspired My Writing
People really didn’t believe me. They still don’t. But she was real. The ghost was real. And I saw her. Often. It scared me. At first, anyway. But then she became such a unique part of my home, that I almost didn’t notice her shenanigans, like banging kitchen cupboard doors, turning on all the lights […]
Why Publish?
I never set out to write a novel, let alone publish one. So how did I end up here? That’s a question I often contemplate. My shy, introverted self loves writing in the privacy of my own mind, knowing I never have to share it with anyone else if I so choose. Suffice it to […]
Why I Wrote The Burn Zone
I wrote The Burn Zone as a catharsis; I had to get the story out of me. Dr. Maya Angelou once said, “There is no greater agony than bearing an untold story inside you.” I believe she is right. The story was consuming me. It was tearing me apart from within. I was filled with […]
The Birth of a Novel
In 1999 a good friend called and asked if I would like to join her for a writer’s workshop in Leavenworth, Washington. “Have you heard of Barbara Kingsolver?? She’s one of the teachers.” I almost dropped the phone… of course I knew her work – loved her work – slept with her work under my […]
Humor and History
If you’re trying to write somewhat humorous fiction for kids about historical characters, it helps if the historical characters are quirky. So, keeping that principle in mind, it was easier to wring some humor out of John Adams than it was with George Washington. I’m writing a series of middle grade novels that feature regular […]
Drawing Novel Ideas from the Dust
Novelists are often asked how they find ideas. Frankly, the ideas usually often find us. That’s the short, smart-alecky answer nobody wants to hear, but it’s hard to provide more detail to such a broad question. Since the release of my second historical novel, Peculiar Savage Beauty, many readers have asked specifically how the idea […]
Tell Your Stories—Now More Than Ever!
Christine Blasey-Ford had memories, opinions, facts, and rights. One of her rights was to be heard. So she told her story about a 36-year-old high school encounter with 2 drunken seniors who attacked her body to prove their dominance. Or maybe for a laugh. Or because they could. She told it to her husband before […]
The Art of the Writer
Writing is a solitary activity requiring perseverance, practice, and patience. As a book blogger and columnist, I’ve interviewed debut novelists to New York Times bestselling authors. Surprisingly, there’s not much difference between the two. Simply stated … each has a story to tell by translating thoughts and extraordinary ideas into words on a page. Granted […]
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