I believe we should all chase our dreams. But, I’ve come to believe that when your dreams start chasing you, it’s time to stop running. Most of my life I dreamed of being a published author. I’d long had articles regularly published in suburban newspapers ringing Memphis, Tennessee, where I worked the better part of 20 years as a reporter. But I desperately wanted to … Continue reading When dreams chase you
If you happen to be a Peanuts fan—or a writer—you’ve probably seen the cartoon of Snoopy on top of his doghouse, hard at work on his novel. He has the perfect opening line: “It was a dark and stormy night…” Continue reading It Was a Dark and Stormy Morning…
While flipping through my high school yearbook recently in an odd fit of nostalgia, I reread the caption under my senior picture. Somehow, I’d forgotten I had a sort-of nickname: Squirrel. But there it was, listed first thing. Continue reading Hey, Look–Squirrel!
As I pen this post from my New Hampshire kitchen, it is a quiet Easter morning—sunny peacefulness broken only by muffled sounds of cursing outside the window. Yes, over my pitiful objections, my husband is taking down our outdoor Christmas lights from the roof. And yes, I know what you’re about to say, dear readers. APRIL? The Shock. The Horror. The Disgust. But wait, hear me out… Continue reading In Defense of Spring Hygge
Readers, myself included, love dialogue that seems genuine. We want it to ring true, to reflect character, to be appropriate for place, time and conversational partners. In other words, we want it to feel legit. Which brings me to slang. Evidently, it’s not cool to say legit any more. (It’s probably not cool to say cool, either, but I’ll leave that there.) The new legit … Continue reading Slang? Dang!
We Chicks are just warming up for National Library Week–and what better way to celebrate than to welcome back awesome author Olivia Matthews (a/k/a Patricia Sargeant) as our guest–and introduce you to her brand new Peach Coast Library Mystery series? Take it away, Patricia! Continue reading Guest Chick: Olivia Matthews
The one in which Extra-Chirpy Chick does her best to build a case for Mondays. Inconceivable, you say? It’s all in how you look at things. Just grab your coffee and hear her out… Continue reading Monday, Monday: Writers Pandemic Edition
Sometimes it’s hard for us authors to believe we are really, truly…well, authors. What an honor and thrill that the words we tap onto our keyboards magically–or not so magically–become books that other people may read. We Chicks still pinch ourselves sometimes, but here are the moments we realized, Hey, this is real!
Continue reading “The Moment We First Felt Like a Legit Author”
So I wrote this post for Chicks a couple of years ago. But it seems wildly appropriate for our current times, so I thought I’d bring ol’ Murphy back for a spin. He’s hard to get rid of, as it turns out. Don’t say I didn’t warn you… Continue reading When Write Goes Wrong: Blame Murphy
I’d like to thank the Chicks for having me on as a Guest Chick, but if you don’t mind, I’m going to turn my blog post over to Waylon Jenkins, Zombie Cosmetologist, the hero of my story Pluck & Cover. He’s always bugging me to let him have his say so we might as well give him the platform. As a special prize for listening to him natter on, anyone who comments below is automatically entered into a giveaway for a free Pluck & Cover ebook. —JD Blackrose, Zombie Wrangler. Continue reading Guest Chick: J.D. Blackrose
I’m looking for the perfect town. It can’t be too hot or too cold, too rich or too poor, too big or too small, and preferably there will be an adorable cat or dog and a plate of cookies at every house and shop. Oh, and this town must have at least one charming bookstore, multiple gourmet restaurants, a sleepy police department, and very few troublesome children. I’d like to visit the area in person, you see, but even the combined power of Google Maps, Siri and Waze can’t seem to locate it. Can you tell me how to get to Cozy Street? Continue reading Directions to Cozyland
November is just around the corner, and we writers know what that means. Yes, the all-important Nov. 3rd (please vote!!), but also that exhilarating, frustrating, triumphant, despairing roller coaster of National Novel Writing Month, a/k/a NaNoWriMo. It’s a crazy 30 days, and we’re ready–but are some of us clinging a little too tightly to the safety bar? Continue reading Risky Business: NaNoWriMo 2020 Edition
Chicks on the Case 