Beginning writers often struggle with point of view; even more accomplished writers can slip into their author voice when they’re not paying attention, or neglect to draw their narrative deep into the POV of their character. Point of view affects storytelling as well as craft, and in some ways is the most basic part of writing: point of view is… Read More

Production: Mowing the lawn. Production Capacity: Maintaining the lawnmower…so that you can mow the lawn in the future. I’ve been reading Steven Covey’s 7 Habits of Highly Effective People, which I strongly recommend, but only when you’re ready to have your life critiqued, blown apart into tiny bits, and stitched back together. (I had to stop after Habit #2. You’re… Read More

Back from a 2 week social media break? Check Perspective, adjusted? Check Ready to blog again? Yes, please, thank you. Stuff that happened while I was away: Made some scones. Did some grilling. Met Amanda Hocking. Met Lisa Cross.  (As well as hung out with fellow Indelibles Megg Jensen and Karly Kirkpatrick.) (Look for giveaways of these signed books coming… Read More

Power Up Your Brain, from Big Think I’m a huge fan of Big Think, and I click through to read almost all their posts. This one about Powering Up Your Brain nudged me a little further down a thought-path I’ve been treading for a while: what can I do to foster my creativity and boost my writerly productivity? I’ve tried… Read More

The Faery Swap by Susan Kaye Quinn, Draft One, Critiqued Following Roni Loren’s advice, I’ll be endeavoring to use more of my own pictures and appropriate Common Use pictures, rather than trolling the internet for images. A good critique partner is honest, will tell you when you repeat your repeats, repetitively, and won’t be afraid to tell you that a… Read More

Every Tuesday 9pm EST, the Indelibles host #INDIEchat – a twitter gathering where we discuss all things indie publishing. Each week is a different topic, and we’ve had lots of interesting guests (chat transcripts are posted the day after). I’m extra excited for tonight’s chat, as our guest is my latest indie author-hero Hugh Howey and our topic is Short… Read More

 Innocent Kitten Writers, Beware Writers have always had to be wary of people trying to scam them, predators that live off your dreams of having your story in print and read by the masses. Preditors and Editors has been been around since 1997, warning writers away from unscrupulous agents and editors, and Writers Beware has been maintaining an “extensive database… Read More

Number One Rule of Writing Short Fiction:  Satisfy the reader (i.e. have a complete story). I knew this rule already, but was reminded again of it by the Underground Book Reviews in their cool series on reviewing short fiction. Make All Your Words Count A really well written, short, crisp first chapter uses all the same rules that a good… Read More

I have a couple published short stories already, but as I was preparing to write several more, I decided I should get serious about studying the form. First step: read a bunch of shorts (as they are not normally my preferred form). Second: analyze what makes them work. Third step: write. Seems simple, right? Short Stories are Just Like Novels… Read More

Short Fiction Meets Ebook: a marriage of form and function that’s exploding with potential (at least in my mind). When I embarked on a reading blitz of short fiction this summer, I didn’t expect to become completely addicted to the form. In the span of a few weeks, I’ve read classic SF from my youth (Bicentennial Man), a literary tale… Read More

Today I have Ethan Coffee, author of Fables of the Flag, for a chat about publishing middle grade indie novels. I’ve talked before about how challenging it can be for indie authors to reach their middle grade audience, but lately I’ve also been hearing whispers of some MG indie authors finding success. This is a topic that keeps shifting with the times, so… Read More

Open Minds is the Featured Post on Laurie’s Thoughts and Reviews today! There you will find: An Excerpt of Open Minds from Chapter 4 Character Interview with Raf (takes places between the Mind Games prequel and the beginning of Open Minds) Giveaway of Mind Games and Open Minds (ecopy, ends August 4th) Hop over to check it out!

I’m guest posting over on the Indelibles blog today: Don’t Be Overwhelmed Filled with demotivational posters and a little bit of inspiration for your weekend…

Announcing SEAWEED by Elle Strauss! A teen swim athlete discovers a merfolk world that threatens to keep her out of the ocean forever. Dori Seward can’t wait to get out of Eastcove, a sleepy fishing village on the border of New Brunswick and Maine. She bides her time by hanging out with friends, attending swim club, and holding her biggest… Read More

“Kindle Direct Publishing has quickly taken on astonishing scale – more than a thousand KDP authors now each sell more than a thousand copies a month, some have already reached hundreds of thousands of sales, and two have already joined the Kindle Million Club.” – Jeff Bezos, CEO of Amazon, open letter to shareholders on April 13, 2012 Thanks to… Read More

Today is INDIEpendence Day, when we celebrate indie authors by recommending indie books we’ve read that ROCKED (note: this is an Indelibles sponsored event, so no Indelibles’ books are included; this is a Pay It Forward kind of thing). You may have heard of Hugh Howey’s recent rise as a self-publishing star when he sold film rights to his indie… Read More

Cheri Lasota, fellow Indelible and author of Artemis Rising, stopped by today to talk about her book, which is free today! Take it away, Cheri… YA Artemis Rising FREE on Kindle June 27-29! Thrilled to pop by to chat a bit about “Ole Arty.” Many of you may not be too familiar with my work as compared to some of… Read More

This is what my conscious mind thinks that it looks like. (Thank you to Dierdra for the lovely award!) This is what my subconscious mind looks like. My brain works like this: bits of thoughts, ideas, feelings, and impressions are constantly being fed into it, then every once in a while, the amorphous cloud of junk in my head coalesces… Read More

The first time I thought about how characters interact with setting was when I was reading Donald Maass’ The Breakout Novel. He points out that setting is a character and that breakout novels use this to their maximum advantage. I already had intuited this, having a work background in science and engineering and a literary background in science fiction. Sometimes… Read More

When you think of “indie” or “self-published” novels (yes, I know some people don’t use those terms interchangeably, but I do), what image is conjured in your mind? I hope your answer is “high-quality, value-priced stories that break boundaries, crosses genres, and populate the bestseller lists in increasing numbers,” but there are many self-published works that do not meet that… Read More

Last week on Critique Wednesday, we talked about sweeping story analysis and how it provides some of the structure for your story. Today, I’m zooming in the microscope to look at micro-craft analysis, and how it’s the glue that holds your story together. “How you begin a sentence determines its clarity; how you end it determines its rhythm and grace.”… Read More

Today I’m chatting with Becca Campbell, author of Foreign Identity, a science fiction New Adult novel published earlier this month. New Adult is a classification of book just a step up in age from “young adult” and generally has characters in their early twenties. First a little about Becca’s book, and then we’ll dive into some writerly conversation. Check out… Read More

Stacey is one of my fellow Indelibles writers, and I’m excited to announce the publication of her sixth (!) book in the Day of Sacrifice series. Many indie authors are finding that longer series of shorter works (short novels or novellas), like Stacey’s, are the key to success in self-publishing, and I’m considering going that route myself for the next… Read More

Writers At Work picture credit Analyzing a novel is like being in the Blind Men and the Elephant story: not only are there different ways to view a novel, but in seeing it through only one perspective, we can lose sight of the whole experience of the novel as an integrated beast with a long rope-like tail, smooth ivory tusks, and thick leathery… Read More

$2.99 on sale for $0.99 I’m running an ad [now live] with the absolutely delightful folks at Kindle Fire Department – seriously, the lady who runs their customer service is named Gadget and looks like this: How can you not love her? Since I’m running an ad (for Open Minds, but also Closed Hearts), I’m temporarily dropping the price of… Read More

My friend and fellow Indelible, Heather McCorkle, is stopping by today, touring her new release, To Ride A Puca (ancient Irish Druids = awesome; just sayin’). Take it away, Heather … It’s the last leg of my tour and I’m dropping by to celebrate the birth of my new book, To Ride A Puca. *waves to Susan and all her… Read More

Most of the time, I talk about young adult or middle grade books. But my SCBWI (Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators) writer’s group includes a fair number of picture book writers and illustrators, who awe me with their skills. I’m one of those people who thinks picture books (and poetry) are the hardest to write of all children’s… Read More

One of the great pleasures of being part of the writer community is getting to meet amazingly talented people – and not just writers! Turns out these talented people I get to call my friends are also artists and musicians and creators of all stripes. My friend Vic Caswell has started her own freelance illustration company, Sketcher Girl Studios, and… Read More

I recently had a wonderful, erudite email discussion with my writer friend Bryan Russell about self-publishing, traditional-publishing, craft, marketing, and a zillion other fascinating things. Bryan is almost painfully brilliant, so I love engaging him in witty banter (wherein he provides the wit and I try to banter). One idea that lodged itself in my brain was that self-publishers may… Read More

Surrender by Elana Johnson is out today (the sequel to her debut novel Possession)! About SURRENDER: Forbidden love, intoxicating power, and the terror of control…  Raine has always been a good girl. She lives by the rules in Freedom. After all, they are her father’s rules: He’s the Director. It’s because of him that Raine is willing to use her talent—a… Read More

I’m not going to BEA (BookExpo America) this week,  but I almost feel like I’m there! Two Reasons: 1) Open Minds (along with a host of other Indelible’s books) will be at BEA! If you’re there, we’re on a shelf in the New Title Showcase, Booth CPQUAD1: Click here to see map BEA Listing for Open Minds If you go,… Read More

The final day of the Closed Hearts blog tour! Thanks to all the Book Bloggers who are touring Closed Hearts! (Book Bloggers Are Made of Awesome) Today … (make sure to check out my insidious plot at the bottom) Open Minds was picked as an “Underground Favorite”  for the Underground Review’s Summer Reading List! Check out the other picks here. Giveaways/Reviews (ecopies of Closed Hearts – or Open Minds if you haven’t read… Read More

Yet more fun on the Closed Hearts blog tour – in particular, today I had fun creating a fake twitter conversation with my characters! Thanks to all the Book Bloggers who are touring Closed Hearts! (Book Bloggers Are Made of Awesome) Today … Reviews and Giveaways  (ecopies of Closed Hearts – or Open Minds if you haven’t read it – plus Mind Games) Bookworm Lisa Forever Lost in Books… Read More

We’re rolling along with more fun on the Closed Hearts blog tour. I’ll post the schedule each day so you can peruse and see if there’s something of interest for you to pop over and check out. Thanks to all the Book Bloggers who are touring Closed Hearts! (Book Bloggers Are Made of Awesome) Today … Reviews and/or Giveaways  (ecopies of Closed Hearts – or Open Minds if… Read More

Wow, people! You rocked my socks on the Closed Hearts launch, and now that we’re back from the long weekend, Closed Hearts is on tour. Book Blog tours are really about getting a work in front of new readers by having someone else (Book Bloggers) review and post tidbits (interviews/excerpts/bonus content) about the novel. My blog audience (that’s YOU) has already… Read More

My original title for this post was: The Incredible Lightness of Being Indie (I’m telling you just cuz I like it. But the new title is more descriptive. Ah, marketing wins again.) Let us set aside the self-pub vs. trad-pub flame wars, the debates about the merits of the DOJ lawsuit, and whether Amazon will or will not become a… Read More

A huge CYBER-HUG and THANK YOU to everyone that posted, tweeted, facebooked, and generally helped spread the word about the release of Closed Hearts yesterday! The sweet things that people were saying about the books (and me! you guys!) were seriously overwhelming. The blogosphere rocks my world!! Without further ado, on to the prizes! Mr. Rafflecopter has picked the following… Read More

Book Two of the Mindjack Trilogy When you control minds, only your heart can be used against you. Eight months ago, Kira Moore revealed to the mindreading world that mindjackers like herself were hidden in their midst. Now she wonders if telling the truth was the right choice after all. As wild rumors spread, a powerful anti-jacker politician capitalizes on mindreaders’… Read More

May is a banner month for new releases from the Indelibles! So we’re holding a giveaway where you can win an ereader (Nook or Kindle, winner’s choice) loaded with copies of new Indelibles releases (including Mind Games and Closed Hearts). If you’re clicking through as part of the Beach Bash, my secret word is “more” and the next stop on… Read More

Even when you’re self-publishing, there are a lot of steps between “Finish Manuscript” and “Publish Novel” – namely copyediting, typo-sleuthing, formatting, more typo-sleuthing, and finally publishing. This is part of producing a professional level product. At the same time, it’s important (to me at least) to keep writing through the release of a new novel (and pretty much all the… Read More

I’m excited to announce the re-release of my short story Mind Games as a single! Raf, a regular mindreader, is in love with Kira, the only girl in school who can’t read minds. Raf struggles to keep his thoughts about her private, but secrets are something that only zeros like Kira can keep. As he works up the nerve to… Read More

This is probably going to embarrass Adam Heine, but I’m doing it anyway. (I hope you can forgive me, Adam.) In celebration of The Bookshelf Muse’s launch of their new The Emotion Thesaurus, I’m participating in their Random Act of Kindness BLITZ. Adam and I live on opposite sides of the world. We’ve never met in real life and probably… Read More

I love promoting my fellow Indelible authors because I know their work is great, they’re forward-thinking Indie authors taking this new paradigm by storm, and they’re my friends. Win all around! The month of May is seeing a host of Indelibles releases, and today, I’m helping kick off the tour for Lisa Nowak’s YA contemporary novel Driven! The last thing on… Read More

     Obviously, I have the most talented and wildly creative readers! Just look at these ideas for… Mindjack#3! Even better, the tongue-in-cheek answers… In case you can’t tell from the word cloud,  my Working Title for Mindjack#3 is …  FREE SOULS Which TWO people guessed! (Bravo! And so many people guessed very closely!) And the signed copies of Closed Hearts… Read More

Help me name Mindjack#3! Open Minds had its title before I knew the book was about mindreading – back when it was just a concept about a boy who was a touch empath (the name stayed, but everything else changed). Closed Hearts acquired its title the nanosecond that I decided to write a trilogy. But Mindjack#3? It took me about… Read More

I am SO EXCITED to spread the word about my friend and fellow Indelible author Laura Pauling’s debut novel A Spy Like Me. The book is cute, funny, delightful – just like her. My 13 yo son Dark Omen gobbled it up!  “It was very humorous, from the infamous pastry chef to the skittles incident.” – Dark Omen’s review I… Read More

I’m posting on the Indelibles site today on The Care and Feeding of Your Creativity.  I hope you’ll pop over! **** And don’t forget to sign up for the Virtual Launch Party for Closed Hearts!

I’m guest posting over at YA Indie today on Social Media and Marketing: Ask the Right Question. I hope you’ll hop over to check it out! **** And don’t forget to sign up for the Virtual Launch Party for Closed Hearts!

The Indelibles are a group of 25 Indie authors that rock my world every day – they’re fun, they’re funny, they’re talented … and they make the indie journey so much easier. I encourage everyone who  is considering indie publishing to find a like-minded group of authors to join (or make your own!) – just because you’re indie, doesn’t mean… Read More

Book Two of the Mindjack Trilogy When you control minds, only your heart can be used against you. Eight months ago, Kira Moore revealed to the mindreading world that mindjackers like herself were hidden in their midst. Now she wonders if telling the truth was the right choice after all. As wild rumors spread, a powerful anti-jacker politician capitalizes on mindreaders’… Read More

…and my 13 yo son was pretty pumped about this indie YA novel! Check out his review here. Happy Sunday! Stop back tomorrow for the cover reveal of Closed Hearts! 🙂

I had a brain spark a few weeks ago about how indie novels are like the dime novels of the past: inexpensive, entertaining, loved by the masses, reviled by the elites (who later invented the mass market paperback in response). I lobbed that idea out to my Indelibles sisters, who quickly pointed out I wasn’t the first to think of this…. Read More

Thanks to everyone who entered my SHARE A BOOK Giveaway. I loved seeing all the people you would give the book to! Here are the 5 WINNERS of a paperback copy of Open Minds: Sheri Larsen:  “It would be an honor to gift it to someone else. Me thinking high school library…” Britney Wyatt: “I’d love to share it with… Read More

Return to Eden, the third book in G.P. Ching’s The Soulkeepers Series releases (officially) April 1st in eBook and Paperback.  To celebrate, G.P. is going on a virtual tour.  You’ll see reviews, interviews, and never before seen video guest posts of G.P. answering some of your most pressing questions.   Plus, you can enter to win some fabulous giveaways! Here’s… Read More

I believe strongly that word-of-mouth is the way that most books are discovered by readers. This giveaway takes that one step further: it’s a SHARE A BOOK Giveaway. Here’s how it works: FREE BOOKS: I give away 5 copies of Open Minds (paperback) GIVE IT AWAY: Each winner agrees to GIVE AWAY their copy (please read it first!). They can… Read More

Dark Omen has his review of Angelfall up, continuing his month of reading and reviewing Indie YA Books. Angelfall has been on my list to read since it came out last summer, one of the first flush of YA indie books to run up the charts. When Susan Ee visited my group blog Scribbler’s Cove to talk about her experience,… Read More

I’m joining YA Confidential, Reader Girlz and Figment in celebrating  Support Teen Lit Day with  ROCK THE DROP. Wherein we anonymous drop YA books around for people to “discover.” #awesome I’ll be dropping my book (of course) and a few others snagged from my bookshelf, as well as posting pictures of the drops on the readergirlz Facebook page. I may… Read More

I’ve posted over at Scribbler’s Cove on Emotional Structure in Your Novel. Hence, the title. **** In other news, I finished writing Closed Hearts. On Saturday, I sent Closed Hearts off to the copyeditor: the beginning of the end of the novel belonging to the writer, and the start of the story belonging to readers. If the comments on FB… Read More

Will teens read self-published books? The answer, based on my personal experience, is a definitive yes. Yet it was still a surprise when my 13yo son, Dark Omen (aka Adam Quinn), asked if I could recommend some indie/self-published books for him to read. Making a recommendation was more difficult than you might expect, given that I am indie published myself, belong to… Read More

Novel, Finished (Almost) I’m almost there. Almost finished with Book #2. Almost ready to send it off to the copyeditor. But … not quite. 🙂 So, I’m taking a week off from blogging to polish the words, tie up the loose ends, and double check my slang. I’ll be back next week. In the meantime, you can make your own… Read More

Fellow Indelible Cindy Hogan’s sequel Protected is out, Book 2 in the Watched series. Check it out! Christy has the guy. The terrorists have been taken care of, and she has a shot at becoming popular. Life is GREAT! Until they find her. Now she must run and leave behind everything she knows, including herself.  Praise for Protected “From bullies… Read More

Kathryn Rusch has a brilliant article where she uses a scarcity vs. abundance analogy to describe the publishing industry: most every writer, publisher, agent, editor, reviewer was raised in a scarcity model, where book shelf space was limited, publishing contracts few, and rarity was equated to quality. But in today’s reality, (virtual) book shelf space is unlimited, anyone can publish, and… Read More

**** FIRST, the winners! Rafflecopter sez… Catching Fire and Mockingjay go to: DianeC Hunger Games magazine and necklace go to: Kendra Thanks to everyone who stopped by and entered! **** Hunger Games Movie Review (no spoilers) I lived in fear that the movie would not live up to my planet-sized expectations, and thankfully that fear was not realized. The cinematography… Read More

***** FIRST Looking for the Spring Cleaning Giveaway?  Enter to win Catching Fire and Mockingjay as well as a Hunger Games magazine and necklace! ENTER HERE ***** Everyone wants to write the next Hunger Games, right? (Or possibly just have the wild success of a Hunger Games type book.) (BTW, check out the Hunger Games virtual Capitol Tour. OMG *dies with the waiting*)… Read More

***** FIRST Looking for the Spring Cleaning Giveaway?  Enter to win Catching Fire and Mockingjay as well as a Hunger Games magazine and necklace! ENTER HERE ***** What makes a bestselling novel into a cultural phenomenon? It. Was. Mobbed. Suzanne and me (and 600 other fans) at the Mockingjay signing.  It started with Harry Potter. Then came Twilight. And now Hunger… Read More

It’s Hunger Games Week!!! (make sure to click “more” at the bottom of the post to enter the giveaway) I cannot wait to see this. I’ve got our t-shirts ready … One for me, one for Dark Omen. I’ve got our tickets … Dark Omen is too practical to go to the midnight showing. I need to work on that… Read More

Check back on Monday for a week of Hunger Games celebration … including a giveaway! In the meantime, you can check out my  Bookstore of the Future  or  find your Hunger Games Name! Happy Weekend!

I went in to one of my local Jr. High’s to sign some books (they had ordered a copy for each of the writing teachers, plus one for the library), and came away with this: Thank you notes from my author visit. Buried treasures within the notes: (These are going on the wall of coolness by my computer.) (Not pictured:… Read More

Find the Untold Tales Here Me: Thanks for stopping by on your tour for Untold Tales! As we talked about before, you are a hybrid author, having both traditionally published your As The World Dies Trilogy with Tor (Book Three SIEGE coming out April 24th), as well as self-publishing your other works, including Untold Tales, a collection of short stories… Read More

And hence there is no Monday post. I leave you with this piece of awesome: Click here to find out your Hunger Games name and which District you would have been tribute for.(Also how you died.) Posting will resume when I can contemplate foods that aren’t consumed through a straw.

The Indelibles group has made my debut into the Indie Arena immeasureably more successful, less stressful, and just downright fun. I literally chat daily with these amazing ladies and we all learn so much from each other during our journey through publishing. If you are considering Indie Publishing, please seek out like-minded people to join forces with. It will make… Read More

FIRST: WINNERS! Winner of an ecopy of Open Minds, in celebration of Heather McCorkle’s Channeler’s Choice release: Sarah Winner(s) of an ecopy of Fireseed One by Catherine Stine: Shannon O’Donnell and Stephen Tremp Yay! And Happy Reading to all! ********* moving on ********* Turns out there’s a name for what I’m doing (going Indie for my YA novels while also… Read More

Fellow Indelible Heather McCorkle releases the sequel to The Secret of Spruce Knoll: Channeler’s Choice  Legendary warrior or normal teenager: which would you choose? (Um, legendary warrior, of course. Wait, was I not supposed to answer that?) (Dang, now I need to read the book!) Channeler’s Choice, the sequel to earth-conscious urban fantasy, The Secret Of Spruce Knoll: With her parents’… Read More

I am so excited to be part of Catherine Stine’s Blog Tour for her YA science fiction novel, Fireseed One!  You can check out the other stops on the tour (including interviews, reviews and giveaways) and Catherine is giving away two ecopies of her book, but first… a bit about Fireseed One! What if only your worst enemy could help you… Read More

Today I’m guest posting over on Kai Strand’s blog  about Leaps of Faith, or Not Knowing What’s in the Next Fishbowl where I talk about taking the leap into being a serious writer, and how that terrified me more than being strapped to a 10 megaton bomb (otherwise known as the Space Shuttle). A REVIEW THAT I DROOL OVER Open Minds… Read More

$2.99 $0.99 Alternate Title: Open Minds is on sale! (two days only) One of the agonizing great things about self-publishing is that you get to set your own price. And not just once! You can change your price as much as you like (whether this is a good thing to do, is another matter)! When I first published Open Minds,… Read More

I’ve talked before about how hard it can be for middle grade authors to go indie … but I cheer on like crazy the ones that take that leap. The lovely and talented Elle Strauss – fellow Indelibles author of the YA novel Clockwise – has jumped with both feet and has graciously stopped by for an interview. First, her… Read More

********* FIRST: The winner of the signed copy of  Beth Revis’s A Million Suns is … Ciara Knight (author of  the Battle for Souls series)! Thanks to everyone who shared their favorite author crush! ********* Sweat Equity: Not Just For Houses You put a ton of time into writing your novel. You and/or your publisher put up-front money into turning… Read More

I have author crushes. The kind that transform me from a well-educated middle-aged articulate woman into a gibbering, incoherent fangirl mess. #itsawesome The Breathless Tour (Marie Lu, Beth Revis, Jessica Spotswood, Andrea Cremer) was coming to my local Indie Bookstore (Anderson’s in Naperville) and I was beyond excited to finally meet Beth Revis in person! Backstory: I’ve been blogger-friends with… Read More

I just thought this was cool. These are all books. What you’re looking at is essentially a way to visualize the “also boughts” list on Amazon. Here’s a closer view: If you have a book for sale, or just want to see books that are similar to a favorite novel, try it out. Also: it moves.

The In His Eyes Anthology with sixteen romantic short stories by Indelibles authors is HERE! The anthology includes my short story prequel to Open Minds, called Mind Games:  Raf, a regular mindreader, is in love with Kira, the only girl in school who can’t read minds. Raf struggles to keep his thoughts about her private, but secrets are something that only zeros like Kira… Read More

What’s more romantic than a sizzling love story? NOTHING!! If you’re in search of the perfect Valentine’s Day gift, look no further.  Whether you gift her a collection of e-books or wrap one special paperback up in pretty paper with a single red rose on top,  score BIG POINTS on Valentine’s Day with these Indelibles’ novels (or get them for… Read More

Kari Boardman over at From The TBR Pile has a lovely review of Open Minds, as well as a guest post from me on Where Ideas Come From: A Mindreading World (which you may remember from the Open Minds launch party). I also have a post at Scribbler’s Cove on Finding Your Writer Vision. If that’s not enough, Jeff and Terry… Read More

(Draft Two of Closed Hearts Complete) (three days early, even) (which just goes to show what you can accomplish when you write by the numbers)

Fellow Indelibles author S.R. Johannes is releasing her middle grade novel ON THE BRIGHT SIDE today! Here’s the blurb: As if the devil’s food cake at her wake and the white fat pants she’s stuck wearing for eternity weren’t bad enough, fourteen year-old Gabby is quick to discover that Cirrus, the main rung of Heaven, is a far cry from… Read More

Indie Publishing Chat TONIGHT Have questions about Indie Publishing? Want to know what works, what doesn’t, and how successful Indie authors view the changes in the industry? The Indelibles are hosting our first Indie Writer Chat! When: Tonight, 1/18, 8-9 EST Where: On the Indelibles Blog (you will log in with FB or Twitter) What: Bring Your Own Questions –… Read More

I’ve always been a writer that sets lots of goals (heck, I’ve always been a PERSON that sets a lot of goals), but those goals tended to be flexible and non-numeric: write a chapter a day, finish this draft by the end of the month, write three books this year (ok, that had numbers, but they’re small). Being an ex-engineer,… Read More

I’m guest posting over at Dystopian Domination (is that a great name, or what?), talking about my take on dystopian literature as thought experiments that help us carve out a better future. HOP OVER to check out the post and enter to win an ebook copy of Open Minds!

PEOPLE!  Sorry to shout, but I am so excited to (finally!) talk about this amazing group of writers. I’ve spent the last couple months chatting and working with these up-and-coming Indie authors. I’m honored to be a part of such a talented group! As you hop through, you’ll meet all 25 Indelible authors, each of whom is giving away their books… Read More

It’s that time of year again. Much has changed in the publishing world since my Writer’s Mission Statement 2.0 last year, but my Mission Statement is surprisingly flexible in meeting those changes.* Mission Statement 2.0 (and 3.0)To leverage my background in science, engineering, politics and life, to create compelling stories and characters that pose moral questions to young readers and… Read More

Did you find a new Kindle, Nook, or iPad under the Christmas tree? Browse the Indie Book Fair and find a new ebook to break in that reader! These great new books were released Nov 2011-Feb 2012 by Indie authors, priced right so that taking a chance on a new author doesn’t have to break your wallet. (Check out my… Read More

Some posts this year resonated with readers (that’s you!) more than others. Here’s the year’s most “favoritest” posts (yes, it’s a word!). Creativity – How Does It Die? Emotional Structure Validation The Secret Ingredient: Confidence Hiding Stuff in Broad Daylight Ten Things I Believe Taking the Road Less Traveled Taking The Road Less Traveled Redux Four (Nasty) Lies We Tell Ourselves… Read More