Every summer, RWA – Romance Writer’s of America – has a huge conference. This year, the conference was held here in Atlanta and that’s where I spent a good portion of last week. It was tons of fun getting to meet up with writer friends from my chapters like the Young Adult Romance Writers (YARWA) […]
I just love contests. Who doesn’t like to win stuff? Especially M-O-N-E-Y. When I was a teen growing up in Fairport, NY the local radio station had the Song-of-the-Day contests. I’d listen all day, waiting for that one song to play. Then when it came on, I’d feverishly dial the phone number trying to get […]
I can’t believe it’s been over a month since I blogged. I’ve been spending some long overdue quality time with the family, getting my young adult novel ready for the freelance editor I’ve hired, taking a family vacation, managing a crazy work schedule and dealing with some upheaval in my daughter’s gymnastics life. You see, […]
Don’t you just love spring? We’ve had an unseasonably cool spring down here in Atlanta. However, I won’t complain because before I know it, I’ll be cursing a summer heat wave. Aside from my writing, I love to take photographs. I’m always snapping a photo of anything and everything. I can’t tell you how many […]
My mantra is “Life is too short to be miserable.” So when I saw this, I immediately fell in #SIGNAGE-LOVE. Am I right? Don’t you just LOVE this?!?! I’m thinking this will make a great high school graduation gift for my niece. Add some cash and a copy of Dr. Seuss’ Oh, the Places You’ll […]
Yesterday I had one of the proudest moments as a parent. My demure tween auditioned for a play!! This is the same child who can barely order a burrito at Moe’s and who doesn’t raise her hand in class. Late last year, she announced she wanted to try acting. I said cool and we talked […]
The splashes of colorful blooms sprouting in my yard are sure indicators that spring is almost here. Believe it or not, we’ve had daffodils blooming since early February. I love the pop of color the flowers provide against a dreary winter landscape. I pull out photos like these when I’m writing and need some inspiration. […]
In high school, I floated between a few “cliques.” I ran track, so was sort of a jock. I took honors classes, so was sort of a braniac and proudly sat with my artsy friends at lunch. I was definitely confident in my own skin and felt comfortable with who I hang with. I don’t […]
I never had Valentine’s Day until I was nineteen years old. It’s not due to some glamorous notion my parents had that Valentine’s Day was a “Hallmark Holiday” and chose to buck establishment. The reality was that I grew up in a religion – uhmmm cult — in which all holidays are pagan, therefore evil […]
For my latest young adult novel, I needed to give my heroine a hobby with some backstory. I’ve always had an affinity of all things celestial, and thought it would be fun to research, so I gave her, drumroll please… astronomy. My first in-depth glimpse at the stars was in elementary school when we took […]
