Tag: women writers

What My Readers Mean To Me

What My Readers Mean To Me

My readers are gold! I can’t stress enough how I’m genuinely honoured that my readers have spent their hard-earned cash and their precious time with my novels. I would so dearly love to meet them and thank them individually, whether they were wowed or wish to convey more critical feedback. I like to think my […]

September 29, 2017 | By | 2 Replies More
How Writing Stories Made Me A Better Corporate Leader

How Writing Stories Made Me A Better Corporate Leader

HOW WRITING STORIES MADE ME A BETTER CORPORATE LEADER When business influencers talk about the top five qualities of a good leader, emotional intelligence (EQ) will be on almost everyone’s list. I think EQ is important, don’t get me wrong, but storytelling is a vital skill that hardly anyone mentions. The one thing I learned […]

September 26, 2017 | By | Reply More
Writing About My Special Needs Daughter

Writing About My Special Needs Daughter

One of my dearest friends recently told me, “Lindsey is the most difficult person with special needs I’ve ever encountered.” Folks might think such a statement would be disconcerting. After all, I am Lindsey’s mother. I’ve also written a book about our complicated relationship. However, instead of wounding my spirit, her words left me feeling […]

September 26, 2017 | By | 1 Reply More
My First Writers’ Workshop

My First Writers’ Workshop

Frankly, I was scared to go. School was decades behind me and I had a successful career as a magazine editor. Why put myself out there with a work of fiction I’d been fussing over for years? On the other hand, I had been fussing over that story for years on my own with no […]

September 26, 2017 | By | 1 Reply More
What Happens When An Unreliable Character Pops Into Your Head?

What Happens When An Unreliable Character Pops Into Your Head?

The short answer: you write his story. Here’s what happened to me. Last summer I was working on the first book in what would be a women’s fiction series at the request of my agent. You see, with the exception of one of my previous novels, my books were considered women’s fiction, even though some […]

September 25, 2017 | By | 3 Replies More
Hook Them with Hope

Hook Them with Hope

As writers, we’ve all heard that to keep a reader turning pages, we should hook them from the start. That much is true, but something else I’ve learned is that once you have their interest, you can also keep them hooked by giving them hope. Some of the common themes throughout my books are difficult […]

September 25, 2017 | By | 1 Reply More
Ten Things I Learned as a New Author

Ten Things I Learned as a New Author

While long-published authors put my meager knowledge to shame, there are some important lessons I learned as a new author. Needless to say, getting attention for a novel with all the competition in the publishing world is a tough assignment. Here are the most important things I learned during the process of publishing first novel. […]

September 22, 2017 | By | 1 Reply More
Dialogue – It’s Not A Conversation

Dialogue – It’s Not A Conversation

Dialogue charts a middle path between authenticity and art in writing. It reveals personality, and in this way it is closely linked to character. It advances the story, and in this way it is closely linked with plot. It adds a layer of verisimilitude, and in this way it is closely linked with setting. Excellent […]

September 22, 2017 | By | 3 Replies More
On Writing: Barbara Sissel

On Writing: Barbara Sissel

My children were born in a hospital in Lexington, Kentucky, but their first home was a state-issued, singlewide trailer on prison grounds some 70 miles east of Lexington in the foothills of the Appalachian Mountains. I was expecting my first son when I moved there with my then husband who had been promoted from prison […]

September 21, 2017 | By | Reply More
Forty-Two Year Old Women Don’t Have Adventures

Forty-Two Year Old Women Don’t Have Adventures

Forty-two year old women don’t have adventures. She’d just be more appealing if she were thinner, taller and younger. We’ll buy it if you made her 25 and sexier. Female protagonists should NOT be flawed.. Why does she eat so much? And that wine—seriously? Can’t you… No I can’t and no I didn’t. Those were […]

September 18, 2017 | By | 11 Replies More