The Star Trek Way to Avoid Saggy Middles!

Hi everyone–I just saw Star Trek this weekend. If you’ve seen it, you know that it goes a mile a minute. The tension and action never let up. As romance writers and readers, we don’t want or need action quite that intense, but we still don’t...

Get the Beginning Right! The Reader’s Command.

Hi everyone–You may know that i’m leaving for RT this week. One of the workshops i’m going to be giving is called Conquering the Premature Beginning, Saggy Middle and Flat End! Every writer is challenged by at least one of those three parts! LOL At...

When Secondary Characters Attack!

Hi everyone–Secondary characters are a riot!  As a general, rule, writers who aren’t complete pantsers (those who write completely spontaneously) plan out at least the basics of their main characters before they write the book. They know what their names...

RT is Coming! RT is Coming! With Workshops Galore.

Hi everyone–Thank you all so much for helping me with my branding questions. It turns out that i will be doing a branding workshop at GayRomLit in October, so this will be a big help.Much sooner however, May 1-5th, i’ll be going to the RT Book Lovers...

To Agent or Not to Agent? The Shift is ON!

Hi everyone–As you may know, i’ve been a published author for just over two years. In that time, the general trend among authors published with small presses has been not to have an agent. The primary reason is that most digital first publishers have...

Enemies to Lovers! Trying to Make It Happy!

Hi everyone–I’m getting ready to celebrate  the launch of my new contemporary LGBT romance, Hearts and Flour, which is a quirky story about a passionate vegan, raw-food lover who falls in love with a cupcake baker! Now if you know anything about health food...

Great Beginnings! Three Tips for Writing and Reading First Scenes.

Open SESAME! A lot of authors would love to have a couple magic words that would create the perfect opening for their books. They know that opening scenes are critical to a books success. You, as a reader, judge the book heavily by that first scene and vote with your...

Structuring Life with Romance Fiction

Hi everyone– I want to thank all of you who came to see Milly! What a great visitor and congratulations to her winners!I was listening to a discussion about literature the other day, and the lecturer said that fiction satisfies us because it structures and gives...

Avoiding Premature or Delayed Beginnings — The Dreaded Hook

Hi everyone–Every author has their nemesis when it comes to constructing a book. For many people, it’s the infamous saggy middle where the action drops off after a furious introduction. Some writers can’t end the damned book to save their lives.  I...