As my book, Note to Self: A Seven-Step Path to Gratitude and Growth approached its one year birthday, I decided to try—again—to get a BookBub deal. I’d tried twice before to no avail. ONE First I read Betty Hafner’s post,...

“Dreaming. Dreaming of dancing. A slow dance. Swaying.” I’m not sure what prompted me to write those words in an e-mail to a friend within days of my release from the hospital after my brain surgeries. The format didn’t...

I’m fascinated by how people become who they are. Like the time I had the pleasure of being in the same Target checkout line as the disgruntled lady who was oozing of anger for everyone around her to see, feel, and hear. I immediately began to...

I decided to go into meditation specifically for the purpose of asking the Universe for guidance on the challenges I was experiencing with writing my book. It had been a long and demanding journey—translating personal spiritual...

Last week I got the kind of email I’ve come to anticipate, having worked in women’s book publishing for the past 13 years. Sometimes the subject line implies the content: “Do you publish men?” Occasionally these are neutral...

Writing groups for me break down into the ways I communicate: face-to-face, by telephone and/or email, and social media, the cybersphere.  All provide invaluable support to me as a writer. 1. The "live" group is a once-a-month...

My first She Writes Press novel, A Drop in the Ocean, hit the bookshops in May this year, the culmination of years of writing, revising, and marketing. The glow returns every time I spot my lovely cover or read another nice review, or acquaintances...

Keep Her began in a place where many of us writers go to think, to write, and to caffeinate – that ubiquitous coffee shop,  Starbucks. If you stop and look up from your own latte or laptop, there’s always a lot going on there, teens...

Recently, Elizabeth Bastos confessed in the New York Times that she has stopped writing about her children because she realized that her children had not given her permission to tell their stories. When they were young she made herself the main...

After two years and two novels published, I'd like to share my top tips for new authors, with the hope that my experiences will save you time and minimize stress! Feel free to comment and/or add your thoughts! Good editorial advice is...

Sometimes when I read articles aimed at writers I think, wow, this is pretty upbeat stuff for a demographic traditionally filled with morose alcoholics… Where are the fluff pieces aimed at those of us who are plagued by anxiety, insecurity...

syn·chro·nic·i·ty /ˌsiNGkrəˈnisədē/ = meaningful coincidences   A funny thing happens with creativity. When its energy stirs, it's as if the world tilts ever so slightly towards the uncanny. Unusual...

   My memoir rose from the ashes.  This is not a metaphor, by the way. My entire neighborhood was destroyed by a devastating firestorm in 1991. My book would not exist had my home and my neighborhood not been reduced to ashes....

I have been a writer all my life. Writing was/is a way for me to capture my feelings, make sense of the world , maintain some sense of sanity in this often crazy world. Writing for me is like breathing. My first inspiration was my mother, and she...

Eliza Waite by Ashley Sweeney "Sweeney’s debut novel is a beautifully written work of historical fiction tracing one woman’s life in the wilds of nineteenth-century America. Readers will be immersed in Eliza’s world,...