Over in the QRFFC we’ve started answering some reader questions. I thought I’d share my answers here as well. If you’d like to read other author’s answers, come join the group. Queer Romance Freebie & Fan Club What made you decide to become an author? I’ve always been writing, but the shift from writing just for me to being willing to share my stuff was transformational. I have journals from high school that I’d die if anyone ever read them. Teen angst dripping from poorly constructed poetry. I wrote academically for years and always found regurgitating facts settling but boring. It was a means to an end: degrees and a career.…
Last year I commissioned a small token with my word of intent stamped into it. This was from My Intent Project, and my word was Infuse. Essentially, I wanted to ensure that whatever project I was working on, I was infusing it with goodness and purpose. I wanted a word big enough to fit writing, parenting, editing, crafting, and basic living, something I could be mindful of in nearly everything I did. I think I did okay with the work. I could’ve done better since some of the year I was infusing stress into everything. 😂 I bought medallions for myself, hubby, and my bestie last year with words we’d all…
I’ve mentioned I’m a bit taken by my dog before. Who me? Yeah. Totally head over heels for this little creature! But she’s going to have me going broke soon. I keep buying her things. Some of that is because of recommendations from other pet owners, some from the dog trainer or the vet, but mostly it’s because I love spoiling her! It seemed like every puppy class we went to, I walked out with something new. The latest purchase was this green ball/cage thingy. She loves it now that she’s teething. It gets to the molars, which makes her happy. You can put treats inside too. I haven’t tried that…
Why yes, I guess I do! My life has been taken over by an adorable creature with so much charisma, I can only do one thing: say yes. Okay, maybe that’s taking it a bit far. I do say no, or at least I redirect said creature to a more productive or healthier option … like not chewing my fingers! I do need my fingers to type, after all, though lately, I’ve been having to stretch very far to even reach my keyboard because … well, she‘s in the way. This is Olive, our new pup, and an addition to our family I was initially reluctant about considering because of the special…
I spent a week at the lake. The cabin has been in my hubby’s family since the 1950s and inspired Summer’s cabin in North Star, the one in Spark. This is the lake where Hugo and Kevin fall in love again, years after drifting apart. It was fantastic to spend a week in this place where Kevin and Hugo’s story was literally spun as I floated on the waves. Scenes came so vividly to me here on the water. I often couldn’t get to shore fast enough to type them into my laptop. It’s been a special place where many stories have been either conceived, written, or polished. There is very limited…
Growing up, my dream was to be a singer. I went to college on a vocal performance scholarship but quickly realized I disliked the constant competition and auditioning. I saw that pinning my hopes and dreams on someone else’s opinion was a quick path to not being able to put food on the table. So halfway through my freshman year, I dropped my vocal performance major with little idea what I wanted to do with my life. I took career assessments to see where my skills and interests met up. I’d taken these tests in the past, and I’ve taken them since. One thing I can say, I’m fairly consistent.…
When I set out to write Analog to Digital, I wanted to accomplish three things with the story. First, I wanted to write a feel-good short/novella that would leave smiles on readers’ faces. It needed to be sweet. I tend to infuse most of my stories with some degree of angst, but this was intended to be fluff and sweetness. Second, I wanted to write about an established couple so obviously in love, but who still need to work out their existence beyond their initial HEA. I love writing established couples! I was a couples therapist, after all. I love the genuine struggle they have to navigate in the real world.…
Yesterday at four-ish in the afternoon, just before the sun was thinking about getting ready for bed, my husband walked into my office and said, “I started a fire.” I was seconds away from working, but I’ve had a hell of a time concentrating this last week. It’s been like pulling teeth. Starts and stops. Stalls galore. So I decided to lay my work aside and go sit outside in the beautiful fall air and enjoy a fire in my backyard. John and I had a great conversation, as we often do around a fire. There’s something about the focus being on those orange and black embers rather than on faces…