I’m often asked why I choose to write mysteries, sometimes in a way that suggests I’m throwing away any writing talent I have. Mysteries are often deemed formulaic and crass, dealing with brutal crimes and unsavory characters and leading to a foregone conclusion, with only the “whodunit” in question.  Like all forms writing, mystery selections range from very bad to very good. I contend that the good is as good as any you’ll find. Here are few reasons I write—and…

While reading through my first draft, one thing has become abundantly clear: What I have here isn’t a draft at all. What I have is a really, really detailed outline.

Part of the reason for this is that my main goal while I was writing was to just finish. I really wanted to get from point A to point B and wrap things up. While I was working I just kept pushing forward, trying to think of events that could occur to keep the story moving and grow these characters, until they reach…

Anticipating….

Soft kicks against my womb,

a wholesome swelling,

a radiant glow,

the feeling of life growing inside.

Read more @http://rheteffects.wordpress.com/2013/05/19/emptiness-a-poem/

I am lactating

breasts repossessed by hungry

mouths.  I am switches

broken from bushes

to discipline fresh talkers,

fast behinds, hard heads.

Read more @ http://rheteffects.wordpress.com/2013/05/19/and-when-the-bough-breaks-poem/

We straddle Piggly

Wiggly crates nestled between

freshly sanded rockers.

We palm half-pint Masons,

moisture-slick, in gnarled grips.

We guzzle homemade whiskey

Read more http://rheteffects.wordpress.com/2013/05/19/the-smell-and-look-of-dysfunctional-a-poem/…

Do you write things that make people disagreeable? Are your views in contrast to others in your circle? What do you do when you write a blog post that upsets someone, someone who may not usually read your blog but suddenly hears about your post and goes out of his way to find the post and then to goes on to tell others. It's the day(s) that your viewer count goes through the roof. 

You get a phone call, or email, or some form of communication that says you are wrong. Wrong to…

Somehow I've fallen into the vlog trap, like a hapless traveler into quicksand. Help me, help me, help me. (It's 86 degrees.)

Amazing that some people in the tornado were saved by retreating to a bank vault. They should have pocketed diamonds and huge wads of cash while they were at it. Maybe life-lasting romances were seeded. I hope something interesting came of it. At least a good book with a big advance. Yeah, teller makes a killing in royalties, yeah!

What the heck…

My first book was edited by five people. Not everyone has that luxury. I think it’s a luxury because you get to see your work through different eyes – and you get to make the final call by reviewing the options and choosing the ones that make the most sense for your plot and characters.

I can honestly say that all five of my editors contributed something meaningful to the final published…

My first book was edited by five people. Not everyone has that luxury. I think it’s a luxury because you get to see your work through different eyes – and you get to make the final call by reviewing the options and choosing the ones that make the most sense for your plot and characters.

I can honestly say that all five of my editors contributed something meaningful to the final published…

You've just typed, "The End." Your first draft is completed. Perhaps you've been creating this masterpiece for several years, one scene at a time in between your day job and family obligations. Or perhaps you've just banged out this entire novel during the month of November. Now what? Here I offer a…

Liberated from Auschwitz in 1979

to live in this place,

walk down to see fish,

waterboat men, dimpling

miniscus.

rest amongst bird

song, tapping the wood.

know you have

a piece of mind,

however fleeting.

sbm.

Today's Wednesday Wonder is Mother Nature herself, who never fails to surprise and awe. Brown researchers have been studying a bat whose tongue uses blood flow to improve ability to feed. I've included a video showing the bat with the "hemodynamic nectar mop"; truly a wonder, this "nectar mop" has implications for medical technology design.…

The following piece, “Was Anne Boleyn a Feminist?” is based on material from my new book, The Creation of Anne Boleyn, available at all major booksellers.…

Unrequited Love  |  Nicole Korstanje

I loved him, but because I wasn’t in love with him, the way he was in love with me, he couldn’t be my friend anymore. I refused to understand his reasoning, although deep down I knew it was the right decision for him … read…

  Welcome Puffikins. It has been almost a full month since the NFL rookie draft occurred. I, Ms. Puff of Evanston, Illinois, like to take time to absorb what ACTUALLY happens in an NFL football draft; I don't like to "shoot from the hip" and regret it later.  Sometimes, I communicate this way in real life, but NFL rookies going through the draft process do not need that from writers and the sports media. They are 21-23 year old men starting out in the brutal, "eat-mud" world of the NFL. No…