Wake of Echoes

A few of Mom's labels My mom has Alzheimer's disease and we're losing her too quickly.  What began as basic forgetfulness has changed too quickly over the years since her diagnosis. We enjoy moments of clarity with Mom, but other times she doesn't know our names or our faces. She can no longer hold a pencil, cook a meal or read a book. We know that time will soon gobble up what is left of her memories. It is a heartbreaking thing to experience, as many of you know. But long before Mom began to lose her memory, she started labeling things in her house. She wrote dates on the back of photos, saved letters and drawings from her kids and grandkids with Post-It notes on the back: "love this!" or "Drew, age 3." She kept report cards and concert programs, circling our names, commenting on what we sang or what our teachers said about us. She kept a Thanksgiving journal: how big the turkey was and how much she paid for it, what the weather was like, wh...

It's November first again, the official start to National Novel Writing Month, also known as NaNoWriMo. Are you already feeling the pressure to hit those daily word-count goals? Create something magical? Write that masterpiece? Get up, Get up, pressure, pressure... Paint the scene for me, Paint it bright and clear... So, maybe Bastille isn't talking about the pressure to write a great novel in their song "Lethargy" but, nonetheless, it plays in my head when I sit down in front of a blank page. So how do we keep going when we're weighed down with pressure, almost before we've even begun?  Here are my tips for tackling your writing goals, whether you participate in NaNoWriMo or not: 1. Write Now. Some people will make excuses. Others will write. Those excuses might be valid, by the way, and there are many great writers who completely ignore NaNoWriMo. That's fine. But if YOU want to participate, then don't make excuses. Go Write. 2. ...

Please enjoy my latest blog post, written by an author friend who wished to remain anonymous: Want to stay healthy? Youthful? Full of energy? The first step is writing that book review! Okay, okay. So I'm really bad at writing click-bait headlines. (And I can't even commit to a good falsehood for, like, five seconds!) But, I'm kind of desperate. Because, you know that author who keeps begging you to review her book? (Me.) She doesn't just want your reviews. She needs them. (Also me.) Seriously. Not to put too fine a point on it, but here's the truth: She will never, ever be able to make a living as a writer if you don't post that review. Here's why. Even though she has spent years writing quality novels that readers seem to enjoy, and even though... She spends hours each week marketing Her reviews are good She advertises She promotes on social media She maintains a blog She builds a mailing list She keeps writing more books She hosts g...

I'm a failure. A big fat failure. I'm so sick about my failure, I write this post distracted. Don't expect pithy sentences or clever metaphors. Expect cliches, danging participles and archaic expressions. I'm too upset to even try to impress you. Yes, it's a real thing. Why am I a failure and what are my excuses? Read on, dear reader. It's all because November is over, which means National Novel Writing Month, otherwise known as NaNoWRiMo , (the silliest acronym ever created by people who are supposed to be good at this stuff), is also over. And I have failed to reach any NaNoWriMo victories. Any! I know I shouldn't take it so hard. Failing at NaNoWriMo doesn't mean I'm a failure at writing. I wrote two novels before I had ever heard of NaNoWriMo. I wrote my third manuscript (currently being shopped to publishing houses by my hardworking agent ... stay tuned!) without participating. And yeah, "participating" is a...

I am so excited to share this news: A Place Between Breaths was awarded an Honorable Mention for genre fiction in Writer's Digest's most recent Self-Published Book competition. Nearly 5,500 books were entered in the competition and only ten books were honored for genre fiction (that combines romance, suspense, thrillers, sci fi, memoirs, mysteries, westerns, etc. -- in other words, a very competitive field). Each books was judged in six categories*, with a high score of five points. A Place Between Breaths was awarded a FIVE in every category! Here's what the judge who read it had to say (SPOILER WARNING: A minor spoiler from the prologue is in the second paragraph): I loved this story! It is a well-written, suspenseful, crime-investigation novel that also highlights the problems of border crossings, the Mexican drug cartels, dirty DEA officers and police officers as well as their truly courageous counterparts. In addition, I loved that you began with the vie...

H ave you ever seen a movie where some guy hires a hit on his enemy then changes his mind only to learn that the hit man will not be called off? Usually, it’s either because the hit man is too “professional” to fail on the follow through. Either that, or he’s a sociopath who loves any excuse to kill. Sometimes,when I set a deadline, I feel like I’ve hired that hit man. The twist in my plot? He’s a friend of mine. I really like my deadline. He motivates me. He pushes me to be accountable, to produce timely results. Friends do that, right? But sometimes, that motivation takes a scary turn. My deadline starts to seem ill planned, so I pick up my burner phone and try to renegotiate. “I can’t be called off,” my deadline warns me. I start to think that I’ve somehow been drawn into my own hit. That when all is said and done, my deadline is going to be the death of ME. Last year when I started writing my third novel, I planned carefully. I wrote character profiles and a plot out...

“I can remember the frustration of not being able to talk.  I knew what I wanted to say, but I could not get the words out,  so I would just scream.”  —Temple Grandin How can you be heard if you can't speak?  How can you tell your story if people don't understand your language?  How will the neurotypical world know what living on the spectrum is really like from day to day, if we don't show them? From the day my son was diagnosed with Autism, one of my biggest concerns was whether people would take the time to understand him.  So when C hicken Soup for the Soul announced last year that they were publishing a book of personal stories about kids with Autism and Asperger's, I knew I wanted to be part of it. CHICKEN SOUP FOR THE SOUL: Raising Kids on the Spectrum hits bookstore shelves today, marking the sixth annual World Autism Awareness Day and the beginning of Autism Awareness Month.  My story, "The Art of Hope," can be found o...

photo from Pinterest boards Can you find  DREAM OF ME  on one of these bookshelves?   Of course not, and you even know what you are looking for. As of today, Amazon lists 1,414,078 titles for its Kindle store alone.  That accounts for far more books than you see on these shelves.  It’s no wonder that a novel like DREAM OF ME is invisible to the average reader. WORD OF MOUTH is still the book reader’s most valuable friend, even in this age of modern communication.  Luckily, word of mouth now includes every social media venue available to us online. So here’s a check list of things anyone can do to help get the word out about  DREAM OF ME -- or any other favorite Indie book .   Most of them cost nothing but a little time.  I really appreciate everything my friends have already done to support me.  If you choose to do more, that is just frosting on my gluten-free cupcake. :)  Thanks so much! 1.  Pos...

I know you. You hate stereotypes in fiction.   That’s what I say too. Usually, it’s the truth. The skinny heroine, the leading man who owns a mansion. The overbearing mother-in-law, the drunken stepfather. The husband who sleeps with his secretary, the strung-out rock star. But I’ve come to realize that sometimes I find comfort in the stereotype. Some characters are not meant to stand out, but to fit in. Sometimes a character needs to say what is expected, do what is cliché. Every once in a while, vanilla is the right flavor. And even though real people are as unique as their thumbprints, we don’t know them all well enough to see where they differ from “the norm.” We don’t know the quirks of everyone among our acquaintance, much less all those we have marginal contact with – and I’m pretty sure we don’t want to! (I think this is why complexity in every  character can make a story feel just as contrived as those without any.) So when do we use stereotype and...

Jane Austen finished writing her final complete novel, PERSUASION , 195 years ago this month.  It’s my favorite among her novels.  I feel it more than her others – the pain Anne Elliot feels.  Imagining that she’s made a mistake that cannot be undone, she holds her pain in check, always ready to serve others, to grieve privately, but to wish she had not been so easily persuaded when she was young. I can’t help wondering how much of herself Miss Austen poured into Anne’s character.  Perhaps not as a copy of her experience, but an imprint of her own heartache, pieced together into another form that has become one of literature’s most loved characters. Many have speculated about the romantic inspiration for Miss Austen.  Whom did she love?  Was she loved in return?  What were her regrets? Histories have been dissected, correspondence examined; we read between the lines and speculate.  Books are written, movies filmed.  We wrap them ...

I’m feeling a bit churlish, a bit negative – probably because I’ve been fighting a headache all week and losing.  When my head feels upside down and inside out, sometimes my thoughts follow suit.  I’m not Alice at the tea party; I’m the Mad Hatter.  Keep that in mind as you read my Writer’s Top Ten List*. Don’t write.  Talk about writing; fantasize about writing.  You would write if you had time. While you are fantasizing about being a writer, imagine the fame you will achieve.  Think of the buckets of cash you’ll make.  Plan to quit your day job.  Spend plenty of time imagining your story on the big screen too.  (I’ll bet Brad Pitt would fight Tom Cruise over the leading role.  ( Squeal! )) Don’t waste your time reading.  Especially avoid the classics.  Plots from movies and television are great fodder for story ideas. Don’t worry about grammar, spelling and punctuation.  (That’s what Spell Check is for!)  A...