Identity status / Psychology in fiction writing

I’m fascinated by psychology and think that my understanding of it helps me with character development. One thing I find intriguing is that many of my favorite writers have a background in this subject. A few years ago I took a course in developmental psychology. It introduced me to several theories about how the personality [...]

Guest Blogger: Bridget Zinn

Today I have a guest blogger, Bridget Zinn, who also writes YA fiction. A few weeks ago she did a techie post on how to make use of all those online tools that will help you network.  Be sure to click on her link about using a blog reader (which you can save as a [...]

Book Review: Saturday Night Dirt

Seventeen-year-old Melody “Mel” Walters knows the speedway she helps her dad run isn’t firing on all financial cylinders, but she’s not ready to give up yet.  If she can draw some big name out-of-town drivers, she might turn things around—unless that thunderstorm looming on the horizon puts the track out of business. Trace Bonham, a [...]

Race Morgan’s Car

I’ve been working on promotional stuff lately.  Ideas for my platform, materials for my one-day-to-be-published website, and business cards specifically tailored to my writing (you can’t really hand an agent your landscaping card at a conference). I want to have a graphic on my card that supplements the limited text and shows people that I [...]

I Want to Believe / Obama’s Message / Hope

My life is crazy right now.  Everyone’s leaves are coming down and as a landscaper I’m swamped with hauling them away. Plus I’m caught up in the ongoing effort to build a ‘platform’ through my blog and other activities. And I feel compelled to get back into my writing. I generally delve into that right [...]

The Carver Curves

I learned something a few weeks ago while driving to a friend’s house in Estacada. Those wonderful twisty turns between Carver and Barton on Oregon’s highway 224 are called the Carver Curves. Gotta love that alliteration. The Carver Curves are wonderful if you’re in a vehicle that has any sort of handling ability. That day [...]

The Value of a Writing Community / My Writing History

I started writing when I was 13, and for years I did it pretty much in a vacuum. Oh, I had a few confidants that I’d show my stuff to, like Damon, my best friend in high school.  But I didn’t have a writing community.  Until I was about 28 I wrote off and on, [...]

Blog the Vote

My husband and I had a friend who loved to complain about all that was wrong with the country.  But he didn’t vote. It wasn’t just that he was too lazy—he absolutely refused, stating that he wouldn’t be part of the political machine and didn’t believe it made any difference, anyway. While it can be [...]

Daylight Saving Time

I have three cats. One of them is, shall we say, BIG BONED.  Even though they eat Innova Low Fat food, ol’ Loki continues to be a bit on the chunky side. Okay, I’ll stop mincing words. That little sucker is FAT. The others, like Keelan in the photo above, are pretty normal, but Loki [...]