During my childhood, my mother frequently repeated the old proverb, “Practice makes perfect.” She’d say that adage whenever I was practicing the piano, memorizing multiplication tables, or preparing for an oral book report. Practice didn’t help me become perfect, but …

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The Grand Canyon Writers Chapter of Sisters in Crime recently hosted a virtual writers conference. The advantage of a holding a conference on the internet rather than in person is that it allows worldwide participation and reduces costs. The disadvantage …

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Book Bible. When I first heard the phrase, I thought it sounded a bit sacrilegious. During a class about writing a fictional series, the instructor highly recommended the creation of a book bible to help an author get organized and …

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I’m a member of Partners in Crime, the San Diego chapter of Sisters in Crime Worldwide (https://sistersincrimesd.com/). I’m also a member of the Grand Canyon Writers chapter of SinC (https://grandcanyonwriters.com/) and serve on their Board of Directors. Fortunately, modern technology …

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I attended the San Diego Writers Festival for the first time last year. It was founded in 2019 by screenwriter-turned-writing-coach Marni Freedman and digital marketing professional Jennifer Thompson, but I was oblivious to its existence until last year. It was a …

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I look forward to this time of year. The weather warms with the approaching springtime. Bright cheery perennial flowers pop up and add welcome spots of color in my garden. Valentine’s Day and Galentine’s Day create a season of love …

Annual Author Awards Read More »

Last month, I finished some of the Christmas cozies that I’d checked out but hadn’t read. I always overload my To Be Read pile with more books than I can possibly read, kind of like piling my dinner plate too …

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Every Christmas, I download a bunch of cozy mysteries onto my Kindle. I also check out audiobooks from the library via the Libby app. I fully expect to read them all, but my expectations are rarely realized. I’m not sure …

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The New Year is fast approaching. It’s traditionally a time to establish resolutions for improvement. Mine often revolve around eating healthier and exercising more. This year, I decided to add a writing resolution. We all have our own dreams and …

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Kill Your Darlings—a creepy phrase that is oft repeated in the literary world. Initially, I thought it was advice regarding which characters a writer should knock off in a mystery book. Later, I discovered that it wasn’t advice regarding whom …

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