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POINT OF VIEW: Getting a Little Perspective

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Oh how pride goeth before the fall. Sometimes when you think you have this whole writer gig figured out, life steps in to give you a hard slap across the cheek. A few weeks ago, I ran across a review that was so negative it might have stopped my nascent writing career in its tracks if I had seen it when it was first published, back in 2015. I patted myself on the back for being so much more evolved these days, both in writing skill and in my reaction to my sometimes bad reviews. I’d even half-convinced myself that … Read more

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POINT OF VIEW: Dreamspinner

Dreamspinner

There’s a lot of stuff swirling around Dreamspinner Press these days. I don’t want to rehash the various issues here – if you’re connected to Dreamspinner in some way, you are probably aware of them already. I also don’t intend to get into specific author complaints against the press. Each of us has our own experience with Dreamspinner, and it’s not my intent to either validate or invalidate them. What I can speak to is my own experience with Dreamspinner Press and its employees. I first became aware of Dreamspinner via my husband Mark, who is an avid gay fiction/mm … Read more

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POINT OF VIEW: Winning the Draft

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I’m in my happy place. 🙂 I just finished the first draft of “Dropnauts: Redemption Book One” (I know, this one has had more names than Diddy) last week. I’m in the middle of the second draft, and that’s one of my favorite parts of writing. Why, you ask? Because: I don’t have to push my poor little writer’s brain to be extra creative and come up with all sorts of new things, like I do in first draft. The story is still fresh to me – in fact, it’s the first time I actually get to take a step … Read more

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POINT OF VIEW: Setting Goals (And Making Them)

I am both immensely thrilled and a whole lotta stressed today as I write this. I set myself two missions at the start of this year – one, to get into the Science Fiction Writers’ Association (SFWA, pronounced Siffwuh) by writing and selling a qualifying short story. And two, to take steps to snag an agent for what I hope will be the next step in my writing career. Well, missions one accomplished. This week I got not one but four rejections from the major sci fi magazines to which I have submitted. I know, that’s totally not where you … Read more

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POINT OF VIEW: Immersed In Another World

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I’m writing as much each day as I have at any point since Nano four years ago. When I get this deep into one of my stories, I start to practically live in that another world. I’m approaching the end of my latest novel, a solar punk sci fi tale that blends gee-whiz tech, epic scenery, crazy twists and turns, and a pervasive sense of hope I feel like we sorely need right now. I’m writing 1200-2000 words a day, and the story and its characters are on constant rotation in my head. All throughout the day I notice little … Read more

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POINT OF VIEW: The Power of Downtime

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Everyone needs downtime. Even writers. I know this, and yet I am spectacularly bad at actually letting myself enjoy any of it. Writer brains, as any writer will likely attest, are strange creatures. Mine is a magpie, flitting through life and chasing whatever is bright, shiny, and new. The other day, we had lunch with friends, and one of them comes from a family of K’s, where every sibling’s first name starts with “K.” And then she mentioned that one of their daughter’s names started with an “E.” And off my little writer brain went. Families with kids whose names … Read more

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POINT OF VIEW: Writing at a Dead Run

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I’m writing my ass off. Seriously, I haven’t written at this brisk a pace since NaNoWriMo back in… 2014? 2015? I have the wind at my back. Or maybe it’s a pack of snarling wolves. Or perhsps just the fear of not making it – never quite getting to where I want to be as an author before I die. Hitting your fifties encourages a whole lot of “what have I done with my life” soul-searching. Those who follow me (thanks to both of you!) know that I am gearing up to find an agent, to take the next step … Read more

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POINT OF VIEW: Rewriting the Past

I’ve been in the process of re-releasing a number of my older works. It’s funny to think I’ve been published long enough to actually have some older works. LOL… In the process, I’ve had a chance to see how my writing has changed over the years. Most recently, I updated “The Homecoming,” coming out this Wednesday in eBook and (for the first time) paperback! The story itself held up remarkably well – I even had a few of those “damn, I actually wrote this?” moments, which is always nice for an author. *grin* But there were a few things I … Read more

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POINT OF VIEW: Here We Go

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So things are a ‘changin for me. I have finally completed the two trilogies I’ve been working on for the last two years (well, four years for Oberon) and I am looking ahead to what’s next. I have decided to take my shot at the bigtime. I have discussed this with my current publishers – the wonderful folks at both Mischief Corner Books and Dreamspinner Publications – and I am going to try to get an agent for my next book. My ultimate goal is to break into one of the big publishing houses to see where it might take … Read more

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POINT OF VIEW: When Things Are hard

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Let me start by saying that this is not one of those “pity the poor writer” columns. But this is an acknowledgement that I am in a rough place right now. It’s been an amazing two weeks, and a really tough two weeks. Davis Pride, where our local author group had a booth, was very nearly rained out by a huge unseasonable storm. We pushed through it, and it was a successful event, but it was hard going filled with uncertainty. Then we had a great reading at the Lavender Library, but aside from our own “writing family,” only two … Read more